Tonight's TV Hot List: Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010

Hot in Cleveland
10/9c TV Land
With impressive ratings, a slew of notable guest stars and Hollywood's current octogenarian "it girl," Betty White, leading the way, this sitcom took TV land by storm, and earned a second-season renewal (of 20 episodes) barely halfway through its first. Speaking of storms, tonight's Season 1 finale cooks up a doozy as a tornado churns through Ohio, and Melanie, Joy and Victoria are thunderstruck when the only safe shelter they can find is Elka's secret room in the cellar. — Joe Friedrich
America's Got Talent
9/8c NBC
The twisting-and-turning talent competition continues to grab ratings while forging some new ground. Last week, an experimental YouTube arc featured acts from the video-sharing website displaying their showy talents, and last night's unique show was slated to present 12 previously eliminated acts in a wild-card edition. With the $1 million prize dangling in front of them and the semifinal round beginning next week, these wild-card performers learn their fates in tonight's results show — and only four winners will advance. Rounding out the episode are performances by country songstress LeAnn Rimes and illusionist Criss Angel. — Dean Maurer
Ghost Hunters International
9/8c Syfy
Of all the reasons one might hop on a plane to visit the Caribbean islands, we suspect "to snoop around dark, decrepit places with night-vision cameras" is probably on the bottom of the list. For the Season 2 finale, the team goes trawling for ghostly pirates, who probably won't be as amusing as that Johnny Depp guy. — Michael Chant
Little League Softball World Series
7/6c ESPN2
The Little League softball equivalent of Williamsport, Pa., is clear across the country in scenic Portland, Ore., where two teams of 11-to-12-year-old girls hope to shake off the national-TV jitters in tonight's championship game. Six U.S. and three international teams began the tournament, with defending champ Warner Robins, Ga., figuring most prominently as they chased the first repeat title since the girls of mighty Midway (Texas) won 11 of 13 crowns from 1992 to 2004. — Roger Leister
Live From Lincoln Center
8/9c PBS
Who hasn't wanted to wash that man (or woman) right outta their hair? This enchanted evening features the Lincoln Center Theater's Tony Award-winning revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific," about a WWII nurse (Kelli O'Hara) whose love for a French plantation owner (Paulo Szot) — a proverbial "Wonderful Guy" — is nearly crushed by her own prejudices. As one of the songs goes, "there is nothin' you can name that is anythin' like a dame." There's nothing like a great musical, either. — Jeff Gemmill
Surviving the Cut
10/9c Discovery
Think you're tough? Really tough? Well, OK, maybe you are, but you may not feel so tough after watching the premiere of this series. Tune in for a look at what candidates go through at the U.S. Army Ranger School, where instructors weed out "soldiers who are not fully prepared for the fight of their lives" with grueling 20-hour missions. — Michael Chant
She's Got the Look
10:30/9:30c TV Land
The reality competition that gives women 35 and over a chance to become models — with a Wilhelmina modeling contract and a photo spread in Self magazine — begins its third season. After moving into a loft in Los Angeles, the 10 contestants get ready for their first challenge: a photo shoot in bikinis. But these women aren't the only new faces this time around, as Brooke Burke takes over as host, and supermodel Roshumba Williams joins Sean Patterson and Robert Verdi on the judges' panel. — Joe Friedrich