Some decades back, folks used to predict that all food preparation would give way to science. Astronauts ate their meals out of tubes, and we were all told that soon our dinners would come in the shape of tiny pills. How convenient.

Well, those predictions were wrong — so much Alice Waters under the bridge — and even Wal-Mart’s gone organic. We’ve come to embrace “slow foods” and seasonal eating. Or have we?

“Marcel’s Quantum Kitchen” (9 p.m., Syfy) follows chef Marcel Vigneron as he prepares unusual dishes using what has become known as “molecular gastronomy.” From what I can gather, this means flash freezing perfectly good ingredients in vats of liquid nitrogen in order to turn them into something dazzling. For the most part, his routine seems much more about spectacle than cuisine — kind of like the knife-wielding waiter at a theme Japanese restaurant chain. After a minute or two, you just want to sit down and eat. And after an episode or two, I was reminded of every mother’s mantra: “Don’t play with your food!”

• New Yorkers-turned-farmers Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell return for a second season of “The Fabulous Beekman Boys” (9 p.m., Planet Green). This season, Josh is getting a tad cranky because he has to go back to Manhattan and toil 80 hours a week in the advertising business just to support the bucolic 19th century farmstead. The hyper-organized Brent (a former staffer for Martha Stewart) establishes a goal that will enable Josh to join him full time. It’s time for the Beekman Farm to clear a million dollars a year.

Looking at the guys chasing goats and llamas for a living, it seems difficult to imagine them clearing that financial hurdle. Then again, farming may not be lucrative but making a television show about farming might just do the trick.

• “Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time” (8 p.m., ABC) offered online voters a chance to choose the best films in a variety of genres as well as their selection for best movie of all time.

OK, is it “Our Time”? Or “All Time”? I’m confused.

To make this all crystal clear, hosts Tom Bergeron and Cynthia McFadden will guide us through a series of other categories, including “Greatest Screen Kiss,” “Most Romantic Screen Couple” and “Greatest Line.”

• “Big Brian the Fortune Seller” (9 p.m., TruTV) is not the first show to celebrate a high-end real-estate agent. Probably not the last.

• DVDs available today include “Marcus Welby, M.D.: The Best of Season 1.”

Tonight’s other highlights

• Gwyneth Paltrow appears, again, on “Glee” (7 p.m., Fox).

• Mrs. X (Lucy Lawless) takes her best shot at the Powells on “No Ordinary Family” (7 p.m., ABC).

• An officer vanishes on “NCIS: Los Angeles” (8 p.m., CBS).

• It’s time to upgrade daycare centers on “Raising Hope” (8 p.m., Fox).

• A drug kingpin needs a divorce lawyer on “The Good Wife” (9 p.m., CBS).

• Adam confronts his new boss on “Parenthood” (9 p.m., NBC).