"The West Wing" (8 p.m., NBC): Now in its seventh season, "The West Wing" is certainly past its

"The West Wing" (8 p.m., NBC): Now in its seventh season, "The West Wing" is certainly past its prime. But despite fading ratings and a feeling of general ambivalence among most critics, the show is enjoying a noteworthy creative resurgence this fall as the tumultuous Bartlet administration winds down and the campaign between Republican candidate Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) and his Democratic rival Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) heats up. Now the tension is sure to get even thicker with the show going live for an intriguing hour-long debate between the presidential wannabes. Although the face-off has been scripted, the actors are free to ad-lib some of their responses and rebuttals, which should give the program more of a loose, improvised feel. It's an audacious TV experiment and they'll be doing it twice -- one version for the East Coast and another for the West. Newsman Forrest Sawyer will serve as the moderator.
"Treehouse of Horror (8 p.m., Fox): Halloween isn't really over until "The Simpsons" have celebrated it with their annual "Treehouse of Horror" special. Tonight's 16th weird and wonderful installment offers four new stories, including "B.I.: Bartificial Intelligence," "Survival of the Fattest," "The World Series of Manhunter" and "I've Grown a Costume on Your Face." Terry Bradshaw and Dennis Rodman make guest appearances, playing themselves.
"Category 7: End of the World" (9 p.m., CBS; concludes at the same time next week): Producers insist that "Category 7: End of the World" is in no way "Katrina -- the Movie." It actually picks up where last season's "Category 6: Day of Destruction" left off -- with a quickly growing "super-storm" threatening to wreak havoc across the entire globe. Such a major event, of course, calls for an all-star cast of acting giants, including Randy Quaid, Robert Wagner, Tom Skerritt and, um, Shannen Doherty.
"The Boondocks" (11 p.m., Cartoon Network): After a few delays, Aaron McGruder's politically charged comic strip, "The Boondocks," finally makes its highly anticipated animated debut in the Adult Swim block. Fans of the strip are sure to find Huey, Riley and Granddad as funny as ever, if a bit more foul-mouthed. Regina King and John Witherspoon provide the voice work -- and utter the bulk of the profanities.
"Family Guy" (9 p.m., Fox): Peter has a "trouser malfunction" at the Emmys.
"Law & amp; Order: Criminal Intent" (9 p.m., NBC): Chris Noth and Vincent D'Onofrio team up like Batman and Robin to make the streets safe for a missing teen.