What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Life After People (Mon, 9PM-11PM, History Channel) - An interesting thought experiment: what would the Earth be like if human beings suddenly disappeared off of it? Of course, it's not all guesswork; they take a look at actual places that were abandoned by people and what happened in those cases. Moment of Truth (Wed, 9PM-10PM, Fox) - The debut of the new game show where contestants have......

UPDATE: Oops! I forgot links! I've added them now, and made a few other tweaks. What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer &c. (Tue, 8PM-9PM, CBS) - The extremely odd, but quite lovable, 1964 classic about the reindeer with the glowing red nose, the elf who really wants to be a dentist, a bunch of misfit toys, and the Abominable Snow Monster. CBS is also airing Frosty the Snowman and......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Heroes (Mon, 9PM-10PM, NBC) - Kristen Bell of Veronica Mars shows up in this episode as a mysterious woman who's searching for Peter. Meanwhile, Matt and a surprise ally come to Philadelphia (hey! We know that place!) to hunt down Molly's attacker. Frosted Pink (Mon, 8PM-9PM, Style) - A special featuring musical performances and a skating event which are put on to benefit research on women's cancers.......

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......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Colbert Report (Mon, 11:30PM-12AM, Comedy Central) - We rarely mention this show in this column, because it's understood to always be worth watching, but we wanted to point it out in particular this week, because tonight, Stephen's guest is a LEGO sculptor named Nathan Sawaya, and LEGO sculptors are cool. On the Lot (Tue, 8PM-9PM, Fox) - This week sees the end of the season for this......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Modern Marvels (Mon, 8PM-9PM, History Channel) - Tonight's modern marvel is chocolate, so obviously this episode is required viewing. Included is the history of chocolate, the chocolate-making process (including the manufacture of M&Ms), and the many properties that chocolate is thought to possess. LA Ink (Tue, 10PM-11PM, TLC) - Fugitive from Miami Ink Kat Von D is opening her own tattoo parlor - High Voltage Tattoo -......

I try, on the whole, to steer Monday Manners away from conventional, old-fashioned etiquette lessons. Sure, I've tackled opening doors, paying for dates, standing for the ladies, things not to talk about in "polite" company, and appropriate sidewalk behavior for ladies and gents, but for the most part, I tend to keep away from the "which fork do I use when?" etiquette lessons that you'd expect of a traditional manners column. (I like to mix......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Simon Schama's The Power of Art (Mon, 9PM-10PM, PBS [WHYY, WLVT]) - The guy in the title is a Columbia University art history professor, and in this new show he takes a look at famous artists: their masterworks, and crucial moments in their lives. In the debut, he's talking about Van Gogh and his painting Wheatfield with Crows (pictured here). Heartland (Mon, 10PM-11PM, TNT) - Another medical......

Summer can be hard in the city, what with the smog and humidity and the cement oven beneath our feet. Phillyist plans to balance sticky subway air with some getting back to nature, and you can too. Greater Phildelphia Cares has a bunch of volunteer opportunities that will connect you with the soil. Which we hear is nice and cool once you dig down a few inches. GPC has recently moved their orientation online,......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Divine Canine: With the Monks of New Skete (Mon, 8PM-8:30PM, Animal Planet) - The first of two new Animal Planet shows debuting Monday night, this one is about some monks in Cambridge, NY who use holistic training methods on misbehaving dogs in order to transform them into loving pets. In this first episode, a monk tries to talk some sense into a naughty Cavalier King Charles spaniel.......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show (Mon, 8PM-11PM, USA; Tue, 8PM-11PM, USA) - Who doesn't love a dog show, we ask you? Well, cat people, maybe, but whatever. This is the 131st edition of this particular competition and "features more than 2500 dogs representing 165 recognized breeds." It's going down in Madison Square Garden in NYC. The first three hours on Monday night cover the opening night of......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Antiques Roadshow (Mon; 8PM-9PM; PBS [WHYY]) - It's part two of three of this show's visit to Philly. This time we've got some magazines, a maquette, and a chair. Um...woo hoo? Arm Wrestling (Mon; 9PM onward; ESPN2) - Thank god for ESPN2 (especially now that football season is essentially over). They support those other sports - the ones you didn't even know existed, or at least never......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Billboard Music Awards (Mon; 8PM-10PM; Fox) - The 17th annual awards show comes at you live from Las Vegas with performances by Janet Jackson, Fergie, the Killers, Gwen Stefani, Ludacris, the Fray, and Mary J. Blige. Plenty of other stars of the music world will act as presenters including, unfortunately, Flavor Flav. (Link) Monday Night Football: Panthers at Eagles (Mon; 8:30PM-11:30PM; ESPN & ABC [WPVI]) - These......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Big Day (Mon; 9PM-9:30PM; ABC) - The debut episode of a new sitcom with an intriguing concept, similar to "24:" the whole thing will examine just one day, that being the chaotic wedding day of a couple named Alice and Danny. The first episode covers a fight between Alice and her Mom over the salad at the reception, and a groomsman having a problem with a contact......

