TelePhillyist

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

Modern Marvels (Mon, 8PM-9PM, History Channel)
The marvels being examined this time are strange weapons, including microwave-like rays that make you feel like you're being burned; plane- and truck-mounted lasers; armed robots; a BB gun that fires pain-inducing pellets; flashing devices that cause vomiting; and a slippery slime.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (Mon, 10PM-10:30PM, Food Network)
This time the theme is big breakfast joints, including a place in Phoenix with homemade waffles, a Kansas City spot with 60 different omelets, and, closer to home, a diner in New Jersey with more than 30 kinds of pancakes.

Ancient Discoveries (Mon, 10PM-11PM, History Channel)
This time, the History Channel takes a look underneath New York City and uncovers evidence of blood sports, festive celebrations, and a neolithic calendar. Hey, if they want to know about the past of NYC, they should just ask Detective John Amsterdam...

The Universe (Tue, 9PM-10PM, History Channel)
Time to look at space colonization! Experts discuss whether it's possible, and whether it's ethically responsible. They also look at plans to colonize Mars, the technology required, and how water, food, and waste management would be handled.

Lewis Black's Root of All Evil (Wed, 10:30PM-11PM, Comedy Central)
A new show wherein Lewis Black moderates a debate between two comics, each arguing that the person or institution they're representing is the more evil. In this first episode, Paul F. Tompkins argues for Oprah Winfrey and Greg Giraldo argues for the Catholic Church.

Next Big Bang (Sun, 8PM-9PM, History Channel)
A history of the Large Hadron Collider, the world's most powerful particle accelerator, located near Geneva and expected to be operational in May 2008. The device could give physicists more information about the Big Bang and the origins of the universe.

Public domain photo of the sun from the surface of Mars by NASA/JPL/Texas A&M/Cornell, via Flickr user pingnews.com.