“House” (8 p.m., Fox) returns to original episodes just in time for May sweeps. It’s easy to believe this year’s “House” was just getting revved up when it was placed on writers’-strike hiatus. Remember that reality-TV-like contest to see who would join the staff and who would be eliminated? Or do you want to forget all that, just like me?

On tonight’s original “House,” the dyspeptic doctor believes that a diagnosis may have been distorted because the patient was simply “too nice.”

Original episodes of the oddly comic and violent forensic procedural “Bones” (7 p.m., Fox) also return. Call me a fuddy-duddy, but do viewers really want to see the barbecued body of a car-accident victim on a show airing during the so-called “family hour”? The unfortunate woman’s infant is discovered by Brennan and Booth. Then, through quirk and happenstance known only on television, both are granted joint custody of the tyke until complications can be unraveled. And there you have a neat encapsulation of the tone of contemporary entertainment: gruesome death, special-effects-enhanced morbidity and cute-baby shenanigans all tied up in a neat bow.

¢ In a recent column, I called NBC the laziest network for devoting an inordinate number of prime-time hours to “Deal or No Deal” (7 p.m., NBC). Lo and behold, who shows up last week to hang with Howie Mandel but POTUS himself, the commander in chief, the decider, George W. Bush, the president of the United States. Talk about guest stars! It seems Mandel has more clout than I thought.

You have to imagine some trepidation in the West Wing about appearing on a show as controversial as “Deal or No Deal.” After all, what does it say about the subprime-mortgage crisis when the leader of the free world associates himself with a game show where The Banker is considered the villain?

Two nights later, the president and first lady showed up in prime time again, appearing on “American Idol” to thank donors to “Idol Gives Back.”

Will the last months of the Bush presidency become a valedictory jog around the dial? Is “Dancing with the Stars” (7 p.m., ABC) next? How about “Extreme Makeover Home Edition”? Is there any room in scripted drama for an executive cameo? The president and TV producer Dick Wolf were prep-school classmates at the Phillips Andover Academy. Imagine a “Law & Order” where Arthur Branch (Fred Thompson) shows up angling for his old job, only to see that someone with connections has already been hired.

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ Howie Mandel hosts a two-hour “Star Wars”-themed “Deal or No Deal” (7 p.m., NBC).

¢ The ship’s location and mission remain a secret on “Carrier” (8 p.m., PBS, check local listings).

¢ A sinkhole fatality on “CSI: Miami” (9 p.m., CBS).

¢ A used car’s dark past inspires visions on “Medium” (9 p.m., NBC).

¢ A bloke amongst blondes on “The Bachelor” (9 p.m., ABC).

¢ Prom night on the finale of “High School Confidential” (9 p.m., WE).