TV tonight: '24'

A week before the finale, crises pile up.

Tony Almaeda (Carlos Bernard) - once good, now evil - is helping plant a poison-gas bomb on a Washington subway, with a dupe framed to be the suspect.

Meanwhile, the president's daughter scrambles. She had considered killing the nasty Hodges, then changed her mind; her colleagues did it anyway and she's entangled.

Jack Bauer could save the day - he's already rescued the dupe's hostage brother - but it's tough. At headquarters, two techies (Mary Lynn Rajskub and Janeane Garofalo) snipe at each other. Also, Jack's daughter Kim is still around and available to be kidnapped yet again.

Unfolding tonight is a typical "24" episode - taut, compelling, wildly unbelievable, yet addictive. It sets up what could be a big finish.

PBS documentary series continues

TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE II: "American Experience: We Shall Remain" conclusion, 9-10:30 p.m., Channel 23 (PBS).

The first four chapters of this well-crafted documentary series showed American Indians losing turf to the European newcomers. Now we see a modern attempt to fight back.

Some 200 people - Oglala Lakota, linking with activists in the American Indian Movement - took over the Wounded Knee hamlet in South Dakota, holding it for 71 days. This was perfect timing (the White House was preoccupied with Watergate) and location; near the spot where the Cavalry had killed hundreds of Lakota men, women and children in 1890, the protesters drew public support.

This documentary looks back at the 20th-century efforts to strip Indian culture. It also sees the takeover as a starting point for modern rethinking.

Other choices

• "Dancing With the Stars," 8-9:32 p.m., Channel 53 (ABC). On consecutive weeks, the Hough siblings were ousted. First was Julianne, with her celebrity partner (and boyfriend) Chuck Wicks; last week was Derek, with Lil' Kim. That leaves four celebrities, a week before the finale - rodeo star Ty Murray, Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson, actor Giles Marini and Melissa Rycroft, a fan favorite after being selected and dumped by "The Bachelor."

• "House," 8 p.m., Channel 47 (Fox). In the season finale, staffers are bewildered by a patient whose left brain and right brain seem to work independently. Meanwhile, Cuddy decides to punish Dr. House for spending too much time away from the clinic; she makes him treat a difficult patient, played by Carl Reiner.

• "The Big Bang Theory," 8 p.m., Channel 6 (CBS). In the season finale, the guys train for a science mission in Antarctica. Complicating that is the fall-out since Penny accidentally said Leonard's name while kissing someone else.

• "How I Met Your Mother," 8:30 p.m., CBS. We last saw Tony and Stella when they suddenly ran off together, just before she was going to marry Ted. Now Tony, guilt-ridden, helps Ted get a job; there are aftershocks.

• "Two and a Half Men 1-5 dvd box set," 9 p.m., CBS. Now that Charlie's fiancee has moved in, she's befriending his brother Alan. Charlie takes advantage of the situation.

• "Medium," 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., Channel 10 (NBC). First, in the conclusion of a two-parter, Allison's new corporate job forbids her from sharing her visions with officials; she's desperate to share possible information about a serial killer. Then comes an hour with an odd twist: Allison is in a coma and her soul seems to be in the body of a man (Jeffrey Tambor) who moves in with her husband.

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