television

If this doesn't make you think twice about going into the water, nothing will.

The 2009 edition of Discovery Channel's "Shark Week" includes six new specials that look at the finned predators. The first is "Blood In the Water," premiering 9 p.m. EDT Sunday. It documents a series of attacks in New Jersey in 1916.

Other new shows include:

Jesse James, first came to the public's attention on the Discovery Channel's "Monster Garage." Since then he has created a workingman's empire, starting with his West Coast Chopper specializing in custom-built motorcycles.

The fall TV season is still a month and a half away, but it's time to start thinking about what's new to look forward to or to avoid. Some of the coming trends of the season include:
-- More comedy: The genre hasn't fared well in recent seasons, but ABC has four new comedies airing on Wednesday night alone. "Modern Family," in particular, has drawn positive buzz.

What a shocker: Kathy Griffin is coming out on the side of gay marriage. Or, as she puts it herself: "I'm down with the gays."

Earlier this month a viewer e-mailed to ask if a miniseries like "Roots" could ever get made today, a thought-provoking question.
The realistic answer: Not on a broadcast network like ABC, which debuted the groundbreaking "Roots" in 1977.

Conventional wisdom says the summer TV season is a time for cable series to come to the forefront while broadcast networks rely on reality shows and reruns. And that's definitely true. Less obvious is the wealth of documentary programming that exists.

The premise of BBC America's delightful "Being Human" sounds like the setup to a joke -- a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost are roommates -- but the series turns out to be a soul-searching, contemplative exploration of what it means to be human and a funny take on more lighthearted aspects of supernatural life.
It premieres Saturday at 9 p.m. EDT.

Last week, the American Sportscasters Association voted Lesley Visser as the No. 1 female sportscaster of all time.
The CBS broadcaster was picked from 36 finalists and finished ahead in a top five that included Andrea Kremer, Robin Roberts, Michele Tafoya and Hannah Storm. While the pioneer Visser certainly deserves the honor, she is not on TV as regularly as she used to be.

Jenna Morasca has proven she can outwit, outplay and outlast her competition.
But can she survive her debut match in TNA Wrestling?
We'll find out on Sunday night's Victory Road pay-per-view show. Morasca - the winner of CBS reality show Survivor: Amazon in 2003 -- will battle Sharmell Sullivan-Huffman, the wife of TNA star Booker T.

Eleven creative types throw themselves into the stress and competition of the fourth season of "HGTV's Design Star" (premiering 10 p.m. EDT Sunday, HGTV).
The prize is the start of a career -- and the opportunity to host an HGTV series.