TONIGHT'S MUST-SEES

"Coco Chanel," 8 p.m., Lifetime. Steeply ambitious, this film offers four decades of a revolutionary fashion designer. Director Christian Duguay captures a beautiful period look. Shirley MacLaine is top-billed, playing the tart, Chanel, during a comeback in her mid-60s. Still, most of the film flashes back to catch Barbora Bobulova as the young Coco. Bobulova — in one of her first English-language roles — is radiant and moving. She also faces the film's main flaw: It spends too much time on a hapless love story, not enough on the rest of a compelling life.

"Saturday Night Live" season-opener, 10:29 p.m., NBC. With an election year to satirize, this show is in a hurry. It starts early and will do four straight Saturdays, and then borrow a prime-time half-hour on three Thursdays. There's more than politics to mock, though. Tonight's host is Olympic star Michael Phelps, with music by Lil Wayne.

OF NOTE

"Primeval," 3 p.m., BBC America (Oceanic Digital Channel 341); repeats at 6 and 9 p.m. In a strong and pivotal episode, Nick's wife Helen is back. We learn more about her nature and about all these scary creatures, which might not be from the past after all. And the final minute brings a fresh shock.

"NCIS," 7 p.m., CBS. Ducky is simply working on a research cadaver when he concludes there's been a murder.

"Chuck," 7 p.m., NBC. Chuck never thought there would be two beauties in his life. Now he's dating a gorgeous sandwich-maker (Rachel Bilson of "The O.C."). Sarah, the secret agent who was his fake girlfriend, may be jealous.

"True Blood," 7 p.m., HBO. If you missed the terrific opener, catch it before the second episode airs tomorrow. Alternately witty and pensive, violent and sexual, it's set a tad in the future, when synthetic blood allows vampires to come out of the closet.

"Law & Order: Criminal Intent," 8 and 9 p.m., NBC. In the first rerun, Logan and Wheeler scramble to prevent the assassination of a political activist who was exiled to the U.S. In the second, a community is filled with suspects when a disliked man is killed.