What's on TV

Tuesday 9/9

Whoopi (NBC, 8-8:30 p.m.): The maven of sass is back. Goldberg plays Mavis Rae, the owner of a small New York hotel who argues issues of race, mocking every color under the sun. But the show is never mean-spirited. The pilot and the second episode are good fun. Let's see if the writers can keep up the cracks. TV-PG

Happy Family (NBC, 8:30-9 p.m.): John Larroquette and Christine Baranski star as an upper-middle class couple who think they have finally moved all their kids out and onward. They soon find out that their offspring are not quite as successful as they had hoped. The TV "issue" of the new century: There are no good parents. TV-PG

All About the Andersons (WB, 9:30-10 p.m.): It is so-o-o good to see John Amos back on TV doing a good-hearted comedy about an aging couple who take back their 30-year-old son (comedian Anthony Anderson) and his little boy. Daddy wants to be an actor, but grandpa's dream for his grown son is closer to home and more realistic. Funnier than most and definitely graced with heart. TV-PG