TelePhillyist

What's new and/or interesting on television this week.

VH1 Hip Hop Honors (Tue; 9PM-11PM; VH1) - The third annual installment of this awards ceremony is hosted by Ice-T and features performances by folks like Lil' Kim (lately of the local prison system), Erykah Badu, Lil Jon, Fat Joe, Diddy, Xzibit, the Roots, George Clinton, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Those to be honored include the Wu Tang Clan, Afrika Bambaataa, the Beastie Boys, Ice Cube, and Eazy-E. C'mon, all the cool people will be watching. (Link)

Hungry Detective (Tue; 10:30PM-11PM; Food Network) - The LA police detective - who we believe got his first appearance on Food Network in Alton Brown's highly entertaining recent mini-series, "Feasting on Asphalt" - has his own show now, and this is the first episode. He's using his police skills to search out the best hidden restaurants in the US, and this time he's examining Las Vegas. The guy has great personality and enthusiasm, so we can't imagine how this could be anything less than fun. (Link)

Throwdown with Bobby Flay (Thu; 10PM-10:30PM; Food Network) - Fiercely - and frankly almost pathetically - competitive celebrity chef Bobby Flay brings his I'm-better-than-you-at-whatever-it-is-that-you-claim-to-be-good-at show to Philadelphia and challenges Tony Luke himself to a cheesesteak-making contest. Go get him, Tony! (Link)

Ultimate Avengers II (Sat; 9:30PM-11PM; Cartoon Network) - We just saw the first of these little animated movie specials this past weekend and enjoyed it quite a bit. In this sequel, the band of classic and contemporary Marvel heroes - including Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Giant Man, Wasp, Black Widow, and the Incredible Hulk - pull together again to help save an African kingdom and its ruler (Black Panther) from shape-shifting aliens. Be aware, however, that this 'toon is probably not particularly kid friendly; if it's anything like the first one, there are violent deaths aplenty, not too mention frank depictions of alcoholism, and a bit of sexual tension! (Link)

Trading Spaces (Sat; 10PM-11PM; TLC) - The popular room design show takes on Philly sports fans on South Front Street. (Link)

Image Credit: Flickr user jeroen020