Ellen DeGeneres guest stars on “Deal or No Deal” (7 p.m., NBC), but not as a contestant or a guest host. The comedienne will appear as one of the suitcase models. The idea of the self-conscious talk-show host holding a large sum of money has all of the makings of a great sight gag. There’s no truth to the rumor that she’s been playing “the banker” all along.

¢ The “MythBusters” (8 p.m., Discovery) gang gets shaken and stirred as it puts gadgets featured in James Bond movies to the test to see whether they earn their Moneypenny.

The new series “Smash Lab” (9 p.m., Discovery) follows. While “MythBusters” sets out to prove or debunk widely held assumptions about household products, the “Smash Lab” engineers use their know-how to test new and innovative uses for well-known items. Can the Kevlar in a bulletproof vest be repurposed to protect an airliner from bombs? Could a common item like a car’s airbag save a downed helicopter from sinking?

It looks as if the “Smash Lab” boys are real-life MacGyvers.

¢ “Pioneers of Television” (7 p.m., PBS, check local listings) looks at the funny and the serious side of the variety show.

While some have considered the variety format extinct since the demise of “The Carol Burnett Show” and “Sonny and Cher” back in the 1970s, variety has returned in different guises, most notably “Dancing with the Stars” and, of course, “American Idol” (7 p.m., Fox).

“Pioneers” includes clips from Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows” and Milton Berle’s “Texaco Star Theater,” two series that dominated ratings in the medium’s early years, particularly when television was limited to big cities on the coasts. But as TV signals began to reach the vast majority of Americans, audiences clamored for stars like Lawrence Welk and Red Skelton, whose series ran for decades.

No one dominated the variety series like Ed Sullivan, who served audiences a broad spectrum of culture from plate spinners to opera. We’re shown “Sullivan” clips from Elvis and the Beatles to a performance of “King Lear,” featuring Orson Welles.

“Pioneers” also looks at the controversial side of variety shows. In the mid-1950s, NBC aired Nat King Cole’s variety series to great reviews and good ratings, but the show couldn’t get any sponsors. Citing the racism of the advertising industry, Cole observed, in a famous comment (curiously missing from this “Pioneer” roundup), “Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark.” Variety star Pat Boone also cites pressure for him to drop Harry Belafonte from his late-1950s show. But Boone held his ground and said they would have to get another host if they made him drop the controversial calypso star.

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ The six-hour miniseries “Comanche Moon” (8 p.m., CBS) concludes.

¢ A gynecologist’s murder is more than it first appears on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” (8 p.m., NBC).

¢ A micromanaged family with seven kids needs the “Supernanny” (8 p.m., ABC).

¢ A dry-cleaning mishap points to dirty business on “Law & Order” (9 p.m., NBC).

¢ A blogger gets nasty on “Cashmere Mafia” (9 p.m., ABC).

¢ Contestants pick their models based on their hairstyle and design accordingly on “Project Runway” (9 p.m., Bravo). As complicated as this sounds, it’s got to be better than last week’s prom-dress challenge.

¢ The “Cops” spoof “Reno 911” (9:30 p.m., Comedy Central) enters its fifth season.

Cult choice

A couple of fugitives (William Atherton and Goldie Hawn) search for their son, with the law in hot pursuit, in the 1974 drama “The Sugarland Express” (7 p.m., Sleuth), the big-screen debut for a director named Steven Spielberg.