Tonight's TV Hot List: Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Rescue Me
10/9c FX
When last we saw Tommy Gavin, he was bleeding out after Teddy shot him. You might not be surprised to learn that he survived, but it was touch-and-go, as you'll discover in tonight's Season 6 premiere. In fact, Tommy was clinically dead long enough to see his afterlife, and you can imagine where he was heading. Things on Earth aren't much better. For starters, no one will let him drink. And the shooting put the firehouse in the spotlight, and not in a good way. Incidentally, there'll be a Season 7 next year, with the series ending 10 years after 9/11. — Paul Droesch
World Cup Soccer
9:30 a.m./8:30c ESPN
New ground will be broken for either Japan or Paraguay in a surprise round-of-16 matchup of teams that have never made the quarterfinals. Manager Takeshi Okada's "Blue Samurai" are seemingly playing with house chips at this point after not only winning Cup games for the first time outside of Asia, but doing so with style against Denmark on exquisite free-kick goals by Yasuhito Endo and Keisuke Honda. Paraguay presents a step up in class, however, and has played with purpose in honoring injured forward Salvador Cabanas, who was shot in the head in January. — Roger Leister
Wipeout
8/7c ABC
The brutal pratfalls and snarky trash-talk narration of the hosts have made this show a guilty pleasure for many and a smash summer hit. This week's 24 energetic contestants will test their moxie against an array of obstacles that include Fling Set, Trampoline Sweeper and Big Soccer Balls (in a nod to World Cup play in South Africa). While 23 of them will wipe out, there's $50,000 in it for that last competitor. — Fred Mitchell
Deadliest Catch
9/8c Discovery
Bad: You suffer an injury that forces you to reach for the first aid kit. Worse: Your emergency is so critical you need to be airlifted to a medical facility. Things go from bad to worse for Capt. Phil Harris as his condition warrants a flight to Anchorage. Meanwhile, on the Time Bandit, Capt. Andy Hillstrand makes the crew jealous by training a young deckhand to be a relief skipper. — Michael Chant
The Hills
10/9c MTV
Just as the series is winding down, it's starting to get good again, thanks in no small part to the recent absence of Speidi and their nauseating made-for-TV drama. Tonight's show marks the 100th episode of the series, and it finds the crew (minus the aforementioned terrible twosome) in Costa Rica for a guys-and-girls surf trip. There's love (and lust) in the air when a newly single Audrina reconnects with Justin in the tropical paradise, and there's a local bartender who catches Kristin's eye, which makes Brody just a tad jealous. — Karen Andzejewicz
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List
10/9c Bravo
It's the big chill for Kathy when she journeys north to Alaska for a stand-up gig. But it soon gets hot in this cold land when our sharp-tongued heroine meets up with her celeb friend, Levi Johnston — Alaska denizen, Playgirl model and Palin-family drama-magnet. These unlikely pals take part in a dual bookstore-signing gig, then visit two gay bars. Kathy is also all bark and pure bite when she hosts a dog-sledding event. — Dean Maurer
Louie
11:01/10:01c FX
The last time comic Louis C.K. played a TV dad, he was a working-class schlub in the 2006 HBO sitcom "Lucky Louie." It lasted two months. Here he's playing a newly single stand-up comic with two daughters, sort of a TV version of himself. Whether Louis C.K. will be luckier this time remains to be seen, but Louie No. 2 has no luck in the opener, in which he volunteers for his kids' field trip, then goes on a first date. You can decide which goes worse. In the second episode (airing immediately after the first), his divorce becomes final. — Paul Droesch