Game 5 of the NBA Basketball finals between the Heat and the Mavericks (9 p.m., ABC) dominates the dial and unleashes a spate of repeats that may inspire some to work out their remote control with more zeal than usual.

Of course, this is a regular way of life for a large portion of the TV audience. Audiences seem to be divided, mostly by age and habit, between those who view by appointment (either at the regular time or by means of DVR or TIVO) and those who flit from station to station like a bee in search of programming pollen. And isn’t that a nicer way to think of channel surfing?

For those most rooted in their devotion, USA offers three consecutive repeats of “NCIS” (7 p.m. to 10 p.m., USA). Year in and out, “NCIS” remains one of the most consistently watched series on both network and cable.

And that’s not the only chance to catch up with old favorites. TNT offers three repeats of “Bones” (7 p.m. to 10 p.m., TNT). And SYFY serves up three helpings of the durable “Fear Factor” (7 p.m. to 10 p.m., SyFy). Two repeats of “Snapped” (7 p.m., and 8 p.m., Oxygen) lead up to an original (9 p.m.). That’s if you’re not up to six straight episodes of “Reba” (7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Lifetime).

• The late James Arness appears in the 1954 giant bug shocker “Them!” (7 p.m., TCM). For 20 TV seasons, Arness, who died last week at 88, played Marshal Matt Dillon on “Gunsmoke,” making him one of the medium’s most enduring characters. Arness also appeared in “The Thing” (also released as “The Thing from Another World”), director Howard Hawks’ sci-fi classic.

Don’t confuse “Them!” with “Beginning of the End,” a 1957 movie about giant killer grasshoppers. That starred Peter Graves (“Mission Impossible”). Peter Graves, who died last year, was James Arness’ younger brother.

• The investigation of a slain Santa Claus requires Jane to go undercover at an AA meeting on “The Mentalist” (9 p.m., CBS).

• Kurtwood Smith (“That 70s Show”) and Doris Roberts (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) guest star on the anthology romantic comedy series “Love Bites” (9 p.m., NBC).

• Colin Firth won the best actor Oscar for the vastly overrated 2010 biopic “The King’s Speech,” but many people believe it was really a compensation for the fact that he didn’t win for the 2009 drama “A Single Man” (7 p.m., Showtime), adapted from a book by Christopher Isherwood and directed by Tom Ford.

Tonight’s other highlights

• The top 20 dancers emerge as the competition continues for two hours on “So You Think You Can Dance” (7 p.m., Fox). Cat Deeley hosts.

• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (7 p.m., ABC) and “NBA Countdown” (7:30 p.m., ABC) anticipate the big game.

• Attacks by cannibal alligators and vicious hogs make it just another day at the beach for the “Swamp People” (8 p.m., History).