(ALL TIMES ET)

8PM | ANIMAL PLANET – 4TH SEASON PREMIERE
Whale Wars – The Sea Shepherds kick off a new season with a new campaign, aboard a new vessel (the Gojira), as they try to track down and stop two harpoon ships before any whales are killed.

8PM | NBC
Friday Night Lights – Vince’s self-satisfied ‘tude creates problems within the team, while Eric fears he’s losing control of his team and Tammy worries that one of her students isn’t being cared for at home.

9PM | CNBC
The China Question – Filmmaker Brook Silva-Braga takes a look at China’s rise to become the world’s second superpower, and how that will impact the United States.

9PM | NBC
Dateline NBC – Keith Morrison profiles a kidnap victim who’s struggling as she tries to return to her home … 30 years later.

9 and 9:30PM | TLC
Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss – A bride who’s getting married at Disney World is on the hunt for a gown that will make her feel, and look, like Cinderella, while another bride, who’s 6-feet-tall, is afraid she’ll never find a pretty dress for her big day.

10PM | FOOD NETWORK
Outrageous Food – Tom works with one of the largest grills made, a 27-ton cooker.

10PM | HBO
Real Time With Bill Maher – Larry King is on the panel, while funny guy Adam McKay is an interview guest.

10PM | DISCOVERY
Swamp Brothers – The fellas have to throw up a croc block when one of the male gators escapes from his pen so he can make a booty call to one of the lady crocs.

Worth flipping to during commercials:
– A gunman takes a restaurant full of people hostage when he becomes convinced the eatery’s owner is a terrorist on Flashpoint (8PM, CBS);
– It’s a real Situation when a Jersey Shore fan wants a boardwalk-themed room on Man Caves (8PM, DIY);
– The Whale Wars: Road to the Showdown special (8PM, Animal Planet) includes highlights from the show’s first three seasons;
– See how instant film is made on How It’s Made (9PM, Science);
– Childrens Hospital star Rob Corddry is interviewed on InfoMania (9PM, Current);
– When Jamie is banned from serving food at a local high school, he tries to persuade the students to fight the decision by showing them what’s in the food they are eating on the return of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (9PM, ABC);
– There’s a freeze on in Florida, so Stuart and the guys continue hunting creatures in Puerto Rico on Python Hunters (9PM, Nat Geo Wild);
– Joel McHale and the gang dish up another snarkalicious bowl of The Soup (10PM, E!);
– “Baby Traits” and “Horse Announcer” are among the skits on tonight’s Whitest Kids U’Know (10:30, IFC);
– My Morning Jacket performs a few tunes, and explains the stories behind them, on a new Storytellers (11PM, VH1).

And the late-night line-up:
– The Late Show with David Letterman (11:35PM, CBS): Alec Baldwin (REPEAT);
– The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (11:35PM, NBC): Lindsay Lohan (REPEAT);
– Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05AM, ABC): Mike Tyson and Christina Aguilera (REPEAT);
– Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35AM, NBC): Chris Colfer, Kristen Wiig and Lenny Kravitz (REPEAT);
– The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:37AM, CBS): Carla Gugino;
– Last Call with Carson Daly (1:35AM, NBC): Mike Mills (REPEAT).

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• Filed in Late Night, TV Picks
• Tags: Friday Night Lights, Outrageous Food, Real Time With Bill Maher, Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss, Swamp Brothers, Whale Wars season 4 premiere