The special asks what would happen to the planet once humans are gone, and manages to answer in a way that's both informative and visually compelling, blending interviews with experts, CGI animation, and haunting shots of already-human-free locations like Chernobyl.

The show opens with humankind having already vanished from the planet, and we have no idea where everyone went. Sadly, we've left behind all of our domesticated pets, and there are several scenes of an abandoned puppy wondering where everyone has gone to tug at our heartstrings. However, one of the experts tells us that the cute and tiny breeds of dogs will die off very quickly, and that packs of large feral dogs will roam as scavengers. Sorry about that, you Yorkie owners out there.

Another fascinating element of Life After People is a segment about how buildings would break down without the presence of humans. You wouldn't think that skyscrapers rely on humans to keep them together, but once the power goes out, that turns off the climate controls. That would cause the metal window frames to expand with heat, then fuse shut. And then it's just a matter of time until the glass breaks from its frame. Without windows, air pressure changes within the entire structure, and it becomes a lightning attractor. One strike, and you've got The Towering Inferno, sans OJ Simpson.

We also learn how quickly power sources would die out over the years, with the longest continual power most likely coming from Hoover Dam. Of course, it too would be doomed once mollusks choke the coolant pipes and the generators auto-shutdown. That means no more lights or the steady bleep-bloop of slot machines trying to attract your attention in Vegas.

The special starts from Day One without people, and goes all the way to 10,000 years later. So, who ends up coming out on top when we leave the planet? The cockroaches, of course. Oh, and Mount Rushmore, which experts think may still be standing after 100,000 years. Zoinks. Life After People will be shown several more times on The History Channel over the next few weeks. Catch it if you're still around.

Monday night is, once again, a block of teenage almost-superheroes. At 8 PM on ABC Family, Kyle XY continues the "OMG my hawt female counterpart is outta control!" plot. Except now Jessi is going to Kyle's school and acting extra bratty. Before you know it, she'll be faking a broken neck to freak out the stuck-up head cheerleader or something. Here's the trailer:
Then at 9 PM, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is also about our male hero going to school with his weird female companion. The only difference is, our female Terminator isn't a crazy show-off like Jessi. Or maybe she kind of is, judging from the man-grabbing action in this trailer:
Also on Monday, at 10 PM, is Life After People on the History Channel. It's a porntacular look at how the world would get on without any of us pesky humans cluttering it up. Pretty well, by all accounts.

Tuesday at 9, there's the final episode of time-travel cop show Life On Mars on BBC America. Gene rushes to catch a notorious cop killer. Meanwhile, Morgan promises to Sam that after just "one more job" he can go home to 2006. It's the heart-stopping climax where we find out what's really been happening all this time.

Wednesday night... umm... League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is showing on FX. CMTV has Little Beauties, a child beauty pageant that really ought to be science fictional but isn't. Besides that... I dunno. get out of the house. Go bowling. Does your town still have a bowling alley? They're dying out, you know.

Thursday, the final two episodes of Chuck completed before the strike are airing. But not back-to-back. NBC couldn't possibly be that sensible. Instead, it's a "Chuck sandwich," with a new episode of Celebrity Apprentice smushed between two Chucks at 8 and 10 PM. Does NBC think there's some crossover audience that loves Chuck and is just waiting to discover Celebrity Apprentice? As for the plot of the two episodes... there's an evil spy, and we learn more about why Jayne from Firefly is so mean. (It's because he's Jayne from Firefly, duh.) Here's a trailer:
Also on Thursday at 8, there's a Smallville rerun.

Friday as usual, it's all about the Scifi Channel, the only channel that expects its core demographic to stay home on a Friday night. At 8, there's Flash Gordon, which sounds like a new peak of awesomeness for the series. For starters, the cold region of Mongo is called Frigia. And it has a queen, who I'm guessing wears frosty blue lipstick and a white spangly leotard. Flash has to rescue her, so he can fulfill the final step of the prophecy and become the savior of Mongo. Speaking of which, is anybody else tired of prophecies in science fiction?

And then at 9 PM, there's a new Stargate: Atlantis. Speaking of queens and perilous journeys and stuff, Sheppard and McKay have to escort a young princess on her "rite of passage" so she can become a queen. There's no prophecy, as far as I can tell, but there is a beast. Here's the trailer:
Saturday sees the first episode of Torchwood season two on BBC America at 9 PM. (Here's our spoilery review of the episode, which you can always go back and read after you see it.) A less spoilery description: Captain Jack returns from swanning around with David Tennant, and the crew is all pissy with him for staying away so long. But then they have to work together when Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer arrives through a hole in time, wanting to suck their blood kiss them. And here's another trailer:

Sunday, you're on your own. Unless you take the title of Scott Baio Is 46... And Pregnant literally, which would make it sci-fi-ish.