TELEVISION
"2009 American Music Awards," 8 p.m. KFSN (Channel 30.1): Janet Jackson kicks off this awards show that honors artists in Pop/Rock, Country, Rap/Hip-Hop, Soul/R&B, Alternative, Adult Contemporary, Latin and Contemporary Inspirational. Winners are determined by online voting.

DVD
"Star Trek": This look at how the crew of the Enterprise came together plays off the early days of the characters from the original television series against an evil plot that will rip the fabric of the universe apart. Director J.J. Abrams accomplished what many thought was impossible: He created a tribute to the past while bringing the franchise into the future.

MOVIES
"Precious": Comedian Mo'Nique's portrayal of a physically and emotionally abusive mother is as surprising as it is stunning. This kind of acting transformation -- a complete metamorphosis to turn into a sadistic and vile creature -- is why there are the Oscars. It's a performance you won't soon forget.

"Shrek the Third," 8 p.m. KFSN (Channel 30.1): This is the weakest of the three "Shrek" movies but should entertain youngsters.

Shrek (voiced again by Mike Myers) is sent on a journey to find the heir to the throne of the kingdom of Far, Far Away. The frog king (John Cleese) has croaked.

The closest relative is a cousin, Artie (voiced by Justin Timberlake). Shrek, Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas) set sail to bring Artie to the throne.

Back at the castle, Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and a handful of princesses, including Sleeping Beauty (Cheri Oteri), Snow White (Amy Poehler), Rapunzel (Maya Rudolph) and Cinderella (Amy Sedaris), are trying to stop the attempts by Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) to take over the kingdom. There is a more interesting story line about Fiona being pregnant. But the writers run from that like the Gingerbread Man from a glass of milk

Hey, it's worth watching just for Puss In Boots.

The wait is almost over.

ABC executives just announced the sixth and final season of "Lost" will begin Feb. 2. A recap special will kick off the night at 8 p.m. followed by the two-hour premiere starting at 9 p.m.

The series will air in its regular time period -- 9 p.m. Tuesdays -- beginning Feb. 9.

"Lost" has boggled viewers and spawned discussions since it premiered Sept. 22, 2004.

"Project Runway," 10 p.m. Lifetime: It's time to find out who is in and who is out on the season finale of this transplanted reality competition series. The second of the two-part season finale will have Irina Shabayeva, Carol Hannah Whitfield and Althea Harper vying for the runway victory.

Shabayeva is a New York designer while Whitfield calls Charleston, S.C. home. Harper is from Dayton, Ohio.

This is the first season fashion maven Heidi Klum and her partner in fashion crime, Tim Gunn, have hosted the show on the Lifetime cable channel after years on Bravo. To bad for Lifetime as this has not been the best season. But if you only watched one episode this year, you'll want to see who won. This episode sews up everything.

"America's Next Top Model," 8 p.m. KFRE (Channel 59.1): Ladies and gentlemen! Let's get ready to rumble down the runway. In this corner is Nicole, an 18-year-old Colorado student. In the other corner stands Laura, a 19-year-old Kentucky waitress. And neither of them stands more than 5-feet-7.

The two women are the finalists for this 13th cycle of the reality competition show. This season's gimmick was that all of the contestants couldn't be any taller than 5-feet-7, a height considered too short for most models.

After a long season of bizarre competitions, it all comes down to tonight where either Nicole or Laura will impress the judges enough to land the title.

The CW Network series can be tedious - particularly the annoying Tyra Banks - but if you are going to watch any episode, this is the one.

"Merry Madagascar," 8 p.m. KSEE (Channel 24.1): NBC has turned to those wacky animals from the "Madagascar" movies for this new holiday program. Christmas is still weeks away but this animated special is a holiday treat for all ages.

Former New York zoo residents Alex (voiced by Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer) and Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) are trying to make their way back to New York. Their latest attempt fails but they get a second chance when Santa Claus crashes his sleigh. When jolly St. Nick is left with no memory, the animals decide to deliver all of the presents and then land in New York.

Powered by the penguins - hands down the funniest group of cartoon characters on TV these days - the Christmas escape plan begins.

