Dennis Hopper Puts The Crazy In Crash

Dennis Hopper returns to premium cable tonight to douse the second season of Crash with some much-needed crazy. As the freaky music producer who was not part of Paul Haggis's film (but would have improved it), Hopper's character navigates L.A.'s racial war-torn streets from the back of his limousine, while engaging his private parts in heated conversations. Although Hopper will be absent from this weekend's Emmy ceremony, we would like to begin his campaign for next season's award now.

Crash [10 PM, Starz]

In tonight's second season premiere, Ben (Dennis Hopper) returns to L.A. after his rehab stint to immerse himself in a murder case. Meanwhile, a billionaire (Eric Roberts) tries to lure an NFL franchise to town and a former baseball star (Jake McLaughlin) attempts to straighten out his life while his mother (Tess Harper) tries to keep her hobby shop out of the red.

Monk [9 PM, USA]

Dylan Baker guest-stars tonight as a critic that is suspected of committing murder after condemning Julie's (Emmy Clarke) performance in a play. Dylan Baker has been on the top of my favorite supporting actor list since I watched him brilliantly gun down a playground in Happiness.

Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson [12:35 AM, CBS]

Guest: Neil Patrick Harris. Warm up for this Sunday's Emmys with the award show host's appearance tonight on Craig Ferguson. Earlier this week, Ferguson managed to stir up some controversy over the Las Vegas custard stand he suggested to Mindy Kaling. Let's see if he can make minor headlines again.

V for Vendetta [10 PM, MTV]

Who knew that MTV's audience was craving a commercial-interrupted dystopian science fiction-thriller? Natalie Portman stars as a young woman who is rescued from a state police-run totalitarian country by a Guy Fawkes-masked vigilante, played by Hugo Weaving. There are few actresses today who can convince audiences they've fallen in love with their captor and even fewer actors who can convey such deep emotion from behind a plastic mask. So enjoy, MTV viewers.