Poor standards
If anyone can help us make sense out of this (Standard and) Poor mess we've gotten ourselves into, it's syndicated columnists turned sharp talking heads David Brooks and Mark Shields on "PBS Newshour" (6 p.m., PBS), which is usually hosted by semi-retired Jim Lehrer on Fridays.
Tom terrific
Remember when Tom Cruise had a run of must-see movies back in the 1980s? In 1986's "Top Gun" (7 p.m. AMC), he plays a Navy fighter pilot who romances his instructor (Kelly McGillis). He's surrounded by a top cast in this Tony Scott-directed flick -- Tim Robbins, Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan and especially Anthony Edwards -- and a best-selling soundtrack, featuring Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone" and Berlin's Oscar-winning "Take My Breath Away."
Carnie-okie
"American Idol" may pretend to be more than glorified karaoke but there's no shying away from the subject on "Karaoke Battle USA" (8 p.m., ABC). And you know this show is aiming for the middlebrow, with singers-turned-reality-show stars all over the place -- host Joey Fatone of 'N Sync and "The Singing Bee" fame and judge Carnie Wilson of Wilson Phillips and "Unstapled" fame. Let's hope we don't hear "Sweet Caroline" every week.
