It’s that time again. “American Idol” (7 p.m., Fox) comes down to its final four contestants, so it’s time to pay attention. Even if the show does seem to have been placed on some kind of tranquilizer.

Much has been made of the new “nice” atmosphere. It’s almost as if “Idol” has been retooled so as not to discomfort somebody’s idea of the younger generation. According to some experts, this is a demographic that has been encouraged, pampered, and praised since birth and threatens to go into allergic shock if exposed to a milligram of criticism.

The “judging” process has been restructured in order to tiptoe around eggshell egos. Last week after Randy, Jennifer and Steven dutifully delivered their daily affirmations, mentor Jimmy Iovine turned to the camera (not the contestants) and in a rather subdued voice delivered some long-overdue evaluations. It was like a private parent-teacher conference.

Personally, I give the kids more credit than the judges. I still believe young people have a great talent for seeing through an obvious snow job. When Randy praised James Durbin for an “emotionally perfect” performance, you could almost read the subtitles flashing, “Kid, you were a mess and you’re relying on your painful back story for audience sympathy.” And when the judges told Lauren Alaina that they had no criticism of her performance, she had to know they were really dismissing her.

Last week’s bottom two consisted of Jacob Lusk, endowed with perhaps too much talent for a single voice — or too many voices for a single talent — and Alaina, a fresh-faced teen all but embalmed by the hair and makeup people. Naturally, the fans chose the lesser talent.

For what it’s worth, I predict that Alaina will depart next week, followed by Durbin, leaving Scotty McCreery and Haley Reinhart in the finale.

Of those two, McCreery is certainly more interesting, if only because his voice and delivery seem so deep, so adult, so retro and above all, so out of sync with his baby face. At times, it almost seems as if he’s being dubbed.

One person not being dubbed is Steven Tyler. He can still be relied upon to deliver excruciating banalities every time he opens his mouth. And with his frazzled hair, random feathers and exotic get-up, he resembles some comedic Indian chief from a pre-politically correct movie or TV show. I call him Sitting Bore.

Tonight’s other highlights

• A shift in parenting roles on “Modern Family” (8 p.m., ABC).

• “MythBusters” (8 p.m., Discovery) looks at movie sound effects.

• A secret source and a secret sauce on “Breaking In” (8:30 p.m., Fox).

• A kidnapper grabs the daughter of the FBI director on “Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior” (9 p.m., CBS).

• A mother (Rita Wilson) defends her frisky son’s peculiar behavior on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (9 p.m., NBC).

• Directed by Mel Gibson (“The Beaver”), the 2004 drama “The Passion of the Christ” (9 p.m., TBN) offers an ultra-violent mediation on the story of the crucifixion.