The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching

The best programs on TV this week

Eureka

In last September’s season finale of this lighthearted sci-fi series about a town of quirky geniuses, the crew of an expedition to Titan mysteriously vanished during the planned launch. As the final season begins, they crash-land—only to find themselves back in Eureka, where four years have passed and much has changed. Monday, April 16, at 9 p.m., Syfy

Richard Hammond’s Crash Course

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Hammond, a co-host of Britain’s Top Gear, trains to operate huge, dangerous machinery in America in this entertaining new series. First up: a trip to Fort Bliss to learn to navigate the Army’s M1A2 Abrams Tank, which Hammond must drive over a Porsche 928 and a 1970 Chevelle. “I’m a car guy,” he protests—“What’s it going to do to my soul?” Monday, April 16, at 10 p.m., BBC America

The Woman Who Wasn’t There

Following the 9/11 attacks, Tania Head told a gripping story of escaping death on the 78th floor of the South Tower and became president of the World Trade Center Survivors’ Network, where she worked hard to help others. This fascinating and startling documentary reveals that nothing about her story was true, including that her beloved fiancé had died in the North Tower. In fact, Tania Head wasn’t even the woman’s real name. Tuesday, April 17, at 8 p.m., Investigation Discovery

NOVA: Why Ships Sink

Over the past 10 years, the average cruise ship has doubled in size, and some 20 million passengers sail on such ships every year. But the January Costa Concordia disaster, which killed at least 30 people, has raised new concerns about the soundness of these “floating cities.” Engineers and experts reconstruct the tragedy, along with other sinkings, to evaluate the current state of cruise ship safety. Wednesday, April 18, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings

Masterpiece: Birdsong

While tunneling under no man’s land during World War I, a British soldier flashes back to an idyllic, color-infused past. But however lovely, the past harbors many discontents too. In this two-part drama adapted from Sebastian Faulks’s popular novel, the scenes of trench warfare are wrenching, the romance is passionate, and the soldiers, including star Eddie Redmayne, are affectingly brave. Sundays, April 22 and 29, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings

Other highlights

Great Performances at the Met: Rodelinda

Renée Fleming sings the title role in Handel’s opera about the life of a 18th-century queen of Italy’s Lombardy region. Sunday, April 22, at noon, PBS; check local listings

Fox 25th Anniversary Special

The network celebrates its first quarter century of broadcasting with reminiscences from the stars of The X-Files; Beverly Hills, 90210; Ally McBeal; and Married…With Children. Sunday, April 22, at 8 p.m., Fox

Firelight

In this made-for-TV movie, Cuba Gooding Jr. portrays a counselor who trains female prison inmates to fight forest fires and aid disaster victims. Sunday, April 22, at 9 p.m., ABC