Tonight is the series premiere of Shaq’s Big Challenge on ABC. Today you will also find Sci Fi Channel replaying the entire first season of Eureka. Today is also the day that the TVaholic will be touring the Eureka set, including a Q&A session with cast and crew in the “Global Dynamics Rotunda.” Although, I think the most fun will be seeing the “Smart House” set up close and some of its gadgets demonstrated.

Prime Picks

On the Lot (FOX): New. One gets voted off and six of the already safe present their latest short films.

Veronica Mars (The CW): Repeat. Laura San Giacomo (Just Shoot Me) guest stars as a woman who wants Keith, played by Enrico Colantoni (who was also on Just Shoot Me), to find out if her husband is cheating on her.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC): Repeat. Emily VanCamp (Brothers & Sisters, Everwood) guests on this episode as the daughter of a mob attorney who was attacked.

Solid Selections

NCIS (CBS): Repeat. Some missing chemical weapons may have gotten into the hands of a wanted terrorist and the team sets out to stop him.

House (FOX): Repeat. House in the middle of his own legal troubles takes the bickering parents of a young patient to court because they can’t agree on a course of treatment for her.

Primetime (ABC): New. ABC news investigative reporting.

Cable Choices

Eureka (Sci Fi): Repeats. The last two episodes of today’s Eureka marathon are the best choice in primetime on cable tonight. If you missed this show the first time around, then set your TiVo and record the entire thing, so you will be ready for the premiere on July 10th of season two. This is one of my favorite shows to hit the tube in the last year. I call it Northern Exposure with a sci-fi mystery twist.

Ace of Cakes (Food Network): Repeat. A zoo themed cake is made. Plays again later.
Throwdown With Bobby Flay (Food Network): Repeat. The battle of the buffalo wing is waged. Plays again later.

Other Options

• America’s Got Talent (NBC): New. Two hours of The Hoff and the rest judging talent in New York City.
• BET Awards ’07 (BET): New. Awards for achievement in entertainment, music and sports are handed out. Runs three hours.
• Shaq’s Big Challenge (ABC): Series Premiere. Shaquille O’Neal sets out with some expert help to get some overweight kids living healthier lives.
• The Unit (CBS): Repeat. The team runs into trouble while protecting an international figure at the U.N.

Sports Notes

• ESPN has coverage of Wimbledon early.

Late Night

• Painkiller Jane (Sci Fi): Repeat. Last Friday’s episode, “Portraits of Lauren Gray,” replay where Jane and Maureen go undercover as models.

TV Marathons

Discovery Channel has 13 episodes of Dirty Jobs.
Sci Fi plays the entire 12-episode first season of Eureka.

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New TV on DVD:

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3: The Complete Series
Best of Casper, Vol. 1
Best of Casper, Vol. 2
Bozo: The World’s Most Famous Clown, Vol. 1
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - Second Season
Hannah Montana - Pop Star Profile
Miami Vice: Season Five
Monk - Season Five
My Little Pony: Pony Puppy
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection Vol. 11
The New Adventures of Batman
The New Adventures of Superman
The New Statesman
Psych - The Complete First Season
Reno 911! - The Complete Fourth Season (Uncensored)
Spenser: Ceremony
Spenser: Pale Kings & Princes
Wild Chronicles: Season One Collection

Amazon is still having their Big Summer Sale, which includes TV on DVD sets like the first season of The Closer, seasons one and two of Deadwood, the complete series sets of Friends and The West Wing and British shows like the complete series of The Office, all at up to 62% off.

Today, the TVaholic is heading up to Vancouver, B.C. for a Sci Fi Channel digital press tour of the Battlestar Galactica, Eureka, the new Flash Gordon and Stargate Atlantis sets, which will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. We will also be able to ask questions of cast members, writers, producers, etc. It should be a lot of fun and we should have plenty of pictures and more to report later in the week. Now, in TV cancellation news, the animated series Creature Comforts, on CBS, has been pulled do to low ratings. It couldn’t even beat a repeat of Wife Swap on ABC, which unbelievably finished in second place behind NBC’s season finale of Deal or No Deal. As of tonight, The New Adventures of Old Christine will replace it on the schedule.

