SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18 - FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24
XX Winter Olympic Games (NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, USA Network) Special Note: To view daily listings throughout the week for coverage of the XX Winter Olympic Games on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC and USA Network, check TV Program Schedule Listings on MediaVillage.com.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18
Footballers Wive$ Marathon (BBC America, 10 a.m. ET) Eight Hours. The entire second season of the BBC's sexy serial is repeated before the debut of its third season tomorrow night. It's your last chance to enjoy the exploits of two popular main characters on the show, both deceased at the start of season three (see Sunday).
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19
Desperate Housewives (ABC, 9 p.m. ET) It looks like Bree hits rock bottom in this episode, passed out drunk on her front lawn and made a fool of by her nasty son. Still, Lynette has her beat, having in last week's episode consumed a pound of raw meat to prevent her boss from goading her husband into eating more donuts out of the office toilet. Oh, well, we still have Susan and her wandering spleen to distract us.
Celebrity Fit Club (VH1, 9 p.m. ET) Remember Jeff Conaway's big-time meltdown and subsequent trip to rehab earlier this season? He returns to the competition in this episode in a highly emotional state, and his behavior continues to raise concerns among his fellow fat-fighters.
Footballers Wive$ (BBC America, 10 p.m. ET) Season Premiere. For reliably trashy fun, check out the BBC's sexy, sassy and often-outrageous serial about soccer players and the women who love them, which begins its third season on BBC America tonight. Tanya takes center stage, briefly dealing with the deaths of her husband Jason (who was pushed off a roof) and her dear friend Chardonnay (who succumbed to anorexia) before marrying team owner Frank and pursuing a hot new bisexual football stud. Meanwhile, Kyle goes to pieces following the death of his beloved Chardonnay.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20
General Hospital (ABC, 3 p.m. ET) ABC's longest-running serial marks its 11,000th episode with the death of a major character. Hint: Sonny will be utterly devastated. (Read Ed Martin's General Hospital's 11,000th Episode Story)
House (Fox, 8 p.m. ET) House moves to Monday for one night only (to make room for tomorrow's two-hour edition of American Idol) with a story about a teenage supermodel seeking treatment for heroin addiction. Naturally, the good doctor discovers that she has another significant medical problem. Elsewhere, a male clinic patient suffering from abnormally high estrogen levels experiences all of the discomforts of his wife's pregnancy, and House begins experiencing increased leg pain.
SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon, 8 p.m. ET) A freak jousting accident at a medieval-themed restaurant sends SpongeBob and Patrick back in time to a historic version of Bikini Bottom, where they are mistaken for great knights and made to rescue a princess from an evil wizard. This special edition of Nickelodeon's unstoppable franchise, titled Lost in Time, will be preceded by a SpongeBob marathon from 4-8 p.m. ET. Throughout the marathon, watch for special interstitial programming: Medieval-themed versions of the messy games and challenges usually seen during Nickelodeon's Friday Night SlimeTime.
24 (Fox, 9 p.m. ET) Julian Sands joins the cast as billionaire Vladimir Bierko, the terrorist mastermind behind the theft of all that nerve gas, the assassination of President Palmer and every other terrible thing that has happened during the last eight hours.
Girlfriends (UPN, 9 p.m. ET) Kelly Rowland of Destiny's Child guest stars as an overly ambitious young woman determined to become an intern at Toni's company. Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child can be seen in tonight's episode of Half & Half, immediately following on UPN (see below).
My Gym Partner's a Monkey (Cartoon Network, 9 p.m. ET) Sneak Preview. A twelve-year-old boy named Adam Lyon is mistakenly enrolled in the Charles Darwin Middle School, where as the only human student he faces all the typical struggles of the junior high experience while learning how to befriend other species and avoid being eaten by certain classmates. On February 24 My Gym Partner's a Monkey will premiere in its regular time period, Friday at 9 p.m. ET.
Half & Half (UPN, 9:30 p.m. ET) Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child continues her three-episode appearance as Naomi Dawson, an HIV-positive record producer who catches the eye of rival record producer Spencer.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21
American Idol (Fox, 8 p.m. ET) Two Hours. The 12 female semifinalists perform.
Boston Legal (ABC, 10 p.m. ET) Tom Selleck is the guest star tonight on this increasingly entertaining series, one of television's best. He plays Ivan Tiggs, ex-husband of Shirley Schmidt (Candice Bergen), who wants Shirley to stand as his best man at his upcoming wedding. Meanwhile, Alan Shore (James Spader) defends a man who says he ended his wife's life at her request. Also, in a rare turn for this program, Paul Lewiston (Rene Auberjonois) is at the center of his own storyline when his estranged daughter re-enters his life.