What's new and/or interesting on television this week. Election Coverage (Tue; Practically all night; Many stations) - Yes, Tuesday is election day, which means endless TV coverage of the progress of all the various races, and plenty of talking heads blathering on on the subject of various "what if" questions. But at least it also means we won't have to deal with these damn political ads anymore. Independent Lens (Tue; 10PM-11PM; WLVT) - There's always......

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.......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Monday Night Football: Packers at Eagles (Mon; 8:30PM-11:30PM; ESPN or ABC [WPVI]) - The Eagles get a Monday night game. Here's hoping they keep up the good work and don't crack under the pressure. If you're not near a TV at the time, but you are near the internet, you might be interested to know that the game will be live-blogged at this address (thanks, Seth).......

What's interesting on TV this week. Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman (Mon; 8PM-10PM; A&E) - Ooh hoo boy! The coming return of Superman to the silver screen has inspired A&E to show this lavish, two-hour history-of-Superman special, which includes a sneak preview of the new movie, and we couldn't be more excited. The special intends to cover Superman's many incarnations, from comic books to TV to movies to TV and......

The Ten Commandments (Mon and Tue; 9PM-11PM; ABC) - Passover and Easter are on their way, and you know what that means: time to watch The Ten Commandments on TV! But wait a minute - this isn't the old Charlton Heston Ten Commandments; this is a new two-part TV mini-series starring Dougray Scott as Moses, Naveen Andrews (from "Lost"), Claire Bloom, and Omar Sharif. Miniseries produced for ABC have turned out to be surprisingly good......

The 40 Year-Old Virgin is a stupid movie. If you've seen any of the commercials, you already know that. But any movie starring Steve Carrell as a 40 year-old virgin is supposed to be stupid, and for a stupid movie, this one is pretty funny. However, The 40 Year-Old Virgin isn't quite as stupid as your average raunchy joke movie. It's produced by Judd Apatow of http://www.freaksandgeeks.com/home.shtm">Freaks and Geeks fame, which automatically raises its......

It looks like we were a little premature when it came to announcing NBC's new series, The Law Firm. We were just so eager to see if the contestants were as prone to passionate eyebrow-scrunching as Law and Order's http://www.nbc.com/Law_&_Order/bios/Sam_Waterston.html">Sam Waterston that we announced it a week early. The Law Firm actually premieres this Thursday at 10 pm. And though it is nearly impossible to find a funny sitcom anymore, this week Bravo is offering......

Well, it's a good week to enjoy all the activities the city has to offer, or maybe stretch out reading that new Harry Potter book, because, when it comes to television, things are looking positively dismal. Aside from the wonders of Shark Week and the always recommendable Philadelphia Stories (WYBE, Tuesday and Saturday, 10 pm), the pickings are slim. Two more reality shows premeire this week, proving that the reality trend will not dry up......

What a week for reality TV junkies! On Wednesday, we have Beauty and the Geek: The Aftermath, which will only appeal to those who subjected themselves to the rest of the series. Wednesday's show does seem promising, though, as we will get to see Philly's own Krystal congratulate Penn medical student Chuck, who won it all last week [Wednesday, 8 pm, WB]. For those of who prefer "educational and cultural" to "shameless and sensational",......