Prime Picks

The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS): Repeat. Replaces the cancelled Creature Comforts on the schedule. In this episode, Christine doesn’t know what to do when Ritchie does poorly on an important school assignment.
The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS): Repeat. Christine and Richard try to figure out how to pay for an increase in Ritchie’s private school tuition.

Two and a Half Men (CBS): Repeat. Charlie and Alan give their mother a hard time about who and how many will show up for a funeral when she dies, so she makes them regret ever thing so.
How I Met Your Mother (CBS): Repeat. Everyone recalls his or her first time while trying to discourage Robin’s little sister from experiencing hers. This episode is also good if you need some random facts about the Empire State Building.

CSI: Miami (CBS): Repeat. Det. Tripp steps on a landmine while investigating the death of a Cuban immigrant at the beach.

Solid Selections

Family Guy (FOX): Repeat. Quagmire loses his job and then he gets some advice from Hugh Hefner.
Family Guy (FOX): Repeat. The Griffins open a restaurant but nobody is coming.

Hell’s Kitchen (FOX): New. Get ready for a little gross out taste testing and Ramsay probably yells at people.

Science of Love (NBC): New. In what is supposed to be an experiment, but is more likely an hour-long ad for Perfectmatch.com, NFL Player Adam Johnson gets to pick his own date and also have a match picked for him by “scientific” means. Then they see which one turns out better for him.

Cable Choices

Kyle XY (ABC Family): New. Foss wants Kyle to work on his skills, but he just wants to be normal. Meanwhile, XX is sent with Emily to find XY. This episode plays again later and again, Friday night on ABC.

The Closer (TNT): New. Lt. Provenza is in hot water again, when his business card is found on the body of a dead gang-member. Brenda gets a call from her father. This episode plays again later and again on Thursday night.

Heartland (TNT): New. Someone wants to make a living donation to a dying man that is an alcoholic, but Dr. Grant won’t do the surgery. This episode plays again next Monday night. Last’s week’s series premiere episode replays earlier tonight before The Closer.

Other Options

• Army Wives (Lifetime): Repeat. Last night’s episode, “One of Our Own,” replays.
• Girl, Positive (Lifetime): Released 2007. Made for TV movie about a girl, played by Andrea Bowen (Desperate Housewives), who finds out that a boy she was once with has recently died and was HIV positive. She then finds that she is as well and is help by a substitute teacher, played by Jennie Garth (What I Like About You, Beverly Hills, 90210), who has been living with the disease for sometime now. Runs two hours. Plays again next Sunday.
• Last Comic Standing (Bravo): Repeat. “Auditions No. 3” replays.

Sports Notes

• ESPN2 has early round Wimbledon tennis coverage early in the morning and Monday Night Baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals at the New York Mets and then Arena Football.

TV Marathons

Sci Fi has eight episodes of Jake 2.0 early.
TNT has six episodes of Law & Order today.
VH1 has eight episodes of The White Rapper Show today.

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There is a whole lot going on this Sunday. Whether is be repeats of Friday Night Lights on NBC, new episodes of The 4400 and The Dead Zone on USA, the first four episodes of Army Wives on Lifetime, Kidnapped returning to NBC in late night for its unaired episodes, a new Entourage on HBO, another wannabe chef being sent home on The Next Food Network Star or a Roots marathon on TV One, there is something for just about everybody tonight on the tube. What looks good to you on TV tonight?

Prime Picks

The Simpsons (FOX): Repeat. Bart is forced to go to Nelson’s birthday party, unfortunately for him, he told all his friends not to attend.
The Loop (FOX): New. Meryl gets upset when Sam forgets to nominate her for a big award. Another episode plays later.

Friday Night Lights (NBC): Repeat. This week focused on the cheerleaders and less on the guys, as the cheer squad heads to the Championship Classic.

