Science guys

Bob Newhart, who won his first Emmy this year for guest-starring on "The Big Bang Theory" (7 p.m., WCCO, Ch. 4), reprises his role as Professor Proton on the hit sitcom, which will also feature Bill Nye the Science Guy. If Albert Einstein were still around, he'd probably hang out with Leonard and Sheldon as well.

Jail break

James Lipton, who played Warden Stefan Gentiles on "Arrested Development," reunites with his cast mates for a new edition of "Inside the Actors Studio" (7 p.m., Bravo) in which creator Mitch Hurwitz explains why Lipton was one of his dream guest stars.

Ave Maria

Get a sneak peek at Duluth's own Maria Bamford before her performances at Acme Comedy Co. Nov. 19-23. The University of Minnesota grad is the featured guest on "Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell" (10 p.m., FXX), which, in my biased opinion, is shaping up to be one of late night's best offerings.

Neal Justin