America Undercover: Dealing Dogs (HBO, 10 p.m. ET) Premiere. This is one of those America Undercover documentaries that will be too difficult for many people to watch -- but we're damn glad HBO makes these things and exposes so many little-known domestic atrocities. Dealing Dogs chronicles the undercover investigation by the animal rights group Last Chance for Animals of the Martin Creek Kennel in Sharp County, Arkansas, which resulted in the largest animal cruelty case in U.S. history. This kennel was one of the many Class B dog-dealing operations that sell dogs to veterinary schools and research labs under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture. Class B dealers are required to buy dogs from pounds, shelters and small breeders and treat them humanely, but as this troubling documentary shows, dogs are often mistreated, abused and killed by less reputable operators. That was certainly the case with the reprehensible people who ran the Martin Creek Kennel. If you love dogs (or cats), try to watch this program or at least become familiar with its subject matter. And keep an eye on your beloved pet: As revealed here, many of the dogs that end up in such kennels are pets stolen right from their owners' yards.
The Shield (FX, 10 p.m. ET) As this series' best season yet continues, arrogant IAD investigator Kavanaugh begins to crack the Strike Team while Claudette's health takes a turn for the worse.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22
Lost (ABC, 8 p.m. ET) ABC tonight repeats the two-hour 2004 Lost pilot that started it all -- and still has people talking. The spectacular crash of Oceanic flight 815 and its chaotic aftermath remains one of the most extraordinary broadcast television sequences of this decade.
American Idol (Fox, 8 p.m. ET) The 12 male semifinalists perform.
Monty Python's Personal Best (PBS, check local listings) Premiere. First of six parts. The five living members of the now-legendary Monty Python troupe -- John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin and Terry Jones -- are each featured in their own one-hour installment of this special retrospective series. Each hour will include the particular Python's favorite clips from Monty Python's Flying Circus and their concert movies, along with new introductions and comedic commentary filmed for this program. The five men collaborated on the sixth hour, honoring their deceased colleague Graham Chapman. The shows starring Eric Idle and Graham Chapman will debut tonight. Watch for John Cleese and Terry Gilliam on March 1 and Michael Palin and Terry Jones on March 8.
True Life (MTV, 10 p.m. ET) Season Premiere. MTV's long-running documentary series -- one of the best on television -- begins a run of five new episodes with True Life: I'm a Competitive Eater. Competitive eaters are those folks who consume mass quantities of food in as little time as possible in contests that are both fascinating and repulsive to watch. And yes, this is considered a "sport." Three big eaters are profiled, including Japan's Takeru Kobayashi, widely recognized as the world's greatest eater. (Amazingly, this guy is very slender. Where do the fifty hotdogs he has been known to consume in one feed fit, anyway?)
Project Runway Reunion (Bravo, 10 p.m. ET) The thirteen aspiring designers who have been told to leave the runway and the three remaining reflect on the season to date with Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn. That means new interviews and lots of clips that weren't included in previous episodes. The actual competition resumes next week.
Project Jay (Bravo, 11 p.m. ET) Premiere. At first blush, this is a documentary about life after reality stardom, following the move of Project Runway winner Jay Carroll from his home in rural Lehman, Pennsylvania, to New York City to begin his new life and career as a fashion designer after his victory on the first season of the show. But it has moments to which almost everyone can relate: The mixed feelings that come with leaving home to pursue a dream; the miseries of moving, and the horrors one endures when searching for an affordable rent. On the lighter side, you'll see Carroll fulfilling a personal request from Heidi Klum -- designing the dress that she wore to last year's Emmy Awards.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23
Dancing with the Stars (ABC, 8 p.m. ET) Live. The final three couples compete. The winning couple will be announced in a special Sunday edition of the show (Feb. 23).
American Idol (Fox, 8 p.m. ET) Live. Four of the top-24 finalists are sent home in this special Thursday edition -- the first live Idol results show of the season.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24
Twins (The WB, 9:30 p.m. ET) Farrah hires a frustrated former underwear model as the new marketing director at Arnold Undergarments simply because she can relate to his problem: Nobody takes him seriously because he is so good looking. Nick Lachey plays the hot new executive.
Battlestar Galactica (Sci Fi Channel, 10 p.m. ET) Do the plotlines on this show ever stop roiling? Under the leadership of Samuel Anders, the human resistance prepares to fight the Cylon occupation, while one of the Sharons gives birth to Hera, the child she conceived with Helo. In a bizarre, only on Galactica development, baby Hera is actually the physical home to the consciousness of a deceased (and deadly) Sharon, prompting much distress for everyone involved. But the big news in this episode is the return of Lucy Lawless as D'Anna Biers, a Cylon agent who once posed as an investigative journalist writing an expose about misconduct amid the Galactica crew and is now a Cylon leader. Sci Fi Channel recently announced that Lawless would return again for a 10-episode arc in season three.