In this March 28, 2012, file photo, Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, appears at a town hall meeting in College Park, Md. Paul picked up more delegates to the Republican National Convention Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012, after his supporters reached a compromise over disputed delegates from Louisiana. Paul will get 17 of the Louisiana's 46 delegates in the compromise, said Charlie Davis, who served as Paul's campaign chairman in Louisiana. The rest of the state's delegates are expected to support Mitt Romney, the party's presumptive nominee. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, file)

Wow - I thought counter programming was scarce during the Olympics, but the world sporting community's got nothing on the GOP. With the Republican convention eating up a lot of prime time on broadcast and cable networks, non-repeat alternatives are few. Here's what to watch and what to avoid on television this week:

- Monday:

"2012 Republican National Convention" 7 p.m., PBS: Day one, live from Tampa.

"Stars Earn Stripes" 8 p.m., NBC: I've come full circle on this. I now believe D-list celebrities should fight all our wars. Here, Carrot Top ... have a grenade launcher. Pass one to Meat Loaf, too.

- Tuesday:

"2012 Republican National Convention" 9 p.m., ABC, CBS, NBC: Three of the major broadcast networks join in with coverage of the second day of the GOP gathering. There's a lot of cable news coverage, too.

"The Daily Show" 10 p.m., Comedy Central: Jon Stewart and company put their comedic spin on the Repub hubbub tonight through Friday.

- Wednesday:

"NFL Exhibition Football" 7 p.m., CBS: The Dolphins' second- and third-strings take on the Cowboys' second- and third-strings in Dallas.

- Thursday:

"Snooki & JWoww" 9 p.m., MTV: Yes, there's a lot of political programming this week. No, these aren't Secret Service code names for Romney and Ryan.

- Friday:

"Law on the Border" 9 p.m., Animal Planet: Smugglers shoot drugs over the border fence from Mexico to the United States via air cannon. I had a similar experience at a minor league ball game, but all I got was this lousy T-shirt.

"Fashion Police" 9 p.m., E!: They may be covered in a divine and daring, silky leopard print, but don't kid yourself - those batons will still leave a mark.

"Great Performances" 9 p.m., PBS: The Vienna Philharmonic provides the movements and the Vienna State Opera Ballet provides the movement in "Dances and Waves."

- Saturday:

"That Metal Show" 10 p.m., VH1 Classic: Unless they're talking about the metal parts of artificial hips, I don't think Aerosmith belongs on this program.

- Sunday:

"TV's Most Dynamic Duos" 8 p.m., ABC: The Paley Center for Media lists television's most memorable pairings, including Pat Sajak and Vanna White. Wait - no Snooki and JWoww?

"Small Town Security" 10 p.m., AMC: The first (and let's hope last) season of AMC's reality misfire concludes tonight.

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