TVLand original won’t bear repeating

The series “High School Reunion” (9 p.m., TVLand) got me thinking. That’s not the purpose of this derivative series, but I just can’t help myself. TVLand has announced that it is committed to more “original” programming. That means reality programming, folks. And that means fewer chances to catch standard TVLand fare like reruns of “Family Affair.”

Is TVLand changing its policy because it thinks audiences no longer yearn for repeats? Or is the problem more fundamental? Is America simply running out of reruns?

For decades, we’ve taken our rerun resources for granted, smug in the assumption that new/old versions of “Gilligan’s Island” and “Family Ties” would always be created and recycled.

But somewhere around a decade ago, the chain of creation snapped. Around the time “Seinfeld” signed off in 1998, audiences lost their taste for new sitcoms. Reality, in the form of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” (1999) and “Survivor” (2000), filled the void. But, as we know, nobody wants to watch those shows twice.

So, for roughly 10 years, we’ve been eating our seed corn. We’ve gobbled down “Joe Millionaire” and “Idol” without a thought to the future. And now, my friends, we have little to show for ourselves. The cupboard is bare, and TVLand doesn’t even have a “Who’s the Boss” clone to supplement its meager lineup.

“High School Reunion” isn’t just a terrible show. It’s a canary in the cable cage. And I think it’s dead.

l “Peter and the Wolf” recently won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short. The remarkable half-hour stop-motion adaptation of Sergei Prokofiev’s famous score is featured on tonight’s “Great Performances” (7 p.m., PBS, check local listings).

Composed in 1936, “Peter and the Wolf” has been used for decades in music-education classes to teach children the use of music to tell stories and evoke distinct characters. In this tale, the brave and lonely Peter takes on a dangerous forest creature with the help of a loyal duck, a bird and a house cat. A different musical instrument identifies each character.

Animator Suzie Templeton set “Peter” not in the Russian forest of myth but a rather squalid version of contemporary post-Soviet society, where the city and the countryside collide in dingy chaos. Peter, the critters and Peter’s grandfather are remarkably unpretty. The puppet landscape includes thousands of tiny details, from a ramshackle cabin to an ancient Fiat surrendering slowly to rust. This gritty realism and the complete absence of dialogue provide “Peter” with an otherworldly atmosphere and surprising charms that viewers won’t soon forget.

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ A contestant goes home on “American Idol” (8 p.m., Fox).

¢ Dad’s discipline drives the kids wild on “Supernanny” (8 p.m., ABC).

¢ “American Greed” (8 p.m., CNBC) looks at scams that target Hollywood celebrities.

¢ Mac enters a “Second Life” on “CSI: NY” (9 p.m., CBS).

¢ Witnesses scatter on “Law & Order” (9 p.m., NBC).

¢ Cash needs a kidney on “Men in Trees” (9 p.m., ABC).

Cult choice

“Monty Python” and “Saturday Night Live” talent collaborate in the 1978 Beatles spoof “The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash” (8 p.m., VH1 Classic). Look for Mick Jagger and George Harrison, too.