I’m always a little surprised when cable networks go outside of their comfort zone. But just what is E! thinking with the two-hour special “Going Postal: 15 Shocking Acts of Violence” (7 p.m., E!)?

For starters, we turn to E! for entertainment “news,” misinformation and distracting stories about Charlie Sheen’s marital status. Somehow, a clip show comparing Columbine with Virginia Tech doesn’t fit into that spectrum.

The very title “Going Postal” and the mere idea of listing these bloody atrocities also connotes a kind of desensitized voyeurism that transcends conversation in an entertainment column. We’ve now reached the point at which we can rank and list anything, no matter how absurd or obscene that sounds.

“Dude, sorry your brother got shot in that cafeteria bloodbath. But it ranked ninth in the E! roundup. Awesome! I watched it while waiting for ‘Wildest Wedding Show Moments 2’ (9:30 p.m., E!)!”

¢ Art imitates afterlife on an original “Ghost Whisperer” (7 p.m., CBS). The curvaceous psychic Melinda springs into paranormal action after a college student becomes haunted by visions inspired by a lifetime of watching horror movies. Are any of them “I Know What You Did Last Summer”?

¢ Speaking of movies, Fox has replaced its Friday-night schedule with films, starting with the 2004 comedy “13 Going on 30” (7 p.m., Fox), starring Jennifer Garner in a female variation on the Tom Hanks’ performance in “Big.”

The return of films puts a punctuation mark on another season in which Fox has failed to find a Friday-night winner. If you’re keeping score, Fox kicked off the season with “Nashville,” a country-fried variation on “The Hills,” which was the first series of the season to be canceled. More recently, Friday nights belonged to “The Return of Jezebel James,” a comedy about surrogate parenthood that was yanked after only two episodes.

Not all of Fox’s new scripted efforts have fizzled. The network has announced a renewal for “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.” But, of course, since the Terminator comes from the future, he must have already known he would “be back” next season.

While we’re on the subject of Friday-night series and movies, “Meerkat Manor” fans should mark their calendars for May 25. Animal Planet has scheduled “Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins,” a movie-length prequel to the series, telling the story of the Whiskers clan in the years and months before the action began on the Emmy-nominated series. “Story Begins” is dedicated to the memory of Flower, the Meerkat matriarch whose bravery and sacrifice were documented on “Manor.”

¢ “Bill Moyers Journal” (8 p.m., PBS) presents an interview with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. This marks Wright’s first interview since his comments and his relationship with presidential candidate Barack Obama became a media controversy.

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ Beth’s kidnapping puts Mick’s mortality in jeopardy on “Moonlight” (8 p.m., CBS).

¢ Military grafters turn to kidnapping on “Numb3rs” (9 p.m., CBS).

¢ Scheduled on “20/20” (9 p.m., ABC): surprising situations and an interview with Arianna Huffington.

¢ Baltar inspires a religious schism on “Battlestar Galactica” (9 p.m., Sci Fi).