Showtime may have finally found a controversial show worth talking about, even if you can’t say the title in polite conversation. “Penn & Teller: Bullshit!” (10 p.m., Showtime) is a 13-part series dedicated to debunking spiritual, medical and New Age fads and those who profit from hoodwinking gullible Americans.

Episode one takes dead aim at TV mediums John Edward, James Van Praagh and others who claim that they can communicate with the dead. Host Penn Jillette departs occasionally from his glib, offhand style to vent some real steam about such psychic performers.

But “Penn & Teller” is most fun when exposing the dubious techniques of these popular mediums. We learn the methods they use to cull information from their subjects before each session. We’re also shown the elaborate release form that every guest on Edward’s TV show “Crossing Over” must sign, forbidding them from discussing their experience or revealing how often he fails to make a spiritual connection.

Jillette explains his show’s brazen title in tonight’s opening monologue. Although it’s clearly intended to get a little attention, it’s also a legal necessity. Apparently, words like “fraud,” “charlatan” or “quack” might result in a civil lawsuit, but it’s perfectly legal to use epithets. Go figure.

In the coming weeks, Penn & Teller will take on other sacred cows and popular delusions, including alien abductions, alternative medicine, Feng Shui, dietary fads, near-death experiences, ESP and the obsession with the Apocalypse popularized in the bizarre pulp fiction of the “Left Behind” novels. “Penn & Teller” combines humor and showmanship with the passionate advocacy of a consistently held position. In other words, it’s a very rare piece of television.

After a week of frigid temperatures I am more than ready for a trip to a tropical paradise. The travel series “Best of Both Worlds: Hawaii” (9 p.m., A&E) looks at the 50th state from the vantage points of both the budget and luxury traveler. Not a bad fantasy for a cold January evening.

Tonight’s other highlights

• Sterling mulls a reelection strategy on “Mister Sterling” (7 p.m., NBC).
• Van is taken hostage on “Fastlane” (7 p.m., Fox).
• Tempers rise when the heating system fails on “Queens Supreme” (9 p.m., CBS).
• A drug dealer’s prison murder may be linked to an overzealous cop “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (9 p.m., NBC).
• “We Got the Beat” (9 p.m., WE) presents excerpts from Pat Benatar’s summer concert tour.

Series notes

An HIV-infected husband wants a child on “Presidio Med” (7 p.m., CBS) … Tom Bergeron is host to “America’s Funniest Home Videos” (7 p.m., ABC) … Girls’ night on “What I Like About You” (7 p.m., WB).

Mike helps a woman escape her abusive policeman husband on “Hack” (8 p.m., CBS) … John may be the father of a boy he doesn’t know on “John Doe” (8 p.m., Fox) … Reba auctions off her old engagement ring on “Reba” (8 p.m., WB) … Drew appears in a live commercial during the Super Bowl on “The Drew Carey Show” (8:30 p.m., ABC).