The Ballot Or The Bullet

For the last week or so, the American media elite has been bitterly divided: Should President Obama release classified photos of torture victims? Which young man will reign supreme and take his place alongside Clarkson, Barrino, Studdard and Dunkleman, great talents who had their seasons in the sun and moved on to bigger and better (or smaller and worse) things. We're down to the bottom two Idol contestants. Time to find out which one is the top. (Tomorrow night.)

American Idol [8 PM, Fox]

With sentimental favorite Danny Gokey out of the mix, Adam Lambert is the odds-on frontrunner, as he has been for the entire season. His combination of camp, creativity and pipes give him an edge over dark horse Kris Allen. The finale is usually the best episode of the season, as the performances are mostly decent. We pushed hard for David Archuleta and his crazy dad last season and were let down, so we're not getting emotionally involved in this vote. This is hour one of three of the finale, so strap yourself in.

Glee [9 PM, Fox]

Let the musical performance buzz linger into the 9 PM hour and check out the sneak premiere of this musicomedrama series about a high school glee club. Sure, the second episode won't air until September, but after the pageantry of professional karaoke, a little brightly colored high school innocence could do you some good. This little show that could centers around hot teacher Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) who hopes to reinvigorate his small Midwestern school's glee club. A jock who is unsure whether singing will ruin his butch image is usually a good place to start.

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno [11:35 PM, NBC]

Guests: Terry Bradshaw, piano prodigy Ethan Bortnick, Blink-182. Even if you are a casual Leno watcher, chances are you've seen Terry Bradshaw talking to Jay about a dozen times over the past decade and change. During talk show succession, there's always talk about who is going to have dibs on which guest. Just as Conan will still have first right of refusal on anything Jack White-related, so will Leno with Bradshaw. Are other talk shows beating down the former Steeler's door? No comment.

Barbershop [8 PM, BET]

It's too hard to list all the characters and their various motivations in this slice of a Chicago neighborhood that revolves around the local hair cuttery, but our favorite subplot deals with the Nigerian immigrant Dinka (Leonard Earl Howze) who gets made fun of the entire film while nursing a crush on Terri (Eve). As in all underdog stories, eventually Dinka gets a chance to show his true kente colors.