"CONCEPTION DECEPTION" (8 P.M., TLC): THE DOCUMENTARY SPECIAL TELLS THE STRANGE STORY OF DR. CECIL JACOBSON. DURING THE 1980S, HE HELPED DOZENS OF INFERTILE COUPLES HAVE CHILDREN AND WAS HAILED AS A

"Conception Deception" (8 p.m., TLC): The documentary special tells the strange story of Dr. Cecil Jacobson. During the 1980s, he helped dozens of infertile couples have children and was hailed as a miracle worker. Just one problem: Jacobson neglected to tell the parents that he was using his own sperm in the process.
"Desperate Housewives" (9 p.m., ABC): The second season is off to a rollicking start. In tonight's episode, sexy Gabrielle pays another visit to Carlos in the slammer and winds up sparking a prison riot. Trouble, it seems, follows that woman wherever she goes. Meanwhile, Lynette learns that her son, Parker, has an imaginary friend.
"Walker, Texas Ranger" (9 p.m., CBS): And you thought the show had ridden off into the prime-time sunset. Nope. Chuck Norris is back to reprise his role in the new TV movie, "Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial By Fire." The story has Walker pulling double duty -- trying to find a teenager on the run from the mob, and working to clear a colleague who has been framed for murder. Somehow, we think our butt-kicking hero can handle it.
"Legend of Earthsea" (1 p.m., SciFi): Emmy-nominated for outstanding special visual effects, this adaptation of the Ursula K. Le Guin novels stars Shawn Ashmore, Danny Glover and Isabella Rossellini. Not an all-too-unfamiliar tale of young wizards and dragons, this two-part miniseries (shown in its entirety today) should get the kids' attention.
"Philadelphia" (7:45 p.m., Showtime): With Oscars for leading actor (Tom Hanks) and best original song ("Streets of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen), this 1993 Jonathan Demme film is always an option. Hanks' portrayal of a lawyer with AIDS who gets fired was matched only by that of Denzel Washington as the homophobic lawyer he hires to challenge his dismissal.
"Nature" (8 p.m., PBS, or check local listings): Three hundred miles southwest of Costa Rica, a number of Pacific Ocean currents meet at Cocos Island. Those currents support abundant sea life such as frogfish and in turn, their predators. Sharks, for instance. Hammerheads, black-tip reef sharks, silky sharks -- you name it, they're there. Divers Howard and Michele Hall take viewers down for a look-see.
"When Animals Talk" (8 p.m., Animal Planet): We might be suspicious of this show about animals and humans "conversing" -- would we really want to hear what they have to say to us? -- if it weren't for chimpanzee authority Jane Goodall guiding us.
"Squidbillies" (11:59 p.m., Cartoon Network): Inbred squids party too much, as if we didn't already know that.