Proof that some shows are critic-proof and, frankly, beyond (or beneath) criticism arrives with the news that “Wipeout” (7 p.m., ABC) has done well enough this summer to be renewed for a second season.

“Wipeout” pits everyday folks from funeral-home directors to martial artists in feats of unconventional skills. For the most part, they become human pinballs on a giant, interactive obstacle course.

Every time I checked it out, someone was sliding off a giant ball and falling into muddy water. A little of this goes a long way.

¢ The series “Evolve” (9 p.m., History) spends an hour on the evolutionary development of physical attributes that have helped some species survive while others (more than 99 percent, some say) have fallen by the wayside. Over the past two weeks, “Evolve” has looked at the emergence of eyes and complex digestive systems in creatures from bats to humans. Tonight’s episode examines the jaws that have allowed reptiles and mammals to chew their way up the food chain.

¢ With the world’s eyes on the Beijing games, “Wide Angle” (8 p.m., PBS, check local listings) presents “China Prep,” a documentary following four students at one of that country’s most elite and competitive schools. They are among the more than 2,000 students competing for 59 spots in China’s elite universities.

“Prep” follows their arduous schedule and remarkable discipline. It also discusses their place in a unique Chinese generation born since that nation instituted a one-child-per-family policy.

Lavished with attention from birth, these teenagers bear the advantages and burdens of being the focus of so many hopes and dreams.

¢ The “P.O.V.” (9 p.m., PBS, check local listings) presentation “Belarusian Waltz” follows an eccentric artist as he makes one-man stands against the leadership of Belarus, a nation regarded as Europe’s last dictatorship. The government offers a throwback to the era of Stalinist oppression, and many people seem to like it that way. Many others are afraid to rock the boat.

¢ “The Secret Lives of Women: Extreme Weight Loss” (9 p.m., WE) interviews women who have lost 100 pounds or more.

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ Scheduled Summer Olympics (7 p.m., NBC) events include women’s gymnastics, swimming, beach volleyball and diving.

¢ A building falls on a woman on “House” (7 p.m., Fox).

¢ Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church star in the 2006 miniseries “Broken Trail” (7 p.m., AMC).

¢ Amy has choices on “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” (7 p.m., Family).

¢ A patient vanishes after a three-year coma on “Without a Trace” (9 p.m., CBS).

¢ “Primetime” (9 p.m., ABC) looks at medical mysteries.

¢ Why am I not surprised that the love-it/hate-it series “Million Dollar Listing” (9 p.m., Bravo) set some kind of ratings record for Bravo last week?

¢ The team tries to make a crash-proof car on “Smash Lab” (9 p.m., Discovery).

Cult choice

A stricken cop (Jimmy Stewart) develops a morbid obsession with a haunted blonde (Kim Novak) in the 1958 thriller “Vertigo” (10:15 p.m., TCM), part of a 24-hour festival of Kim Novak movies.