TV critic Mike Hughes offers these recommendations for tonight's small screen options:

TONIGHT'S MUST-TRY

"Dollhouse," 8:01 p.m., Fox.

Last week's debut seemed out of place. Viewers were sort of dumped into the middle of a story.

Now the show backs up to where it should have begun. We learn about the "dolls," with memories and personalities wiped clean, so new traits can be injected before each job. We learn of an overall villain, Alpha. And we see a new handler (Harry Lennix), here to work with Echo (Eliza Dushku).

There are huge flaws here. Since Echo has no character of her own, "Dollhouse" seems vacant and soul-less. And tonight's prime villain is absurd.

Still, Dushku is a terrific actress, moving seamlessly between personalities. "Dollhouse" is fresh, distinctive, visually arresting; in its second week, it's finally at the beginning.

TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE

"Friday Night Lights," 8 p.m., NBC.

The school's new star quarterback, J.D. McCoy, is a freshman, a nervous kid in a prime athlete's body. Now the team captain, Tim Riggins, is supposed to befriend him; that escalates.

This hour includes fresh insights into Tyra, the former slacker who rejects the dead-end life her sister has. Then the final few minutes are filled with understated passion.

There are key moments for Matt Saracen, the quarterback J.D. replaced. And for Jason Street, the quarterback (now paralyzed) before them. At times like this, "Friday Night Lights" is one of the best shows on TV.

TONIGHT'S ALTERNATIVE

"Mistresses" debut, 8 p.m., BBC America (Oceanic Digital 341); repeats at 9 and 11 p.m.

The title suggests an overwrought soap opera, but the show is something else. It's a beautifully acted portrait of four women with complex lives.

Katie (Sarah Parish) is a doctor, in a sweet affair with a dying patient. Siobhan (Orla Brady) is a lawyer whose marriage has drifted into a cold obsession with fertility. Jessica (the beautiful Shelley Conn) is an event-planner who seems happy in her bed-hopping life.

Then there's Trudi, played by Sharon Small, known to Americans from PBS' "Inspector Lynley Mysteries." She still won't accept the fact that her husband was killed in the Sept. 11 attacks.