The dream is dead for Cloris Leachman, but the capital-H Hope for a brighter day in America through brightly-colored, quirky, hour-long Lee Pace vehicles remains. WATCH Pushing Daisies [8 PM, ABC] - Newly-injected gay icon Stephen Root guest stars this week as a Pie Hole patron who has questions about Ned's father. Meanwhile, Emerson (Chi McBride) gets to the bottom of a murder at a Chinese restaurant. Big ups to ABC for not airing the Barack Obama infomercial so that we can get our fantasy-dramedy-baked goods fix.

Friday Night Lights [9 PM, The 101 - DirecTV] - On tonight's interruption-free episode. Matt (Zach Gilford) starts freaking out because of McCoy stealing his spotlight. This embattled series is playing only on DirecTV for now (it actually premieres on NBC in February), so we make the journey down the hall of our apartment complex once a week and trade MGD 64's for use of this cinematographer kid's dish. TiVo Barack Obama: American Stories [8 PM, Fox/CBS/NBC] - We're all for more politician-related programming (The Barney Frank Experience? Easy Entrees with Nancy Pelosi?) on television, but Pushing Daisies needs our help more than Obama right now. Be warned: that MP lit trainee with the anti-Prop 8 sign on his cubicle will be mad at you for not watching this, so do a quick scan before beddy-bye.

Late Show with David Letterman [11:35 PM, CBS] & Late Night With Conan O'Brien [12:35, NBC] - The 30 Rock push continues (Tina Fey was on Conan last night) as Alec Baldwin visits Dave and Tracy Morgan does his best not to stab anyone or fall asleep on the Tonight Show-heir's boxy chair. Hopefully, Dr. Spaceman called in a refill. KILL

Private Practice [9 PM, ABC] - To figure out who will run the practice, Sam (Taye Diggs) and Naomi (Audra McDonald) stage an intra-office election. Addison (Kate Walsh) treats an Afghani girl with a questionable background. Everything is complicated by everyone fucking everyone. Six for the Road [10 PM, TLC] - Here's a new series that follows a six-member LDS family who sell all their shit and go on an RV trip across America. In tonight's premiere episode, parents Vern and Kati Loud assign the kids their first two home-school assignments: dissect a frog and run a fireworks stand. This might have been a decent series around the dawn of the automobile, but now it just smacks of desperation. Why do all the shows about rich, Mayflower-blooded East coast families have to be fictional? We'd give those a try. Also, "six for the road" is something creepy alcoholics jokingly say when they're buying beers at the gas station.