TV critic's choice: Sept. 12-18

Sunday Lady Gaga fever has yet to break. In fact, it may climb even higher after the "MTV Video Music Awards" (8 p.m., MTV), where she leaves the rest of the competition in the dust with 13 nominations. Along with Gaga's moon-man count, keep an eye on how host Chelsea Handler handles the inevitable reunion of Kanye West and Taylor Swift. We suggest a rendition of "I've Got You, Babe."

Monday "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (4 p.m., KSTP, Ch. 5) is refinancing. For this new season, dollar values and difficulty levels have been randomly shuffled, which means you could earn up to $25,000 by just knowing that Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Meredith Vieira continues to host, but in the spirit of the new approach, she'll wear mismatched socks.

Tuesday Neil Patrick Harris, who hasn't hosted a show for at least four days, suits up to preside over "Fashion's Night Out 2010" (9 p.m., WCCO, Ch. 4), featuring appearances from Vogue editor Anna Wintour (pictured), designer Oscar de la Renta and pretty boy Justin Timberlake.

Wednesday Jimmy Smits has built a successful TV career by selecting strong, sympathetic roles. This time around, his instincts may have let him down. In "Outlaw" (9 p.m., KARE, Ch. 11), he plays a Supreme Court justice who goes from ultra-conservative to ultra-liberal in the time it takes to put on a black robe. The change of heart convinces him to leave the bench and reinvent his law practice, just one of a series of events that should have been thrown out of the writers' room.

Thursday "The Apprentice" (8 p.m., KARE, Ch. 11) gets back to hiring non-celebs in this new edition aimed at helping unemployed business folks, including Woodbury's Wade Hanson (pictured), who, based on the premiere, appears to have a legitimate shot. Ivanka Trump continues to improve as her dad's most astute adviser. I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up fronting her own competition by next year.

NEAL JUSTIN