While outlandish on its surface, the new legal drama “Outlaw” (9 p.m., NBC) is actually shot through with nostalgia for a time when both lawyers and TV dramas seemed to fight the good fight and distinguish between the good guys and the bad.

Jimmy Smits stars as Supreme Court Justice Cyrus Garza. The son of a late crusading liberal, Garza has become the court’s leading conservative. He’s also a playboy and a gambler. The notion of a man in his position as an oversexed player may seem a tad preposterous, but not if you actually read the biographies of some of America’s statesmen and leaders dating back to the founding fathers.

For reasons not adequately explained, Garza has a change of heart and surprises his brethren by voting to save a condemned man from execution. He goes on to shock everyone by announcing his resignation and intention to fight for the rights of the condemned and the oppressed. This earns him the ire of the limousine-riding big shots who claim to have put him on the bench to do their bidding. They’re more than a little upset; they threaten his life.

Burdened with so much duty, Smits’ character seems reduced to two notes. Glib, inappropriate flirtation gives way to ennobling speechifying and not much else. The supporting cast are also reduced to type: the loyal friend; the ditzy but brilliant blonde; the “bad girl” private investigator capable of outshocking Garza; and the conservative clerk who appears to be following his boss’ moral and ideological trajectory.

For all of its faults, “Outlaw” is fun. It ain’t “The West Wing” and doesn’t even try to be. But it’s blessedly free of trips to morgues or consultations with psychics. And it’s more outlandish than the by-the-books police procedural. It should get better when the bad guys come out of the woodwork and try to make Garza pay for betraying their cause and their bottom line.

• “America’s Got Talent” (7 p.m., NBC) wraps up season five with a two-hour finale. The choice comes down to four very different acts. It’s the 10-year-old opera singer Jackie Evancho, the Vegas-ready stage act Fighting Gravity, pop singer Michael Grimm and, of course, Prince Poppycock, who looks like he walked off the set of Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette.” As the cliche goes, everyone’s a winner at this point. And besides, what has become of last year’s winner, Kevin Skinner?

• 2010 is quickly becoming the year of the cupcake. No fewer than four cable series seem dedicated to cakes and confections. Add “Top Chef Just Desserts” (10 p.m., Bravo) to the heap. Cake construction seems better suited to television, as it puts more emphasis on the visual than the gastronomic. But watching the judges eat one sweet after another left me a tad queasy.

Tonight’s other highlights

• “Survivor” (7 p.m., CBS) begins its 21st season in Nicaragua. Wake me up when they go to the moon.

• A winner emerges on the season-one finale of “MasterChef” (7 p.m., Fox). A second season has been announced.

• “Big Brother 12” (8 p.m., CBS) concludes.

• A family portrait falls out of focus on “Modern Family” (8 p.m., ABC).

• Jealousy on “Castle” (9 p.m., ABC).

• Hank and Brett work as bounty hunters on “Terriers” (9 p.m., FX).

• “Sci Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible” (9 p.m., Science) mulls the construction of a new solar system.