First things first: "Nimrod", a word stuck with a meaning akin to "fool," more traditionally signifies the warrior spirit. In fact, Nimrod was the great-grandson of Noah who founded the city of Babylon.

These days, in the rural, Upper Peninsula town of Watersmeet, Michigan, Nimrod is the mascot for the local high school basketball team, which commands the attention of the entire community.

"Nimrod Nation" is a charming, revealing documentary series that paints a portrait of the Watersmeet Nimrods, the locals who love them, and the rest of life in this rugged, independent pocket of the nation.

Conceived by director Brett Morgen ("Chicago 10," "The Kid Stays in the Picture"), "Nimrod Nation" unfolds in eight half-hour episodes that pay an unhurried visit to Watersmeet's coffee shops, hunting lodges and locker rooms during the long, cold 2005-06 basketball season.

Certainly hopes are high as the season begins. The Nimrods won the 2005 District Finals in the team's best-ever season. Coach George Peterson III hopes to lead the team to a championship, while balancing his duties as the principal of Watersmeet Township School (and being father to a star player, George Peterson IV).

Meanwhile, word is out that a large housing development has been proposed for Bond Falls Park, a scenic wilderness area popular for fishing and other activities. A petition drive is mounted against the Bond Falls development. "Nimrod Nation" airs two episodes weekly, starting Monday at 10 p.m. on Sundance Channel.

Other shows to look out for:

• Starring Shannen Doherty clad in the snug leather outfit of a jewel thief, "Christmas Caper" is an engaging bit of fluff about a notorious outlaw whose heart really isn't as hard as the diamonds she steals.

Redemption begins when a New York heist goes awry and Cate (Doherty) needs a place to lay low. She returns to her hometown to look after her niece and nephew while their parents are stranded on a vacation trip. It's just a few days until Christmas (a season Cate used to scorn) and the local sheriff is Cate's high school sweetheart (who she tells herself she no longer cares about). Can Cate atone for her past without destroying the good things in life she's rediscovered? "Christmas Caper" premieres at 8 p.m. tomorrow on ABC Family.

• For the first time in the nation's history, more than 2 million Americans are living behind bars. National Geographic Channel explores this in a new documentary, "Prison Nation", which finds seasoned criminals running gambling and drug rackets on the inside, first-timers learning rules about getting along, and female inmates proving they can be as brutal as the men. The special declares that, nationally, the prison population has increased 1,000 percent in the past 30 years, with half of state prisons filled beyond capacity. Some 70,000 inmates are released from prison each year, and more than two-thirds end up back behind bars within three years. A sobering look inside the subject, "Prison Nation" premieres at 9 p.m. tomorrow.

• Enjoy a half-hour holiday treat with Shrek when the green ogre confronts the burdens of yuletide cheer. It's Christmas Eve and everyone around him is aglow with good spirit. He resolves to set aside his cranky nature for the sake of his family and friends. But how exactly is he meant to observe the holidays? Everyone — Fiona, Donkey, Puss In Boots, Gingerbread Man and the rest — has different ideas, which only makes it harder for Shrek to get into the Christmas swing.

Premiering on ABC at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, "Shrek the Halls" features the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas.

• "Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Chicago" is the unwieldy title of an all-star "Great Performances" extravaganza, taped last July in front of 28,000 fans.

The lineup includes B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, Jeff Beck and Buddy Guy, as well as Robert Cray, Vince Gill, Albert Lee, Los Lobos, John McLaughlin, Robbie Robertson, Johnny Winter, Steve Winwood and host Bill Murray. Among the highlights: Beck's blistering guitar reinvention of the Beatles' "A Day in the Life"; Winwood's vocals on "Presence of the Lord" and "Can't Find My Way Home"; and King with his blues anthem, "The Thrill Is Gone."

The festival was a benefit for Clapton's Crossroads Centre in Antigua, a drug-and-alcohol treatment facility he founded in 1997. The programme airs at 10 p.m. on Wednesday on PBS.