If you want to see “The Real Face of Jesus” (8 p.m., History), you must first take in a two-hour meditation on the history, legend and meaning of the controversial Shroud of Turin.

Experts follow the trail of ownership of the shroud over the centuries and discuss its popular following. Interest in the shroud shot up in the early part of this century when an Italian photographer took a snapshot of the cloth and discovered a clear vision of a Christ-like figure in his photo negative. Are shroud followers praying to an image? Or an image of an image?

“Face” meanders into interesting territory when some experts conjecture that the shroud itself might be a kind of cosmic photo negative and evidence of what one calls “a paranormal event.” The marks on the cloth are too faint to have been made by paint or human blood and may be residue from a supernatural blast of light. Proof, some say, of the resurrection.

The final 40 minutes are devoted to the techniques and equipment used to devise a three-dimensional model of the man once wrapped in the shroud. I’ve been asked not to discuss the final, revealed likeness, but I can safely reveal that he looks nothing like Jeffrey Hunter, star of the 1961 epic “King of Kings.”

• Creativity by committee is not a pretty thing, but sometimes it works. Mash “Little People Big World” with “Cake Boss,” and, voila, you’ve got “The Little Chocolatiers” (9 p.m., TLC).

“Chocolatiers” follows Steve and Katie Hatch, proprietors of a family chocolate company in Salt Lake City, Utah, where they are asked to provide tiny treats as well as big-concept projects for special occasions. Want to watch two self-described little people create a giant chocolate boom box for a couple’s 1980s-themed celebration? This is the show for you. Just don’t ask them to make Napoleons.

Tonight’s other highlights

• The top-10 perform on “American Idol” (7 p.m., Fox).

• Sun and Jin continue to search for each other on “Lost” (8 p.m., ABC).

• Heather Locklear, Thomas Calabro, Josie Bissett and Daphne Zuniga reunite on “Melrose Place” (8 p.m., CW).

• “Frontline” (8 p.m., PBS, check local listings) examines Haiti’s earthquake and its aftereffects.

• A private divorce case brings Alicia uncomfortably close to Peter’s public disgrace on “The Good Wife” (9 p.m., CBS).

• The rebellion and suppression begin in earnest as “V” (9 p.m., ABC) returns from its hiatus.

• Max rejoins the baseball team on “Parenthood” (9 p.m., NBC).

• Inventive, technically savvy chefs reinvent cuisine with an eye toward sustainability on “Future Food” (9 p.m., Planet Green).