Hearts, flowers and football

With Valentine’s Day arriving, ABC News turns to matters of the heart. Make that heart attacks. “A Barbara Walters Special: A Matter of Life and Death” (9 p.m., ABC) includes interviews with celebrities and notables about their experiences with open heart surgery. Robin Williams calls this group the “brotherhood of the cracked chest club.”

Interviews with Williams, President Bill Clinton, David Letterman, Regis Philbin and Charlie Rose reveal very different men and their paths to near total heart disease and recovery. The side effects are often as emotionally draining as physically debilitating. “I would find myself busting into tears and sobbing uncontrollably,” recalls Letterman, a man not given to discussing his emotions in public.

While all of the notables interviewed here are men, heart disease and the more than half a million open-heart surgeries performed annually are not limited to the male gender. Heart surgeon Dr. Kathy Magliato tells Walters, “It’s astounding that people think that heart disease is a disease of men, when in fact, it kills more women.”

• Produced by Lisa Kudrow (“Friends”) “Who Do You Think You Are?” (7 p.m., NBC) returns for a second season. In the series, well-known celebrities trace their genealogical roots, discovering stories of inspiration and historical significance in the family tree. The season kicks off with Vanessa Williams and will feature Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Rosie O’Donnell, Steve Buscemi, Kim Cattrall, Lionel Richie and Ashley Judd in the coming weeks.

• Competing Super Bowl rivals may change from season to season, but TV advertisements remain the star of the show. “Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials 2011” (8 p.m., CBS) looks back at some of the favorite spots as chosen by online ballot. Jim Nantz and Lara Spencer host.

• The Hallmark Channel anticipates Valentine’s Day with a 10-night movie countdown. Tonight’s offering, “A Valentine’s Date” (8 p.m., Hallmark), stars Elisa Donovan, Brad Rowe, Tom Skerritt, John Schneider, Tracey Gold and Fred Willard.

• HBO also looks forward to the big game by repeating “Lombardi” (5:30 p.m., HBO) a 2010 documentary profile of the coach who led the Green Bay Packers to victories in the very first two Super Bowl Games in 1967 and 1968. As I noted in my review of the film last year, “Lombardi” is more than a football film, it offers a “fascinating glance at male attitudes and behavior from the ‘Mad Men’ era.”

Tonight’s other highlights

• An old pal needs to prove his innocence on “NCIS: Los Angeles” (7 p.m., CBS).

• A Queens, N.Y., steakhouse gets an extreme makeover on “Kitchen Nightmares” (7 p.m., Fox).

• A blue powder brings deadly symptoms on “Fringe” (8 p.m., Fox).

• Evidence of a party gone mad ends up in the bottom of the river on “CSI: NY” (9 p.m., CBS).

• An outside expert arrives on “Gold Rush: Alaska” (9 p.m., Discovery).

• Scandals galore on the parody series “The Onion News Network” (9 p.m., IFC), preceded by two repeats (8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.).

• Batiatus’ fortunes rise and fall on “Spartacus: Gods of the Arena” (9 p.m., Starz).