TV for the time-pressed: One show per night

Even the most dedicated TV watcher has limited time to devote to shows. People have these little things called "lives," you see, which require real maintenance, and can't always be lived from a spot on the couch.

With that in mind, we've chosen the one single best show airing each night, from Sunday through Friday. We left out Saturday — nothing to tune in to worth noting unless you're a “Cops” fanatic, and really, don't we all need one night to stay tube-free?

Spend Sunday night on the gridiron
Are you ready for some football? NBC sure is. After kvetching for years about how pro sports contracts were too expensive and a money-losing proposition, the network reversed course and ponied up $600 million for each season of the Sunday-night NFL rights package. The series is going by the name "Football Night in America," not to be confused with "Hockey Night in Canada."

While it’s true that there’s enough college ball on Saturday and pros on Sunday morning and afternoon to satiate even the most devout fan, a primetime game always has the feel of a big event. That’s especially relevant now, since the NFL gave NBC latitude to schedule playoff-contending teams late in the season.

Is football important to a network schedule? Feel free to ask ABC, which saw its “Monday Night Football” franchise drop-kick itself into the top 10 for about 30 years or so. Not only will NBC land the hardcore gambler here but the network will capture the casual fan as well, especially with John Madden and Al Michaels moving over from ABC. Call this must-see pigskin TV.

Live, from Aaron Sorkin, it's Monday night at ‘Studio 60’
“The West Wing” may be over, but Aaron Sorkin is back. For those who couldn’t get enough of Sorkin’s unique brand of highbrow hallway bantering, tune in to “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.” The series is a behind-the-scenes look at a “Saturday Night Live”-type variety show that's on its creative last legs — much like the real “SNL,” some would say.

After the executive producer (Judd Hirsch) stops a lame skit and goes in front of the camera to give a rambling “Network”-style speech on the abysmal quality of TV, he’s booted out, and new network entertainment president Amanda Peet brings in Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford's characters to run the show.

Knowing Sorkin’s track record — “The West Wing,” Sports Night,” “The American President,” “A Few Good Men” — there’s very little doubt whether or not “Studio 60” will be good.  The question, rather, will be do most viewers really care about the drama of making television. Here’s betting that in a timeslot not exactly brimming with intellectually stimulating shows (“What About Brian,” “CSI: Miami”), “Studio 60” settles in nicely.

Crime can pay on Tuesday ‘Knights’
Crime doesn’t pay, yet it can produce laughs. Such is the case with ABC’s “The Knights of Prosperity,” about a down-and-out, underachieving janitor (Donal Logue) who channel-surfs into a show showcasing the spacious Manhattan digs of the Rolling Stones’ legendary front man Mick Jagger. Realizing cleaning toilets will never make him get rich, Logue's character recruits a goofy band of misfits and assembles a scheme to rob Jagger’s pad.

The pilot doesn’t begin with a bellyful of laughs, but once Logue (“Grounded for Life”) and his cohorts plan their caper, the chuckles begin in earnest, and there’s a sweet feeling that overtakes the proceedings.

“Prosperity” was created by Rob Burnett and Jon Beckerman, the guys behind another charmer, “Ed.” Replace the bowling alley with Jagger’s apartment, and this one just might rob the competition.