Like a large number of Americans, I watched last night's vice presidential debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden with great interest. And, like most Americans, I was interested in the debate for reasons other than finding out about each ticket's policy views. I wanted to see Palin and Biden screw up. Big time.

Unfortunately (heh), both did fine. Palin spoke in complete sentences that more or less made sense, even if they didn't answer any of Gwen Ifill's questions; Biden didn't ramble on or say that FDR was the president during the stock market crash of 1929. But I don't know if you can attribute this debate's gaffelessness on the poise of the candidates alone. The format of the debate was so restrictive, it didn't give either of them time to go off on screwy tangents.

Wouldn't it have been better if both could just sit in a couple of chairs and speak freely? You know, like on a talk show?

• At 6, TBS has the Brewers/Phillies game, followed by the Dodgers/Cubs.
• At 8, ABC has a new Ugly Betty.
• CBS has a new Survivor at 8.
• NBC has two new episodes of My Name Is Earl at 8.
• FOX has a new Hole in the Wall at 8.
• The CW has new episodes of Smallville and Supernatural.
• At 8:30, HGTV has new episodes of Myles of Style, Rate My Space, Extreme Living, and House Hunters.
• At 9, many channels have the Vice Presidential Debate, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, and CSPAN.
• GAC has a new Superstar Sessions at 9, then a new GAC Nights.
• Spike has a new TNA Impact at 9.
• At 10, FX has a new It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.
• Food Network has a new Ace of Cakes at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.