'Great Performances' to present Met's 'Dr. Atomic'

What's opera, Doc?

PBS' "Great Performances" presents a genuine find with the Metropolitan Opera production of John Adams' "Dr. Atomic," airing at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 4, on WTTW Channel 11. Gerald Finley and Sasha Cooke are the leads as Mr. and Mrs. J. Robert Oppenheimer as the Manhattan Project becomes the stuff of high drama and ornate music.

The 'Secret' is out

"The Secret Life of an American Teenager" returns for its second season at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 5, on ABC Family. Here's the story so far: Teens Amy and Ben are about to get married, but Amy still hasn't decided if that means she'll be keeping her baby. So there's no happy end in sight - yet.

'Nip' it in the bud

At the other end of the wholesome spectrum, FX's "nip/tuck" returns at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 6. Over its five seasons, there's not much this trashy, tawdry series about plastic surgeons hasn't already done, but they always come up with something, don't they? This season finds the setting shifting from Miami to Los Angeles, a jump-the-shark alarm if ever there was one.

Pull my 'Fingers'

"The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T" is a rare mix of mainstream entertainment and genuine surrealism, courtesy of the sprung mind of Dr. Seuss himself, who wrote the script about a piano teacher trying to recruit 500 kids to play on his giant curving piano. Tommy Rettig, later of "Lassie," and renowned character actor Hans Conried star. It's at 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 3, on Turner Classic Movies.