The Closer (9pm, TNT) - There's a female mutant ninja murderer on the loose, and a detective visits from El Paso to assist Brenda and the gang with the investigation. Also, Brenda's father arrives to escort Charlie (Sosie Bacon) home to Atlanta. The episode is directed by Kevin Bacon. No degrees of separation.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent (9pm, NBC) - Goldblum up! To solve a murder, Nichols and Wheeler dive into the dangerous world of one of the most violent, terrifying groups in our society: Poets.

Hoarders (10pm, A&E) - This show is so hard to watch. But so unbelievably fascinating. Not sure if they can top last week's woman from Milwaukee who hoarded rotten food.

The Rachel Zoe Project (10pm, Bravo) - The second season of celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe's reality show begins in grand fashion, as Zoe and her bratty desk-obsessed assistants (Jeff Lewis would so fire them) are charged with dressing Cameron Diaz, Anne Hathaway, Demi Moore, Eva Mendes, and Debra Messing for the Golden Globes. Glitch! Turns out the bad economy gets in the way of rich movie stars acquiring the most haute of haute couture gowns. Boo. Hoo.  

Sugarland: Live on the Inside (8pm, ABC) - Country band Sugarland performs at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.

Jon & Kate Plus 8 (9pm, TLC) - The show returns after a 5-week hiatus. Tonight, Kate and the kids vacation at Bald Head Island in North Carolina while Jon stays home to oversee kitchen renovations. Another new episode follows at 9:30, in which Kate and the kids camp in the backyard.

The Closer (9pm, TNT) - Sosie Bacon, daughter of Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, stars as Brenda's niece in an episode about a father who may have falsely confessed to a murder to cover for his schizophrenic son.

Making His Band (10pm, MTV) - The finalists in the contest to be part of Diddy's band move into their new home, and tensions arise between the musicians who have been trained and those who are self-taught. Show features two teens from Wilson, NC.

Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (10pm, Bravo) - Kathy gets a wax figure at Madame Tussauds, and then consults author Jackie Collins for tips on how to make her memoir steamier. Kathy also seeks publishing advice from Salman Rushdie and Oprah's buddy, Gayle King.

There's a lot of silence in "Taking Chance," a film that is both elegant and elegiac.

That's because it's a simple but powerful story, one that doesn't need fussiness to be effective.

It's on HBO at 9 Saturday night.

It's the true story of the journey of Lt. Colonel Michael Strobl (Kevin Bacon), a Quantico-based Marine, as he accompanies the body of 19-year-old Lance Corporal Chance Phelps, a Marine who was killed in Iraq in 2004.

Strobl volunteers for the duty after seeing that Phelps is from his home town, but Strobl also has a bit of guilt about the fact that he works as a numbers cruncher, when others are fighting in Iraq.

That's really it, plotwise. But what happens on that journey is a revelation to Strobl and maybe to you too. The film shows the encounters Strobl has with everyday Americans, some who come to know he is escorting a fallen soldier, and some who discover it later. There has been debate about whether one can be against war and still support the troops. This film seems to answer that it's possible.

One lovely scene shows how, when Strobl is in his car following the hearse carrying Phelps remains, other drivers turn on their lights and form a funereal caravan, their small show of respect.

It also reveals what happens to the body every step of the way, without being gruesome. The people who care for the body -- those who clean the blood from personal effects, those who train the escorts on how to talk to the families -- all are shown doing their jobs with tenderness and dignity. Whatever you may feel about the military, the film proves how moving its traditons can be.

Bacon gives another wonderful performance. He's portraying a military man, a disciplined man not prone to big emotion. Yet he manages to convey all you need to know and feel.

If you don't have HBO, invite yourself over to someone's house who does. You can bring the tissue.