Tuesday, January 23, 2007; C06

Highlights

Two important annual events will be presented live on TV today: the State of the Union address and the Oscar nominations.

This morning at 8:30, the announcement of the Academy Award nominations will be carried by NBC's "Today," ABC's "Good Morning America," CBS's "The Early Show" and, locally, "Fox 5 Morning News," as well as the cable news networks and E!

In prime time, "TV Guide's Academy Award Nomination Special" (TV Guide Channel at 8) analyzes the choices.

Beginning at 9 p.m., major broadcast networks ABC (Channel 7), CBS (Channel 9), Fox (Channel 5), NBC (Channel 4) and PBS (Channels 22 and 26), and cable stations CNN, C-SPAN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC and NewsChannel 8 will provide live coverage of President Bush's State of the Union address as well as the Democratic response by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.).

Earlier in prime time, the auditions continue on "American Idol" (Channel 5 at 8) with pop star wannabes risking national humiliation in Memphis.

"Dateline" (Channel 4 at 8) reports on the murder investigation of a professor and divorced father of three who was found shot dead in his driveway; circumstantial evidence led police to his ex-wife who lived halfway across the country.

The members of "NCIS" (Channel 9 at 8) scramble to find 10 kilograms of highly toxic chemical weapons and go on high alert when they discover a wanted terrorist scooped up the weapons.

PBS's "Nova" (Channel 26 at 8) chronicles the expedition of seven men on a secondhand fishing boat as they attempt to cross the Northwest Passage in the Arctic.

"One Night Only" (BET at 7:30), a new "docu-soap," follows a group of New Orleans high school students and their drama teacher, still living in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, as they race to mount a production of "Dreamgirls." The series will feature guest appearances by Jennifer Hudson and Blair Underwood.

On "Dirt" (FX at 10), Lucy blackmails a basketball star to get more information about a missing rap star, and Lucy's mother (Mariette Hartley) announces plans to remarry on the anniversary of her husband's suicide.

Jon Cryer and musical group Switchfoot appear on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" (Channel 4, 11:35). Ricky Gervais, Forest Whitaker and music group the Shins are guests on "Late Show With David Letterman" (Channel 9, 11:35).

-- John Maynard