On TV this week

By Joshua Gillin, tbt* Staff Writer
Published September 10, 2007

Monday

SEASON PREMIERE Monday Night Football Doubleheader, 7 p.m., ESPN The opener with the Cincinnati Bengals battling the Baltimore Ravens will be entertaining, but the nightcap with the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals will hardly keep us from getting up for work in the morning.

TMZ on TV, 7 p.m., Fox Because a Web site of celebrity gossip just wasn't enough.

Fat March, 9 p.m., ABC They made it all the way to D.C. from Boston, so now we find out how much money they've won and weight they've lost. Talk about eating up the miles.

Tuesday

106 & Park, 6 p.m., BET Kanye West and 50 Cent are slated to be on this countdown to see if Fitty truly will have to retire. Who needs pro wrestling?

SEASON PREMIERE The Biggest Loser, 8 p.m., NBC Don't be upset by the end of Fat March; this show arrives to give us more porky folks to cheer on. Alison Sweeney takes a turn as the show's new host.

The Office, 10 p.m., TBS Take a look at where all the Brit-comedy scene-stealing began with this show starting its syndicated run.

LA Ink, 10 p.m., TLC A couple weeks ago we had boob jobs. Now we've got vasectomies. When did this turn into Dr. 90210?

Wednesday

Locked Up Abroad, 9 p.m., National Geographic Truly, the only thing worse than being locked up in a Chinese prison is being locked up in a Nepalese prison. Told you not to be a drug mule.

SEASON PREMIERE Inside the NFL, 10 p.m., HBO Take another hour to review the 19 hours you spent watching pro football already this week.

Top Chef, 10 p.m., Bravo The notable thing (besides Padma Lakshmi) is the title of this episode, wherein the chefs must make airplane food: "Snacks on a Plane."

Thursday

College Football: West Virginia at Maryland, 8 p.m., ESPN Thank goodness the Thursday thing has become a commercially viable endeavor. We were going almost FOUR WHOLE DAYS without some pigskin.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, 10 p.m., FX Having lived in Philly, it sounds like every storyline on this show is plausible. Case in point: Dee and Mac decide they're going to raise a baby they find in a dumpster in the first of two new episodes tonight.

Celebrity Rap Superstar, 10 p.m., MTV We could stand this show if it wasn't for that pompous Perez Hilton.

Friday

CBS Sneak Peek, 8 p.m., CBS There's still no new shows on, but you can watch this show about new shows.

Nashville, 9 p.m., Fox We're sick of reality shows about Hollywood, so Fox decided to make a reality show about redneck Hollywood. No, not Branson.

Monk, 9 p.m., USA Monk has insomnia. Who will wash and brush all the sheep he should be counting?

- Joshua Gillin jgillin@tampabay.com

[Last modified September 7, 2007, 16:36:51]