The old saying “Dead men tell no tales” does not apply to television. Not this season. On too many series, the dead just won’t shut up.

We’ve come to expect this on “Medium” (8 p.m., NBC), where Allison makes a living out of talking with ghosts. Or dreaming of conversations with spirits. In parts 1 and 2 of a three-part season ender, Allison makes the radical move of quitting her work with the district attorney’s office to join a plush corporation.

Economic woes have often been the center of this series, particularly during sweeps. Her husband, Joe, always seems to be on the verge of getting pink-slipped, and Allison’s job with law enforcement is always at the whim of fickle politicians and fearful civil servants.

So you can’t blame ghost girl for going for the big paycheck. But don’t expect her nocturnal visitors to make the adjustment to the private sector. And just how will Allison react when her new benefactors inform her that her dreams and visions have become corporate property?

You could always depend on “House” (7 p.m., Fox) to dwell in the land of the rational. But now even that cranky MD is chatting it up with the dearly departed. And he’s not just shooting the breeze with the deceased Amber (Anna Dudek). She’s offering him medical advice.

Of course, this could be a symptom of all those pills he’s been guzzling. Or is this just another strange plot device to complicate House’s furtive feelings for Wilson — I mean Cuddy.

Other fictional characters may jawbone with dead people, but not Jack Bauer. There just aren’t enough hours in the day on “24” (8 p.m., Fox). Or are there?

After all, Tony Almeida was considered dead for several seasons. (And for good reason: We watched him die!) And he’s just not been the same since he returned.

He was a disgruntled bad guy, and then he was a good guy posing as a bad guy and now he’s a bad guy again. Very bad. Getting worse every minute.

And what about Jack’s delicate condition? He’s been dosed by a weapon of mass destruction, but he just keeps on going. Even Chloe thinks he looks like death warmed over. Could Jack actually die? And if he did, would it matter?

Maybe he could return next season to run the resurrected CTU as a ghost. Only he won’t know he’s a ghost. Only Chloe will, and she’ll never tell! Call it “24: The Sixth Sense.” That may make no sense, but that has clearly ceased to matter.

Tonight’s other highlights

• Smart chefs convince dieters they can have their cupcakes and eat them, too, on “Cook Yourself Thin” (4 p.m., Lifetime).

• The competition continues on “Dancing with the Stars” (7 p.m., ABC).

• “We Shall Remain: American Experience” (8 p.m., PBS, check local listings) recalls the resistance of Geronimo.

• A musician helps troubled kids express themselves in rhyme on “The Hip Hop Project” (8 p.m., Sundance).

• “Icons Among Us: Jazz in the Present Tense” (8 p.m., Documentary) interviews members of active jazz bands.

Cult choice

Peter Lorre stars in director Joseph von Sternberg’s 1935 adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” (10:15 p.m., TCM).

Series notes

Penny spills on “Big Bang Theory” (7 p.m., CBS) … Nate and Chuck bicker on “Gossip Girl” (7 p.m., CW) … Ted’s fateful encounter on “How I Met Your Mother” (7:30 p.m., CBS) … Alan feels crowded on “Two and a Half Men” (8 p.m., CBS) … A contest on “Rules of Engagement” (8:30 p.m., CBS) … A grenade attack on a family mystifies Horatio on “CSI: Miami” (9 p.m., CBS).