The folks behind “Lost,” “Alias” and “Mission Impossible III” offer the new serialized head-scratcher “Fringe” (7 p.m., Fox), a frightening look at a contemporary world where technology and unfettered corporations can make every nightmare come true.

Much like “Lost,” the series begins with a gruesome incident on a commercial airliner guaranteed to dredge up bad memories of 9/11. After the wounded liner lands at Boston’s Logan Airport (the departure point for many of the real 9/11 terrorists), a crack team of FBI agents assemble to see just who or what may be responsible for the horrifying results.

The action quickly centers on FBI agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv); a brilliant but long-institutionalized scientist, Walter Bishop (John Noble); and Peter (Joshua Jackson, “Dawson’s Creek”), Walter’s handsome son, whom Olivia cajoles into helping out.

As thrillers go, “Fringe” packs a punch. It presents a compelling if baffling mystery with cinematic flair backed by big-budget effects. But I don’t see “Fringe” replacing “Lost” on many viewers’ must-see lists. On a superficial level, the Boston setting just doesn’t compare to the lush island locale. And the mysteries seem more technology-related than character-driven. But it’s early yet.

¢ Perhaps the only thing more annoying and pointless than obsessing about the super-rich is feeling morally and politically superior to them while still lapping up their every move and bauble. You can’t let them have their cake and eat it, too, but that’s what the new series “Privileged” (8 p.m., CW) attempts.

Joanna Garcia stars as Megan, an ambitious young journalist first seen engaging in a pretentious monologue comparing Manhattan’s club scene to Marie Antoinette’s French court. In short order, we learn that she’s a Yale graduate and budding writer and that her tabloid-editor boss (Debi Mazar) can’t stand her highfalutin theories about the party set.

With her pink slip still cooling in her hands, Megan lands a job tutoring the spoiled twin granddaughters of Palm Beach megabucks matron Laurel Limoges (Anne Archer).

This affords Megan the perfect perch from which to indulge in the ways of the idle rich and judge them at the same time, the same narrative hook that made “The Devil Wears Prada” so shallow, dishonest and unsatisfying for anyone who cared to look beneath its gossipy name-dropping surface.

¢ Jim Lehrer hosts “Debating Our Destiny II” (8 p.m., PBS, check local listings), a history of presidential and vice presidential debates with the accent on recent elections. Lehrer, who has moderated 10 of these debates, interviews President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Sens. Joe Lieberman and John Kerry.

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ Denis Leary presides over “Fashion Rocks” (8 p.m., CBS), an annual event celebrating the unholy alliance of pop music and high fashion.¢ Ten of the top 20 perform on “America’s Got Talent” (7 p.m., NBC).¢ Seven soccer stars from four countries compete in the documentary “Kicking It” (8 p.m., ESPN), narrated by Colin Farrell.¢ Vic and his confederates continue to roil the waters in gangland on “The Shield” (9 p.m., FX).¢ Gene science and video-game technology combine in the special “How to Build a Better Being” (9 p.m., National Geographic).