"Phenomenon"
Wednesday 8pm, NBC
Let’s just call this new reality show "America’s Next Top Magician." Legendary mentalist Uri Gellar and current Hollywood magic boy Criss Angel (of "Mindfreak" and allegedly boffing Cameron and Britney fame) put 10 aspiring illusionists through their paces, judging them as they perform various challenges and pull out their biggest tricks. Ultimately, the viewers at home make the final choice on who wins $250,000 and, undoubtedly, the ire of David Copperfield.
"Dracula’s Underground"
Monday 9pm, History Channel
This doc—part of History’s "Cities of the Underworld" series—illuminates the very real history of the man behind the Dracula myth. Vlad the Impaler was one bad mother, committing atrocities upon his enemies and followers alike in 15th century Romania. The special investigates the subterranean lairs that "the Son of the Devil" once called home, including several claustrophobic prisons and a couple secret escape passages. A somewhat tangential trip to Hungary’s salt mines notwithstanding, the show gives Drac his due, painting the picture of a man whose bloody actions in reality were infinitely more gruesome than anything a horror writer could come up with.
"The Addams Family"
Daily noon, TV Land
The Barry Sonnenfeld movies from the 1990s are superior products (especially the sequel, featuring a gut-busting turn by Joan Cusack), but the original macabre serial still has its charms—and one of the most bitchin’ theme songs ever to grace a TV show. Relive the adventures of Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Pugsley, and Cousin It thanks to TV Land. If you want more campy monster-based fun, tune in a half-hour earlier for the Gobots to The Addams’ Transformers, "The Munsters."
