For those without cable, though, (and those who do), it’s hard to beat the superb tone and mystery each week in Kenneth Branagh’s “Wallander” series, certainly a highlight of his distinguished career.
If things were unsettling in Sweden, where the mysteries are set (or strange in that most Swedish people speak with English accents), things get far more puzzling as he is drawn into a case in Riga, Latvia. There, the uncertainty of gangs, official spying and brutal deaths are difficult for even Branagh’s Kurt Wallander to figure out. But it’s one of the only opportunities to see a mystery play out before the foreign landscape of Riga and unlike serial dramas, satisfying on a weekly basis. “The Dogs of Riga” is the second of three new “Wallander” stories this fall on “Masterpiece Mystery” (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings).
Expect prime time dominance by Lions at 49ers (NBC, 8 p.m.) in Sunday Night Football, sollowing such games earlier in the day as Ravens at Eagles (CBS, 1 p.m.), Jets at Steelers (CBS, 4 p.m.) and Washington at Rams (Fox, 4 p.m.).
Just Ian, Dan and Danielle are left on “Big Brother” (CBS, 8 p.m.), but after tonight there will only be two for Wednesday’s finale.
As fascinating as space exploration can be, there are parts of the planet that are still little known, so an ocean explorer takes the plunge in “Alien Deep with Bob Ballard” (National Geographic, 7 p.m.) which uses the technology he used to rediscover the Titanic in a five part series, three of hem airing tonight, starting with the underwater volcanoes of Hawaii.
Most reality shows are succumbing to the celebrity version, from “The Apprentice” to “Top Chef.” But “Celebrity Rehab” goes the opposite way, becoming suddenly “Rehab with Dr. Drew” (VH1, 8 p.m.) . It’s the same staff and treatment, but nobody being treated will have any IMDB credits.
Because he has survived, Les Stroud is able to recount past exploits in “Survivorman’s Top 10” (Discovery, 8 p.m.).
It’s a smorgasbord for other creatures when a hippopotamus dies in Zambia. We see who comes up for a bite in “Eating Giants: Hippo” (Animal Planet, 10 p.m.).
Stephen Colbert is the interviewee on “Oprah’s Next Chapter” (OWN, 9 p.m.).
“Downton Abby” won’t be back until midseason; fans should familiarize themselves with the earlier film career of Maggie Smith in “Travels with My Aunt” (TCM, 8 p.m.) and “Love Pain and the Whole Damned Thing” (TCM, 10 p.m.).
Weird to think of an opera done as a silent movie. But here’s Erich von Stroheim’s “The Merry Widow” (TCM, midnight).
“The Crimson Petal and the White” (Encore, 8 p.m. gets replayed in one big four hour gulp.
Sunday Talk
ABC: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice. CBS: Rice, Sen. John McCain, Richard Haass, Council on Foreign Relations; former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk. NBC: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Rice, Reps. Keith Ellison and Peter King, Bob Woodward. CNN: Rice, Netanyahu, Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Fox News: Rice, Rep. Mike Rogers.