While not exactly the man with two brains, a new patient (Ashton Holmes) has a civil war on his mind as “House” (7 p.m., Fox) wraps up its fifth season. Apparently, the right and left lobes of his brain can’t decide who’s top dog.

Meanwhile, our cranky doctor earns the rebuke of Dr. Cuddy for refusing to treat an elderly patient, played by screen and TV veteran Carl Reiner.

This season has seen one major character suffer from a degenerative disease and the sudden departure (via suicide) of another. House has experienced hallucinations and visions of the dead and even pangs of emotion bordering on love.

It’s been eventful, but not without the sense that everyone’s trying just a tad too hard.

• In contrast, “Medium” (8 p.m. and 9 p.m., NBC) is at once much more preposterous and entirely grounded.

We may not entirely buy into mother-daughter chats about the difficulty of seeing dead people during college-entrance exams, but gosh darn it, Patricia Arquette makes it seem so believable.

Maybe it’s because she’s the only female character on scripted or “reality” television who seems queasy about being showered with expensive clothes, a fancy car and a big salary. And who can blame her? Apparently, her new employer is not merely indifferent to public welfare, but criminally complicit. (Not that any “Real Housewife” from Bravo would mind.)

The second episode features Jeffrey Tambor as a man who may be the recipient of Allison’s spirit after she falls into a coma. Her husband, Joe, has a hard time adjusting to his “new” wife. And who can blame him?

• After a season of teasing, we finally get to see some competitive fireworks between uber-nerds Chloe and Janis on the next-to-last episode of “24” (8 p.m., Fox). I’m not saying it’s been worth the wait, but at least it finally happens.

Meanwhile, Jack’s season of ruminating about torture and racial profiling reaches an apex of sorts when he gets a friendly head-nod from an Imam. It would be a crime to reveal much more except to divulge that Kim is not entirely out of the woods (or out of range of those metaphorical mountain lions).

• It’s interesting to note that AMC’s excellent “Mad Men” (returning this August) is clearly inspired by classic films from the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s — precisely the kind of movies AMC doesn’t show anymore. You’re far more likely to see “Red Dawn” on AMC than “The Red Shoes” or “The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit.”

To see the movies that inspired “Mad Men,” you’ll have to watch Turner Classic Movies, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Clio Advertising Award by broadcasting a marathon of Madison Avenue movies, starting with “The Hucksters” (7 p.m.).

Tonight’s other season finales

• Leonard and Penny take stock on “The Big Bang Theory” (7 p.m., CBS).

• A faux face becomes a federal case on the season finale of “Castle” (9 p.m., ABC).

Tonight’s other highlights

• Danny DeVito appears on “Inside the Actors Studio” (6 p.m., Bravo).

• Gearheads turn everyday vehicles into military machines in the new series “Weaponizers” (8 p.m., Discovery).

• A killer sets his victim on simmer on “CSI: Miami” (9 p.m., CBS).