BEST BETS FOR MONDAY, MAY 05, 2008

	DEAL OR NO DEAL NBC, 8 p.m. ET Okay, so singling out this show as one of the night’s best is stretching things. I’ve been fascinated, though, by how much energy this program has invested in energizing its familiar formula of late. Last week was an all-Star Wars theme show, and tonight’s show borrows elements from international versions of Deal, to show the differences in the productions, the amounts, and even the suitcase-toting ladies.
	HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER CBS, 8:30 p.m. ET It’s not quite the same as landing Britney Spears, but tonight’s show features a special guest star: Will Forte from Saturday Night Live, playing a prospective – but unlikely – replacement for Ted as Barney’s wing man.
	HOUSE Fox, 9 p.m. ET Surprised that House likes to watch soap operas? Surprised that, when watching the hunky doctor who’s the star of “Prescription Passions,” he makes a diagnosis that the leading man (Jason Lewis) has a serious illness? You shouldn’t be. But you will be surprised, probably, by the lengths to which House will go to persuade the actor to become his patient.
	TWO AND A HALF MEN CBS, 9 p.m. ET Remember when an episode of this sitcom ended with a spoof of CSI: Miami? Well, tonight’s episode actually, honestly is crafted by the writers of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, just as Thursday’s CSI will be crafted by Chuck Lorre, producer of this sitcom, and his staff. So what’s the plot of tonight’s show? A police interrogation, of course.
	AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: GEORGE H.W. BUSH PBS, 9 p.m. ET (Check local listings) This two-part documentary, concluding tomorrow night, is a four-hour examination of the life, the presidency, and the legacy of George H.W. Bush. Tonight’s first part goes all the way from Bush’s birth to the eve of the Gulf War, and details and explains Bush’s complicated path through politics in fair and sometimes unexpected ways. The Watergate years are especially illuminating, and this two-part is another fine American Experience presidential special.
	MEDIUM NBC, 10 p.m. ET The main plot this week features Miguel Ferrer as a nasty man who appears in Allison’s dreams at a much younger age. The subplot, though, should be just as compelling. Kelly Preston, as the new boss of Allison’s husband Jake, begins acting out for real something seen in another of Allison’s dreams: the seduction of Jake.