BEST BETS FOR THURSDAY, SEPT. 18, 2008

	SMALLVILLE CW, 8 p.m. ET The eighth-season premiere (in TV terms, that's at least two lifetimes) begins by erasing some familiar faces from its opening credits, and adding some new ones. No Kristin Kreuk as Lana, no Michael Rosenbaum as Lex - at least not for now. And while even Tom Welling as Clark Kent is missing as the show begins, don't fret. He's not missing for long, thanks to some fancy teamwork from his future Justice League buddies Black Canary, Green Arrow and Aquaman. This hour introduces a new adversary, and, with it, a new direction.
	GREY'S ANATOMY ABC, 9 p.m. ET This is a repeat of the two-hour season finale, which ends with one of the more visually arresting images of the season: a dream house whose blueprint is laid out, in full scale, using illuminated candles. How does the show, and our heroine, get there? Here’s a reminder. What’s next? We’ll discover next week.
	SUPERNATURAL CW, 9 p.m. ET In this new season premiere, Deane, after spending some time in hell, escapes, and starts seeing things very differently. (Hey: I sort of know how he feels.) This leads to some friction between the brothers, as well as some new players, plays and rules in the whole demon-on-earth game.
	IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA FX, 10 p.m. ET Sorry, but I’m still not a convert to this FX comedy series. But a lot of my college students adore it, so I’ll climb back aboard and give it another shot. I’ll try not to judge, though, from this series opener, which has a distinct Sweeney Todd flavor to it. There’s meat being served in town, and it’s sort of magical – if, by magic, you mean the spell “abra cadaver.” Yes, folks, cannibalism is on the menu tonight. How tasty.
	BURN NOTICE USA, 10 p.m. ET This is the show’s midseason finale, which is USA’s way of getting publicity for two finales per season. (Why not just call each episode “finale of the week”?) But it does have some heft to it, as we get another guest appearance by Tricia Helfer, playing the woman who may have ordered Michael’s burn notice. Michael has her in his sights – but she’s proven very elusive to this point.
	THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART Comedy Central, 11 p.m. ET Here’s a noteworthy guest star, making his first appearance on this show: former British prime minister Tony Blair.