Lawrence.com

Every season, at least one television show manages to survive despite steady critical pounding. Remember how "Caroline in the City" seemed to endure when nobody on Earth admitted to watching it? And how did "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place" last for three seasons? Last year, CBS picked up the dreadful "Yes, Dear," and we are still living with the results.

This year's most unlikely survivor has to be the brazenly unoriginal Jim Belushi and Courtney Thorne-Smith comedy "According to Jim" (7:30 p.m., ABC), which airs its obligatory Halloween episode tonight. Faced with bleak ratings for most of its new offerings, ABC has announced that it will stick with "Jim" for a whole season.

Other shows that have been picked up include ABC's plucky thriller, "Alias," NBC's "Crossing Jordan" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." NBC already announced the renewal of "Scrubs." Fox has ensured that the college comedy "Undeclared" will complete its freshman season. The WB has given a yearlong guarantee to its entire Friday night lineup of rookie comedies, including "Maybe It's Me," "Reba" and "Raising Dad." And, as announced here earlier, CBS will air an entire season of its hit drama "The Guardian."

� It's a shame that CBS doesn't have enough faith in "Wolf Lake" to air it on Halloween. Hey, what better night for a werewolf drama? The network has yanked the quirky Lou Diamond Phillips vehicle from its schedule once again to air highlights from last weekend's "The Concert for New York City" (9 p.m., CBS). The six-hour musical benefit was the highest-rated program in the history of VH1. This condensed version will choose from performances by concert organizer Paul McCartney, plus Elton John, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, the Who, Billy Joel and James Taylor.

Tonight's other highlights

� Scheduled on "60 Minutes II" (7 p.m., CBS): inside the war in Afghanistan.

� The New York Yankees host the Arizona Diamondbacks in game four of the World Series (7 p.m., Fox).

� Brooke Burke hosts "Rank: 13 Scariest Movies" (7 p.m., E!).

� Contestants scramble all over the globe on "The Amazing Race" (8 p.m., CBS).

� Bartlet faces a veto battle and a charismatic challenger (guest star Kevin Tighe, "Emergency") for the nomination on "The West Wing" (8 p.m., NBC).

� A pregnancy scare ends a week of beauty pageant frivolity on "Felicity" (8 p.m., WB).

� Rampant capitalism binds a nation of shopkeepers on "Britannia Incorporated" on "A History of Britain" (8 p.m., History, concludes Thursday).

� Patti LuPone ("Evita") stars in the Stephen Sondheim musical "Sweeney Todd in Concert: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (8 p.m., PBS). A live performance taped in July 2001.

� Briscoe grills a landlord after the death of a building's last tenant on "Law & Order" (9 p.m., NBC).