Is there any story more enduring (or cliche) than that of the damsel in distress? The new series “American Heiress” (7 p.m., MY Network) stars Alicia Leigh Willis as Elizabeth, the baby of the megabucks Wakefield family. When her plane goes down over the jungle of Guatemala, she must rely on Capt. J.D. Bruce (Carter MacIntyre) for survival. Will dependence lead to love? I’ll never tell.

Look for Theresa Russell (whose credits include – oddly enough – both “Black Widow” and “Spider-man 3”) as Elizabeth’s gold-digging ex-stepmother.

Just what is the MY Network? If you were paying attention last spring, you may have noticed that the WB and UPN imploded and recombined as the CW network. Very close students of the TV business observed that those affiliates orphaned by this game of musical chairs recombined as the MY Network. Last fall, MY became home to the Americanized, English-language telenovela, soap operas that ran every night of the week for 13 weeks and then concluded.

That experiment did not exactly work. Now, “American Heiress” will run two hours on Tuesday nights only. Tomorrow night sees the debut of “Saints & Sinners,” a modern twist on “Romeo & Juliet” that will air every Wednesday. The logic here is that perhaps more people will notice a show that airs with less frequency. Will less be more? Or will things more or less stay the same?

¢ Former professional wrestler Bill Goldberg hosts “Bullrun” (9 p.m., Spike), a reality variation on a competitive cross-country road race. A dozen teams of paired drivers will roar across the fruited plain in cars ranging from exotic foreign sports models to vintage muscle vehicles from the golden age of STP stickers.

At least the cars are interesting.

If the three-minute teaser made available for review is any indication, this is a cavalcade of cursing drivers, roaring engines and high-octane reality-TV hissy fits.

The action seems to follow the pacing, tone and narrative of a low-rent beer commercial, with guys screaming “awesome!” and scantily clad girls going “whoooooh!” Things blow up, too. Like too much programming aimed at the young-male demographic, this seems like a Duff beer extravaganza from “The Simpsons.”

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ If the predators caught on “Dateline” (7 p.m., NBC) watched “Dateline,” would they still walk into “Dateline”‘s trap?

¢ The final 12 perform and compete on “American Idol” (7 p.m., Fox).

¢ A rescue from a cult turns tricky on “The Unit” (8 p.m., CBS).

¢ A teen’s murder reveals a steamy past on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” (8 p.m., NBC).

¢ “The Final Report” (8 p.m., National Geographic) looks at the 1992 shootings at Ruby Ridge.

¢ Choreography can be murder on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (9 p.m., NBC).

¢ The fake breasts of “The Real Housewives of Orange County” (9 p.m., Bravo) go into hiding after tonight’s season finale.

¢ “Costas NOW” (9 p.m., HBO) looks at college sports.