Intense, serious and self-consciously absurd, “Saving Grace” (9 p.m., TNT) stars Holly Hunter as an out-of-control Oklahoma City policewoman with more issues than a month of “Oprah” shows. She’s a heavy drinker, she sleeps around, and she’s got angry baggage that her personal link to her city’s greatest tragedy doesn’t begin to explain. Oh, and she’s got a personal relationship with an angel named Earl, who looks like a distant cousin of Billy Bob Thornton.

As “Grace” enters its second season, our heroine appears to have been drinking. It’s still morning. While at brunch with her colleague, the devout and Earl-obsessed Rhetta Rodriguez (Laura San Giacomo), a gun battle breaks out on the street. Grace sobers up in a hurry and tracks down the suspect. The fact that he happens to be on the FBI’s most-wanted list makes Grace a media darling.

Most shows would stop right there, but “Grace” adds another story – about a rogue priest who molested Grace and many of her classmates – that ups the emotional quotient and helps explain Grace’s problems with faith, authority and fidelity.

Few shows are as deadly earnest and as over-the-top – often at the same time. Hunter seems to be having the time of her life.

¢ On a similar theme, the cartoon series “Avatar: The Last Airbender” (7 p.m., Nickelodeon) enters a new 10-episode season. The title character is this bald kid who has been asked – make that destined – to save the world and return it to the harmony between wind, water, earth and fire. Its combination of martial arts, mystical mumbo jumbo and ‘tween-age shenanigans has won “Avatar” a wide audience. The cartoon will also be adapted as a live-action picture by director M. Night Shyamalan, no stranger to the pretentious and absurd.

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ A buried time capsule hides grim evidence on “Bones” (7 p.m., Fox).

¢ “The Bachelor: Where Are They Now?” (7 p.m., ABC) follows up with swains past.

¢ Bill Murray discusses his career on “Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence” (7 p.m., TCM).

¢ The gang test-drives posh cars and budget models on “Top Gear” (7 p.m., BBC America).

¢ A celebrity chef discusses good food and healthy eating on “Emeril Green” (7 p.m., Planet Green).

¢ Jewel helps separate the gems from the rhinestones on “Nashville Star” (8 p.m., NBC).

¢ A camera crew documents a troubled teen patient on “House” (8 p.m., Fox).

¢ A fatal fire falls under suspicion on the fourth-season premiere of “The Closer” (8 p.m., TNT).

¢ Shot entirely undercover, “China’s Stolen Children” (8 p.m., HBO) looks at a vast kidnapping ring and the social distortions of China’s one-child policy.

¢ Scheduled on “Dateline” (9 p.m., NBC): Tiki Barber explores billions in unclaimed bank accounts, forgotten stocks and other issues.

¢ Zombies on the loose on “The Middleman” (9 p.m., Family).

¢ “The War of the World” (9 p.m., PBS, check local listings) concludes with a look at the so-called “Cold War,” a time of uneasy peace between superpowers that saw as many as 20 million people die in proxy conflicts.

¢ Surfers embark on a marathon to heighten awareness of autism in the film “Path of Purpose” (9:30 p.m., Sundance).