Epic is an overused modifier, but epic - a long, poetic composition, majestic, heroic, of unusually great size or extent - is exactly what Frozen Planet is.

And tonight, BBC and David Attenborough's eye-filling and yet surprisingly intimate and heartwarming portrait of the earth's polar regions looks once again at what might be the most meaningful, relevant chapter in the entire series: a look at human life and how people have adapted to some of the world's harshest climate extremes.

The focus is on the Arctic, Antarctica being too remote and hostile to have supported or sustained any sizable human population over time. As with BBC and Discovery Channel's eightpart series, Human Planet, which tried to show - with mixed success - the ways in which human beings have adapted to every environment on Earth, there's only so much detail that can be compressed into a single hour of TV. Those who call the Arctic home won't find much in Frozen Planet that is new or revealing. For those who've never been, though, or missed the earlier series, Human Planet, tonight's hour, Life in the Freezer, has one important fact in its favour: It's a feast for the eyes, gorgeously photographed and beautifully put together.

The natural history of human life in the Arctic could warrant an entire series on its own - now there's an idea, instead of, say, The Real Housewives of Vancouver - but that's a story for another day. For now, pull up a chair, heat a cup of warm broth, and marvel at the sturdiness, resilience and resourcefulness of those who've laid down family roots in one of the harshest environments on Earth.

Last year, Human Planet was nominated for a field-leading seven U.K. BAFTA Awards and won two - both for its Arctic episode. It's not hard to imagine Frozen Planet will beat that record later this year. It's that good. (Discovery Channel, 8 ET/ 5 PT)

Three to see:

. The Ricky Gervais Show returns tonight for a third season of, as Gervais and his sidekick Stephen Merchant call it, "pointless conversations" with the little, round-headed buffoon that is Karl Pilkington.Tonight, viewers are treated to Karl's theory about how the world's great museums acquire their collections and his unique idea for a blockbuster Hollywood movie: Take the brain of some ordinary, everyday bloke and transplant it into the body of Tom Cruise. Sounds like a winner! (HBO, 8 p.m.)

. Magic City, a woozy, rum-soaked paean to Miami Beach's golden age of gangsters, gunsels and gun molls hiding out from the Cuban revolution, has found its rhythm, after just two episodes. Critics have not been kind, but Magic City has an almost eerie sense of time and place - Miami, 1959 - coupled with a cracking good yarn about a morally haunted hotelier (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) juggling his demanding family with the demands of shady politicos, union bosses and other assorted characters. In tonight's episode, mob boss Ben Diamond (Danny Huston) hands Isaac (Morgan) $100,000 in crisp, freshly minted bills, and tells him to grease the palms of local politicians, so he can bypass local zoning laws and build a beachfront casino. Some things, it seems, never change, even as time goes by. (SuperChannel, 7 p.m.)

. The bad news: Tonight's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with special guest Bruce Springsteen is a repeat. The good news: It's Bruce Springsteen. (CTV Two, NBC; 12: 35 a.m.)

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