"Merry Madagascar" has enough cartoon action to entertain the youngest of TV watchers. It's also so smartly written, parents won't get bored. It's not in the same league as "A Charlie Brown Christmas," but "Merry Madagascar" deserves to be put on the list of annual holiday programs.

"WWII in HD," 9 p.m. History Channel: Rare color film footage has been mixed with photographs to tell the stories of 12 people who served in the war through this 10-part history of World War II. This effort presents World War II with the same skill and quality of Ken Burns' much heralded "The Civil War."

This documentary was put together using thousands of hours of archival footage gathered from a global search of basements and archives. These images tell the stories of a variety of veterans from Army nurse June Wandrey, who served from the beginning of the war to the liberation of the camps in Germany, to Shelby Westbrook, a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.

This 10-hour series is narrated by Emmy Award winner Gary Sinise.

Tonight's episodes include The Marines attack on Tarawa Island and the invasion of Normandy. The series continues through Thursday.

UPDATE: The winners are: Amber, Kristin, Michael Torres, Lisa Vang, oona171717, Lauren R., Bella, Becky Lindh, Art Falcon, Renee, Brian Murray, Tanya, Shelly, Kaylynn Conant, Nichole Leyva, Kathy Pippig, Lissa777, Cristobal, John, Jennifer, Amanda Castro, MikeQ, Jim Stempien, mari, Estie. All winners have been sent an e-mail with details about picking up the tickets. Congratulations!

Be sure to come back next week to post your review of "New Moon." We'll select winners from that post to win "New Moon" t-shirts.

ORIGINAL POST: Don't hate me, but I was among the members of the press who got a chance to see "New Moon" over the weekend. I needed to see the movie to interview the cast for a package of stories you will see in the Fresno Bee and at fresnobee.com/seven.

Critics were sworn to secrecy as to the quality of the movie. My thoughts will be revealed along those lines Nov. 20 when the movie opens.

Some of you will get to evaluate the movie for yourself before it opens to the public. The Beehive is giving away 25 pairs of tickets to see the 7 p.m. Nov. 18 sneak preview of "New Moon." The screening will be held at the Manchester Stadium 16.

All you have to do is leave a comment below telling us why you're anticipating the movie. The 25 winners will be randomly selected from those comments. Use a real e-mail address because we will notify winners via e-mail. Tickets will have to be picked up at The Fresno Bee. Entries will be taken until noon Friday and winners will be announced Friday afternoon. (Please note, these tickets do not guarantee you will get a seat at the screening because the movie studio gives out more tickets than seats to ensure a full house.)

Good luck and I hope to see you at the "New Moon" screening.

Official rules on the jump.

Movies
"Pirate Radio": The film has the energetic pop of a Mick Jagger dance move, the infectious nature of a Jimi Hendrix guitar riff and the entertainment value equal to the entire Beach Boys catalogue. In other words: The film rocks.

DVD
"Up": A grumpy old man and a young boy sail away to an animated adventure. The computer-generated film features the voice of Ed Asner. This offering is a long way from the light entertainment of a "Toy Story" or "Monsters, Inc." It features the same first-rate animation, but the movie often has a very emotional side that goes a long way toward making this effort remarkably touching.

Television
"Sunday Night Football," 5:20 p.m. Sunday, KSEE (Channel 24.1): The scoring should be high as the Indianapolis Colts play host the New England Patriots in this NFL showdown.

"The Soup," 10 p.m. E! Entertainment: Joel McHale hosts this weekly assault of everything stupid in the world of entertainment. His Sahara dry wit is perfect when talking about everything from Tyra Banks (a favorite target) to Whitney Houston (another favorite target).

If you are only familiar with McHale from his role on the NBC Thursday comedy "Community," don't use that as your yardstick. McHale's acting needs some work. He's obviously much more comfortable when he's talking directly to the camera. It may just be that the jokes on "The Soup" are funnier.

The fast-paced show throws verbal jabs with deadly comedic accuracy. "The Soup" is quick, funny and at times a little mean. That's a perfect blend for what should be your weekly guilty pleasure.