Jeff Dunham is one of the more commercial ventriloquists today: he performs (and sells out) at large venues, he appeared on Hollywood Squares a few times and he drew over 6 million viewers during his Comedy Central Christmas special last year. While the puppet vignettes in his self-titled series premiering tonight on Comedy Central, won't equal Wondershowzen in off-color cult status appeal or Craig Ferguson cold opens in charming spontaneity, the show stands a chance at besting Jay Leno Show numbers.
The Jeff Dunham Show [9 PM, Comedy Central]
Tonight's series opener features a special appearance by Brooke Hogan and Dunham's popular puppet characters. Peanut goes out on a date, Achmed the Dead Terrorist promotes his DVD promotion, Bubba J visits the gun club and Jeff vents during a therapy session. Reuters described the show as "a complete train wreck" and noted that it will increase audience's appreciation for anything else on television. That can't be so bad, right?
30 Rock [9:30 PM, NBC]
Will Arnett returns in the second episode of the season as Jack's (Alec Baldwin) closeted rival, Devin Banks. Meanwhile, Kenneth (Jack McBrayer) puts in some volunteer hours at the animal shelter. Tracy (Tracy Morgan) and Jenna (Jane Krakowski) pair up to torture Liz (Tina Fey). Hopefully tonight's show will make up for the so-so season premiere, and Tracy's disappointing arc last week.
Ultimate Parkour Challenge [10 PM, MTV]
For those of you that did not catch Michael's foray into Parkour during The Office's season premiere a few weeks ago, ""Wikipedia defines Parkour":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkour as a "physical discipline of French origin in which participants run along a route, attempting to negotiate obstacles in the most efficient way possible." the art, depicted in Casino Royale by Sébastien Foucan, is the source of competition in MTV's reality program tonight. The winner takes home $10,000.
The Addams Family [8 PM, ABC Family]
Celebrate the Halloween season and Vic Mizzy, the composer who penned the theme song to The Addams Family and died Sunday, with a viewing of the big screen adaptation. While the Barry Sonnenfeld adaptation leaves much to be desired, the art direction is eerily similar to Charles Addams' original artwork.