WHITE NIGHT: As if turning 90 years old weren't special enough, legendary TV star Betty White will celebrate her birthday by proving to NBC viewers that she has more energy and spunk than most people half her age.

The network's Monday-night schedule this week is being dedicated to -- and dominated by -- the actress as it airs the 90-minute special "Betty White's 90th Birthday: A Tribute to America's Golden Girl," which will be immediately followed by a sneak peak at her new hidden-camera series "Betty White's Off Their Rockers."

The birthday special, taped live in Los Angeles at the Biltmore Hotel, will feature many of White's co-stars from throughout her career, which has spanned six decades, as well as musical performances, surprise guests and, of course, plenty of comedy. White's actual birthday is Tuesday, Jan. 17.

Some of the scheduled guests will include Mary Tyler Moore, Carol Burnett, Hugh Jackman, William Shatner, Jay Leno, Amy Poehler and Joel McHale. Sadly, White is the only surviving member of the foursome who starred in "The Golden Girls."

After the birthday celebration, NBC will premiere the "Off Their Rockers" preview. The series is sort of a senior citizens' take on Ashton Kutcher's show "Punk'd." As the show's on-air host and its main star, White leads a group of seniors as they get younger bystanders on the streets to fall for their startling and side-splitting pranks.

"People have been telling me that I'm 'off my rockers' for years," said White. "Now I can prove it!"

White has won multiple Emmys throughout her career, the most recent of which was earned by her turn as host on "Saturday Night Live" last year. She also currently stars as Polish caretaker Elka Ostrovsky in TV Land's "Hot in Cleveland."

'FIVE-0' FLASHBACK: When CBS debuted the reboot of "Hawaii Five-0" in 2010, critics were probably wondering how long it would take the network to link it to its predecessor from more than 40 years ago. Well, the wait will soon be over.

CBS recently announced that Emmy-winning actor Ed Asner will return to Oahu to reprise his role as August March, a character he played in the original version back in 1975. This will mark the first time the two shows have been linked by a storyline, and the upcoming spring episode will actually make use of footage from Asner's original appearance in the episode "Wooden Model of a Rat."

In that episode, Asner's character was starting to make a name for himself as a smuggler, but his cover was blown when he tried to frame Det. Steve McGarrett. For the upcoming episode, the Five-0 team catches up with March after he has spent 30 years in prison for murder. They hope to get his help with a new smuggling case.

CBS has not offered any explanation for March's encounter with two different cops named Steve McGarrett.

"It is thrilling to, for the first time, merge the original 'Hawaii Five-0' and our new show by having the classic, versatile and award-winning Ed Asner reprise his role of August March, a character Mr. Asner first played 36 years ago," said executive producer Peter Lenkov. "There is no better way to form a bridge between our reboot and the original series."

Despite being 82 years old, Asner hasn't bothered to slow down his acting career. In recent years, he has appeared on "Royal Pains," "The Sarah Silverman Program" and "CSI: NY." He's also known for his role as Lou Grant on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and for voicing Carl Fredricksen in Pixar's Oscar-winning feature, "Up" (2009).

FULL STEAM AHEAD: Country and western has certainly made a comeback, thanks in part to the successes of Taylor Swift, "Australia" (2008), "True Grit" (2010), HBO's "Deadwood" and TNT's upcoming revival of "Dallas," which have collectively placed the genre in the contemporary, mainstream spotlight.

Now, AMC's "Hell on Wheels" can be added to the list.

The cabler recently announced that the freshman series, starring Anson Mount, Dominique McElligott, Colm Meaney and Common, has been renewed for a second season.

The show, which follows the building of the first transcontinental railroad in the 1860s, has done extremely well in ratings for AMC as its second-highest rated drama series. Its premiere in November 2011 ranks second highest for an original AMC series, behind only "The Walking Dead."

The network seems to be on a roll with its original programming. "Hell on Wheels" will mark the fifth of six programs that will make it past the freshman season. Other AMC success stories include "The Walking Dead," "Mad Men," "Breaking Bad" and "The Killing."

The western's Season 1 finale episode is scheduled to air this week on Sunday, Jan. 15.

So far, Mount's character, former Confederate soldier Cullen Bohannon, has joined the railroad construction crew as a foreman of an all-black crew. He uses the opportunity to search for the Union soldiers responsible for killing his wife. Secondary plot points have involved freed slaves, gun fights, peace talks with the Cheyenne, and survival in the wilderness.