What if “Borat” had a profound message? Or if “Jackass” made you think? The documentary “The Yes Men Fix the World” (8 p.m., HBO) combines meticulously planned pranks with a serious economic argument and social agenda.

The Yes Men consist of Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, actors, comics, designers and performance artists who infiltrate corporate events and make parody presentations with outlandish themes. Some years back, they passed themselves off as spokespeople for Dow Chemical, the corporate giant that had just purchased Union Carbide, and announced on the BBC a multibillion-dollar plan to clean up the toxic Union Carbide site in Bhopal, India and make restitution to the tens of thousands of victims and their families. Within moments of their announcement, Dow’s share price plummeted.

The Yes Men’s hoax was quickly discovered, but it worked to their satisfaction. They forced Dow to publicly admit that they had no intentions of doing the right thing, a statement that made the stock rise. They shamed a huge corporation and proved that the stock market punishes the just and rewards the greedy.

Like the best comedy or magic act, “Yes Men” will have you wondering, “How did they do that?” And more to the point, “How did they get away with that?” In many movie thrillers of the recent past, people who challenge the status quo, cost big business big money, or embarrass the government, are almost always killed or driven into exile.

The “Yes Men” did all that and more and have lived to tell the tale. That’s their real message. You may not be able to change the world, but you can have fun trying.

Tonight’s other highlights

• A mouth that roared “House” (7 p.m., Fox).

• Decision time on the season finale of “The Bachelorette” (7 p.m., ABC).

• A killer has an unexpected ideological twist on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” (8 p.m., NBC).

• A missing child case leaves Lightman shaken on “Lie to Me” (8 p.m., Fox).

• Scheduled on “History Detectives” (8 p.m., PBS, check local listings): Amelia Earhart.

• “Secret Lives of Charles Lindbergh” (8 p.m., National Geographic) looks at the many facets of a 20th century icon.

• A murder suspect becomes a homicide victim on “The Closer” (8 p.m., TNT).

• Horatio suspects a shady lawyer on “CSI: Miami” (9 p.m., CBS).

• Scheduled on “Dateline” (9 p.m., NBC): “The Tucson Developer Murder,” a real estate mogul meets an explosive end.

• In a special episode of “My Life on the D-List” (9 p.m., Bravo) Kathy Griffin fights California’s Proposition 8.

Cult choice

• A heist goes very wrong in the 2007 drama “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” (8:35, The Movie Channel) starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke and Albert Finney and directed by Sidney Lumet.

Late night

Bill Kristol is scheduled on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” (10 p.m., Comedy Central) … Movits! appear on “The Colbert Report” (10:30 p.m., Comedy Central).

The Dave Matthews Band performs on “Late Show with David Letterman” (10:35 p.m., CBS) … Conan O’Brien hosts Meryl Streep and Judd Apatow on “The Tonight Show” (10:35 p.m., NBC) … Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Sean Patrick McGraw appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (11:05 p.m., ABC).