A curious nation turns to the Saturday Night Live election special to see if anything worth mocking happened in politics this week  

Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Thursday, September 6. All times are Eastern.

TOP PICK

Saturday Night Live: Primetime Election Special (NBC, 8 p.m.): Heading into this, the first of two primetime spotlights for SNL’s election-season larfs, it looks as though nothing can come along that will elevate the specials to the level of their 2008, Tina-Fey-as-Sarah-Palin predecessors. Surely, nothing happened in the race for the White House this week that would provide the show’s writers or stars with the fodder to tweak either Mitt Romney or Barack Obama’s campaign the way they stuck it to Palin in ’08. Undeterred, 47 percent of David Sims feels entitled to a memorable half-hour of SNL and that the government (or Jason Sudeikis in a hidden-camera cold open) should give it to him.

The X Factor (Fox, 8 p.m.): The “It’s Britney, bitch” gambit appears to be failing for the show: Last week’s season première was soundly defeated by a third consecutive night of The Voice. Jessica Jardine can’t hear any of this, of course, as she’s in an isolation booth blasting a nonstop loop of “Toxic.”

Up All Night (NBC, 8:30 p.m.): This show underwent a major overhaul in the offseason, and when it returns tonight, The Ava Show is no more. Margaret Eby is currently accepting donations for the “Jennifer Hall Relief Fund.”

Project Runway (Lifetime, 9 p.m.): Taking a cue from stage legend Don Dimello, theatrical director, Heidi Klum brings out the girls, assigning the designers to make costumes for The Rockettes. Being an upstanding gentleman of refined taste, John Teti wants nothing to do with the Dimello-like offer of “something for daddy.”

Glee (Fox, 9 p.m.): Say, did you hear Britney Spears is judging The X Factor now? Did you also know Glee’s previous homage to the pop diva barely scratched the shiny, shiny surface of Spears’ discography? They didn’t even get to “Oops!… I Did It Again,” which makes a thoughtful welcoming gift for Brandon Nowalk’s first review.

The Office (NBC, 9 p.m.): On another “long-time viewer, first-time reviewer” front, Erik Adams settles into his new Dunder Mifflin digs for an episode appropriately titled “New Guys.” He can’t wait to find some of his personal belongings suspended in Jell-O!

Parks And Recreation (NBC, 9:30 p.m.): The legislative stars come out for Parks And Rec’s big Washington, D.C. episode! Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona)! Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)! Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-California)! All Steve Heisler cares about, however, is seeing Leslie and Ben make kissy faces at each other in front of national monuments

Wilfred (FX, 10 p.m.): “Secrets” will be revealed, and lives will hang in the balance (probably only the former is true) in Wilfred’s second-season finale. Rowan Kaiser’s just happy about the Battlestar Galactica allusion in the preview clip.

Louie (FX, 10:30 p.m.): If there’s any good left in the world, the conclusion of the “Late Show” saga will involve David Lynch yelling at Louis C.K. for a full half-hour. NATHAN RABIN PLANS ON WRITING AN EPIC POEM ABOUT THIS GORGEOUS EPISODE.

Awkward. (MTV, 10:30 p.m.): Jenna’s going to Europe—but not before she makes a decision re: Matty and Jake. Myles McNutt wishes her and the entire second season “bon voyage!”

Childrens Hospital (Cartoon Network, 12 a.m.): The fictional universe-within-the-universe on Childrens Hospital now goes so deep that there’s a British version of the series where Blake’s counterpart is a French mime. The British equivalent of David Sims is David Sims, because he used to live in the U.K.!

NTSF: SD: SUV:: (Cartoon Network, 12:15 a.m.): Forget about it, Kevin McFarland—it’s “Robot Town,” where, presumably, robots gobble up cheap real estate as part of an underhanded criminal conspiracy while being diddled by the scientists who created them.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (11 a.m.): Deep Space Nine has a character who has an infinite number of “Second Skin”s, yet it’s Kira who stars in the series’ big episode about identity. Zack Handlen thinks Odo gets no respect—no respect at all.

Don’t Divorce Me! Kids’ Rules For Parents On Divorce (HBO, 6:30 p.m.): Have your children been acting up lately? Why not sit them down in front of this special and say “We have something important to talk about when the show’s over.” That’ll keep ’em nice and terrified (and in line) for a spell.

Bling It On (TLC, 10 p.m.): The woman behind the garish designs showcased by My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding gets her time to shine, sparkle, bedazzle, and affix any number of crimes against fashion to her client’s wedding gowns.

Prom Queens (Lifetime, 10:30 p.m.): Meanwhile, the newest Lifetime series profiles women whose retina-scarring ensembles and exacting behavior can be chalked up to the fact that they’re still in high school.

Raw Sports: Michael Vick (Spike, 11 p.m.): In classically low-rent, Spike rip-off fashion, the network steals the “sports exposé” format of ESPN’s long-running Outside The Lines to tell the second-hand story of the dog-fighting ring that disgraced Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick.

Despicable Me (HBO, 7 p.m.): Steve Carell voices a evil super genius who finds his humanity thanks to three young orphans, but nonetheless has no problem with the endless commercial exploitation of his obnoxious army of squishy, yellow “minions.”

‘Crocodile’ Dundee (AMC, 8 p.m.): That’s not a rollicking fish-out-of-water comedy about a crocodile hunter who leaves the Australian Outback for New York City that changed the course of Aussie cinema—this is a rollicking fish-out-of-water comedy about a crocodile hunter who leaves the Australian Outback for New York City that changed the course of Aussie cinema.

College Football: BYU at Boise State (ESPN, 9 p.m.): The Broncos welcome the Cougars to their blue-turfed Idaho home, looking to continue the recovery from the heartbreaking 17-13 loss to Michigan State that began their season.

The Challenge: The despicable supspecies of reality star known as “Challenge fodder” resurfaces, and Joshua Alston must put them in their place—which is certainly not the Jacuzzi, because lord only knows these crazy kids will find their own way there.