TelePhillyist

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

Magnificent Voyage of Christopher Columbus & Columbus: The Lost Voyage (Mon, 9PM-11PM, PBS [WHYY & WLVT]; Mon, 9PM-11PM, History Channel) - Celebrate Columbus Day the way he'd have wanted you to: by watching TV! PBS has a film edited from a seven-part BBC series which covers Columbus' first Atlantic crossing, and even features a recreation of the voyage with replicas of the three famous ships. Meanwhile, at the same time, the History Channel has a special about Columbus' final voyage.

Hip Hop Honors (Mon, 10PM-12AM, VH1) - Incredibly, it's already the fourth annual edition of this show, which seeks to honor the greats in hip hop music. Tracy Morgan hosts and those receiving awards include A Tribe Called Quest, Snoop Dogg, and Missy Elliott.

Nova (Tue, 8PM-9PM, PBS [WHYY & WLVT]) - A look at the science behind samurai swords, including the six month process involved in creating one sword, from smelting to sharpening.

P.O.V. (Tue, 9PM-11:30PM, PBS [WHYY & WLVT]) - The end of the season for this show is a screening of 49 Up, the seventh installment in the fascinating 7 Up documentary series by director Michael Apted, wherein Apted revisits the same group of people every seven years to see how their lives are progressing - it all started back in 1964 when all the subjects were seven years old.

Tattoo Wars (Thu, 8PM-9PM, TLC) - Oh, boy, another tattoo show! This one pits two tattoo artists against each other each episode, challenging them to work on a common theme, but using their own style. This first episode is Mike Rubendall versus Pascal "Bugs" Jarrion at the New York City Tattoo Convention, where they are given four hours to create designs.

America's Psychic Challenge (Fri, 10PM-11PM, Lifetime) - Normally we just skip Lifetime altogether when writing this post, but this new show caught our eye. It's a reality show competition wherein psychics are pitted against each other in various challenges, and the top contenders move on to the next round. In this first episode, contestants are asked to search for a man in an abandoned building, read the energy of a hidden celebrity, and visit the scene of a drive-by shooting.

Image Credit: Flickr user redjar