TelePhillyist

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

Nova (Tue, 8PM-9PM, PBS [WHYY & WLVT]) - This episode, entitled "Sputnik Declassified," is a look back at the early years of the space race, and includes segments on the launch of Sputnik, the failed attempt by the US to launch a satellite eight weeks later, and the contributions to the US space program by Wernher von Braun, former head of the Nazi rocket program.

Secrets of the Kama Sutra (Tue, 11PM-12AM, History Channel) - Hey now.

Food Network Thanksgiving Specials (Wed, 9PM-10PM and Sat, 8PM-10PM, Food Network) - Yes, it's nearly time for that other holiday, the one where you get together with your family and eat a lot (wait - isn't that pretty much every holiday?). Food Network is getting you ready with a series of specials, the first one - All-Star Thanksgiving Recipes - is airing on Wednesday, is hosted by Tyler Florence, and features the stars of the network sharing their favorite Thanksgiving recipes. Next up on Saturday are Thanksgiving-themed episodes of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Throwdown with Bobby Flay, followed by a program called Dear Food Network: Thanksgiving wherein stars of the network help viewers' deal with holiday dilemmas.

Bats: Human Harvest (Sat, 9PM-11PM, Sci-Fi) - It's a made-for-TV sequel to Bats (1999), starring no one we've ever heard of, and featuring soldiers - who are pursuing terrorists in the caves of Afghanistan - getting attacked by genetically modified flesh-eating bats. Sounds awesome.

Next Iron Chef (Sun, 9PM-10PM, Food Network) - It's the series finale of this show, wherein the final two chefs will face-off against each other in an official "Iron Chef America" battle and a panel of surprise judges will determine the winner and crown the new Iron Chef.

Image Credit: Flickr user skunks