"The Science of Meerkat Manor" and More TiVoWorthy TV for May 30

FRIDAY, MAY 30

The Science of Meerkat Manor (Animal Planet, 9:30 p.m. ET) (Pictured)
Premiere. This special focuses on the behind-the-scenes humans who live among and silently record the every move of those marvelous meerkats for Animal Planet’s hit series without ever interfering – even when they see that something horrible is going to happen.

The 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee
Live. Tom Bergeron hosts live primetime coverage from Washington, D.C., of the final championship rounds of The 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee. It’s the nation’s largest and longest running educational promotion, administered on a not-for-profit basis by the E.W. Scripps Company in tandem with 280 local sponsors, most of them daily and weekly newspapers. You can catch the preliminary rounds live on ESPN and ESPN360.com earlier today.

Can You Duet (CMT, 8 p.m. ET)
The final six duos perform on stage with a full band at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville. Naomi Judd, vocal coach Brett Manning and songwriter Aimee Mayo are the judges. Rossi Morreale is the host.

Mobile Home Disaster (CMT, 9 p.m. ET)
The lucky recipients of a makeover in tonight’s episode are the Schmidts, a blended family living in a mobile home that used to be a daycare center and still sports the center’s original paint, wallpaper and chalk drawn hopscotch court. John Caparulo is the host.

Doctor Who (Sci Fi Channel, 9 p.m. ET)
Conclusion. The battle continues between the Unified Intelligence Task Force and the Sontarans, a race of warmongering aliens first seen 35 years ago during the third Doctor Who story, The Time Warrior, and not seen since 1985’s The Two Doctors. (No franchise in the history of scripted television pays more careful attention to continuity and shows so much respect for its own history than Doctor Who.) David Tennant and Catherine Tate star, with Freema Agyeman as the always welcome Martha Jones.

2/8 Life (Hulu)
If you’ve had your fill of quarterlife, the terminally serious Internet series featuring a young woman who vlogs incessantly about herself and her circle of friends, check out this recent arrival at Hulu, which explores the same subject matter but wisely plays self-generated twenty-something angst for laughs. And after you’ve enjoyed all five episodes from Season 1 of 2/8 Life, head over to the Independent Comedy Network and watch the witty teaser trailer for Season 2.

Attack of the Giant Elephant Seal (YouTube)
A storyline last week on the National Geographic Channel’s observational reality series America’s Port involved an imperiled harbor seal, which lead me to an Internet search on the subject, which brought me to this clip. You need to see it to believe it.

Nigel Tufnel of This is Spinal Tap Talks about Stonehenge (StonehengeDecoded.com)
Christopher Guest re-creates his classic role of rock star Nigel Tufnel from the 1984 cult classic This is Spinal Tap for this five-part online interview in which he shares his views about the origin of one of the most iconic structures in the world, Stonehenge. (It was an obsession of his in the movie.) Tufnel also allows a camera into his garage, where he conducts secret experiments intended to reveal the true purpose of Stonehenge. Yes, this is a publicity stunt for National Geographic Channel’s documentary Stonehenge Decoded, which premieres June 1.