Ratings? We don’t need any stinking ratings.

Not when we have a full-season pickup order for NBC’s acclaimed but frequently overlooked "Friday Night Lights," anyway — and, thus, time for the viewer counts to improve. Win, lose or draw, the show will be around for the rest of the season.

The ratings for the series about high school football in a small Texas town may not exactly stink, but they sure don’t smell like a bushel of roses either. The show has been in third place in its hour, which isn’t the position it deserves.

Word is, "Friday Night Lights" may get a new night in the new year. No, probably not Friday night. A MediaWeek column suggests Sunday night. We’ll see.

Meanwhile, the "Friday Night Lights" faithful will get a new installment at 7 tonight — that’s Tuesday night — on affiliate WPMI-TV15.

In the hour, Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) and the team celebrate their smashing victory, but at the same time a frustrated Smash Williams (Gaius Charles) takes drastic measures to improve his performance on the field. Meanwhile, Smash has a new job at the Alamo Freeze. Also, Coach Taylor’s (Kyle Chandler) daughter Julie (Aimee Teegarden) considers going on a date with rookie quarterback Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford).

The action heats up off the field, too, as Riggins and his brother clash.

Journey to Mars’ on Tuesday nights

At the following hour on The CW is another of my favorites. The show is "Veronica Mars," now airing here on WBPG-TV55 after living for two seasons on the former UPN and former affiliate WJTC-TV44.

This season, the show has grown up a bit as the teen detective has enrolled in college. It’s the local college, though, so she still gets to hang out with all her old Neptune, Calif., friends and foes.

Similarly, the former WB-then-UPN series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" moved its young female protagonist to a local college so she could do the same with her pals and ghouls. But while the best "Buffy" shows may have been in the high school years, the college days may be shaping up as the best for "Veronica Mars," a series born on UPN before making the transition to The CW lineup.

In tonight’s installment, Veronica (Kristen Bell) is placed in danger when she discovers the identity of the campus rapist after attending a fraternity party. Also, Dean O’Dell hire Keith (Enrico Colantoni) to follow his wife when he suspects her of cheating on him. And there’s a confrontation between Logan (Jason Dohring) and Veronica about their strained relationship.

It’s time: A Charlie Brown Christmas’

Over on ABC, 7 o’clock brings a holiday chestnut. It’s "A Charlie Brown Christmas," showing on affiliate WEAR-TV3.