Tonight's TV Hot List: Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010

The Simpsons
8/7c Fox
Bart shows uncharacteristic compassion in nursing a wounded pigeon back to health, but the Simpson family dog, Santa's Little Helper, displays only instinct in his attitude toward the winged creature. IndyCar star Danica Patrick has a voice cameo as herself in one of Homer's dreams, and Rachel Weisz lends her voice to a therapist trying to help Bart work through his pet issues. — Fred Mitchell

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The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation8/7c ABC Family Heroic family canine Zeus (voice of Mario Lopez) is back in this sequel to last year's The Dog Who Saved Christmas, and in this outing he has an ever more challenging crime to stop: a dog-napping! The victim is Uncle Randy's aloof poodle Bella (voice of Paris Hilton), whom Zeus has fallen for while on a family holiday vacation. Bella's new dog collar contains some priceless diamonds that two very familiar thieves (Dean Cain and Joey Diaz) covet, so they snatch her to get the jewels. — Jennifer SankowskiSunday Night Football8:15/7:15c NBC Prolific passer and audible caller Peyton Manning needs to stay on his toes as the Colts (6-4) take on San Diego in Indianapolis, as the Chargers boast one of the stingiest defenses in the NFL. Entering tonight's game, the Chargers (5-5) lead the league in sacks and have the top pass defense in the NFL. While Indianapolis will have home-field advantage on its side, the Chargers have won four of their last six in Indy, including a playoff victory following the 2008 season. — Kelly McGettigan

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November Christmas9/8c CBS Get out your handkerchiefs. This 2010 Hallmark Hall of Fame holiday heart-stirrer centers on Vanessa (a pitch-perfect Emily Alyn Lind), an 8-year-old girl battling cancer, who moves with her family to a bucolic Rhode Island town. Vanessa's parents (John Corbett, Sarah Paulson) fear she won't live to see Halloween or Christmas, but a local farmer (Sam Elliott) makes it his mission to see that she does, even if that means moving up the holidays. It's an uplifting family film that's guaranteed to open up a tear duct or two. — Tim Holland
Boardwalk Empire9/8c HBO Arnold Rothstein may have gained the upper hand in his feud with Nucky, but the Atlantic City boss is not going down without a fight, and there are two d'Alessio corpses to prove it. But while waiting for the New York gangster's next move, Nucky must turn his attention to local affairs, and with the election coming, it's not a moment too soon to clean house. Meanwhile, Jimmy's family tree reveals some shocking roots, but it's Angela who's really going out on a limb for a change of scenery. — Joe Friederich

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Soul Train Awards9/8c BET Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson return for another round as hosts of this year's Soul Train Awards. Soul legends Anita Baker and Ron Isley receive special honors during the ceremony, which opens with a special performance by R. Kelly. Also taking the stage are Bruno Mars, Cee-Lo, Erykah Badu, Faith Evans, Jazmine Sullivan, Keyshia Cole, Chante Moore, Dionne Farris, El DeBarge, Eric Benet, Erykah Badu, Ne-Yo, Peabo Bryson and Jeffrey Osborne. — Brie HearnBridalplasty9/8c E! Viewers will likely be divided over whether the idea behind this new reality competition series is sick or brilliant. Twelve brides-to-be (actually, 10; two are already married) compete in wedding-themed challenges for a chance to win an all-expenses-paid dream wedding. Sounds pretty normal, right? But the disgusting or genius part is that the ladies also compete each week to win plastic-surgery procedures so they can be "perfect" brides. In the opener, the ditzy dozen move into a mansion, where each one creates a plastic-surgery wish list before taking part in their first challenge that enables the top 10 to attend an "injectables" party where they vote out one of the two contest losers. — Tim Holland