Brothers & Sisters (ABC): Repeat. Events conspire, as they do on TV, to put the whole Walker family up at the country house, each of them thinking that no one else will be there. It is a good example of the shows dynamic and what types of situations and character interaction you can expect.

Solid Selections

Without a Trace (CBS): Repeat. A man now living in New York after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina goes missing and the team investigates. Eric La Salle (ER) guests in the episode.

Cold Case (CBS): Repeat. When the bones of a 1947 tunnel construction worker are found, the team reopens a case.

Without a Trace (CBS): Repeat. The team searches for a social worker that has disappeared and recently had forcibly removed a child from an abusive situation.

Cable Choices

The Pacifier (USA): Released 2005. Vin Diesel (XXX, The Fast and the Furious) is a Navy SEAL who is assigned to protect a family from enemies of their father. Runs the two hours leading up to The 4400.

The 4400 (USA): New. The is no fear like “Fear Itself.” Runs 61 minutes and plays again later. Last week’s season premiere replays earlier in the day.

Entourage (HBO): New. Billy has the first cut of the movie, but he won’t let anyone see it. Drama throws a party at his new place and runs around trying to keep everything clean, thus bringing down the party atmosphere.
Flight of the Conchords (HBO): New. This was a very odd show. I will have to give it another show, as I tried to watch in when I was tired and I fell asleep.

Other Options

• Army Wives (Lifetime): New. News of Denise’s husband’s chopper crash has spread around the post and she is having trouble dealing. Meanwhile, Joan must divulge a secret to her husband when the soldier she submitted for observation takes hostages, including Claudia Joy. This episode and last week’s play again later. The first three episodes of the series replay leading up to tonight’s new episode.
• The Dead Zone (USA): New. Can’t believe that they killed off Bannerman. I guess they needed some new tension for Johnny to have to deal with, in the form of a new and beautiful sheriff. Plays again later. Last week’s season premiere replays earlier in the day.
• The Next Food Network Star (Food Network): New. This week Paula Deen comes by to give them the task of cooking up comfort foods. They will be serving soldiers from Fort Dix. Plays again later. Last week’s episode replays right before this one.
• Rescue Me (FX): Repeat. Last Wednesday’s episode, “Tuesday,” replays. Runs 67 minutes.

Sports Notes

• ABC has IndyCar racing with the Iowa Corn Indy 250.
• ESPN has Sunday Night Baseball with the Detroit Tigers at the Atlanta Braves.
• ESPN2 has final round coverage of the Wegman’s LPGA Championsip golf tournament early and later Game 2 of the NCAA College World Series Championship.
• TNT has NASCAR racing with the Nextel Cup: Toyota/SaveMart 350.

Late Night

• Kidnapped (NBC): New. The serial drama that starred Jeremy Sisto (Six Feet Under, Law & Order next season) as a former federal agent that is now freelance that tries to get back a kidnapped boy of a high profile family. It was very good, but was cancelled after five episodes. NBC played the rest of them online and the complete 13 episode series has already been released on DVD. Now, the unaired episodes will play late, sometime after your local news, on Sunday nights, starting tonight with episode six, “My Heart Belongs to Daddy.” They did wrap things up, so if you watch, you won’t be left hanging on the major mystery of the kidnapping.
• The Starter Wife (USA): Repeat. Last Thursday’s episode, “Hour 5,” replays.

TV Marathons

Discovery Channel has 10 Dirty Jobs and then the last four replay.
GSN has five hours of Family Feud tonight.
FOX Reality has five episodes of The Academy today.
MTV has 10 episodes of Hip Hop’s Toughest Rhymes tonight.
SOAPnet has last week’s five episodes of One Life to Live and General Hospital.
TLC has five episodes of Little People, Big World today.
TV One has the entire Roots miniseries today, which will run 12 hours. It is the most watched miniseries of all-time. It was based on Alex Haley’s bestselling book and it is available in a 30th Anniversary DVD Set.

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