It’s another week of television shows coming at you and we’re here to help. Here’s a break down by night of what you need to be sure to catch and what’s going on this week, July 2 - 6, 2007. Lots of reality TV again this week along with a few series running through the summer. This week the big reality TV bomb drops for me with the start of the eighth season of Big Brother. Oh yes, Big Brother 8 is on its merry little way into our homes for the next 2+ months 3 nights a week. Fantastic you say? Darn right it’s fantastic. You can check out all our preseason coverage of Big Brother 8 to get ready for this little gem. I’ve really been enjoying Age of Love, Pirate Master, and Hell’s Kitchen. Take a look and see what other shows you don’t want to miss this week.

Monday:
Age of Love: 8-9pm on NBC; Tennis player Mark Philippoussis is the prize in this dating competition featuring 13 women split into two groups: Kittens, who are in their 20s; and Cougars, women in their 40s. Tonight Mark has a pool party with the newly introduced Kittens before skating with the Cougars, and later has a date with three 20s. At the end he’ll send home a woman from each group. Best of all, each group will find out about the other. This is a rerun of last week’s episode for those who missed it.

Age of Love: 9-10pm on NBC; Go Play with Someone Your Own Age; Mark has simultaneous dates with one woman from each group, but he must split his time between the two tables. Later the women plan a date for their rival group that emphasizes the age difference between them. Check out the rest of our Age of Love coverage.

Hell’s Kitchen: 8-9pm on Fox; The remaining chefs compete in a blindfolded taste test. The losers must then taste items that are somewhat less than appetizing (um, Fear Factor?) while the winners dine with Chef Ramsey. At the dinner service, the dishes are critiqued and rated by the diners. This is a rerun of last week’s episode for those who missed it.

Hell’s Kitchen: 9-10pm on Fox; The seven remaining chef’s must purchase and prepare food for a wedding reception. The bride and groom must approve, and one presentation goes very badly. Later, a kitchen power struggle mars the dinner service. More on Hell’s Kitchen.

Tuesday:
On the Lot: 8-9pm on Fox; One director is eliminated and the remaining finalists screen their horror films. Director Eli Rother guest judges.

America’s Got Talent: 8-10pm on NBC; New York Auditions - Talent-show hopefuls take part in the third round of auditions, judged by The Hoff, Piers Morgan, and Sharon Osbourne. Jerry Springer hosts. This is a repeat from last week.

Wednesday:
Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular: 9-10pm on NBC; Natalie Morales and Tiki Barber anchor coverage of Manhattan’s annual fireworks display, which is backed by performances by Martina McBride, Joss Stone, and American Idol singers Jordin Sparks, Blake Lewis, and Melinda Doolittle. The New York Pops also perform under the direction of Rob Fisher.

Thursday:
Big Brother 8: 8-9pm on CBS; The eighth season begins with 14 houseguests entering the compound and learning that some of them are sharing space with an unwelcome visitor from their past (Jase?). Also, one person is secretly designated to be “America’s Player” and must attempt to accomplish whatever viewers vote for them to do each week. Julie Chen (Chen-bot) is the host. Check out all our preseason coverage of Big Brother 8.

Pirate Master: 9-10pm on CBS; Contestants/Pirates continue to search for $1 million in treasure. Another pirate will be cut adrift. Check out last week’s episode of Pirate Master and the rest of our Pirate Master coverage.

Friday:
The Soup: 10-10:30 on E!; This is a great show that recaps the week’s entertainment news and non-news with great commentary by Joel McHale. He’s the supervisor character from those Burger King commercials set in an office. Don’t let that discourage you though, he’s really funny.

Check back here on Friday for my Weekend Movie Preview Lineup to see what your options will be.

Okay, that’s my set of Don’t Miss Shows for this week, July 2-6, 2007.

Have another show to add? Comment below and let me know what else you think should be on this list.