TelePhillyist

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

Barbarians II (Mon, 8PM-9PM, History Channel) - It's Barbarians Week on the History Channel, and that means lots of shows about barbarians! This particular one is the first part of a four-part history of the Barbarians who swarmed all over the corpse of the dying Roman Empire (how's that for a metaphor?). This episode covers the Vandals and their invasion of northern Gaul, Spain, and North Africa. There are profiles of their leaders, and some (almost certainly very lame) reenactments. Look for part two at the same time Tuesday night, and then watch parts three and four back to back Wednesday night.

Philly's Favorite Kids Show Hosts (Mon, 8PM-9PM, PBS [WHYY]) - Dick Sheeran narrates a look back at local TV programs for children and their beloved hosts, including Sally Starr, Chief Halftown, Pixanne, and Captain Noah. Archival footage is included.

Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll (Tue, 9PM-10PM, The CW) - If you thought other reality show talent contests were actually little more than trashy slut contests, wait till you see this one! We're betting it'll blow them all away. (Well, except maybe "I Love New York." Nothing could be sluttier and trashier than that show.) As in other shows of this type, the first large pool of contestants will be narrowed by half in this first episode, after they've all gone through a song and dance training session and then a final audition.

MythBusters (Wed, 9PM-10PM, Discovery Channel) - The boys might have some useful info for us this week, as they're looking at myths about speed cameras. Tune in if you want to see which supposed method for beating them actually works, if any.

South Park (Wed, 10PM-10:30PM, Comedy Central) - The show that doesn't just cross the line, it leaps over it, and drops a talking turd on the way past, is back for its 11th season. Apparently right after broadcast, an uncensored version of the episode will be available for download on the iTunes Music Store. Nice.

Futureweapons: Weapons that Changed the World (Wed, 10PM-11PM, Discovery Channel) - You know how we love lists - especially TV 2.0-type lists - so we couldn't resist mentioning this "Futureweapons" special which counts down the top 10 weapons that changed the course of human history, as selected online.

Last Stand of the 300 (Thu, 9PM-11PM, History Channel) - Get pumped for this weekend's release of 300 by watching this History Channel special about the real historical event that it's based on: the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC when 300 Spartans held out long enough against a much larger army of Persians in order to give the Greeks time to escape.

Image Credit: Flickr user dggraphics