"True Caribbean Pirates" (1 p.m., History Channel): Willing to jump into a pirate adventure lacking

"True Caribbean Pirates" (1 p.m., History Channel): Willing to jump into a pirate adventure lacking Johnny Depp? Consider History Channel's "True Caribbean Pirates," which tells dead man's tales about Blackbeard, Black Bart and other pillagers and plunderers. According to the two-hour program, piracy had its roots in the practice of "privateering," in which nations lusting for New World riches used free-lance private sailors instead of navies to counter dominant Spain in the Caribbean. The lure of wealth tempted some to cross the line into piracy, but it was peace that really swelled the pirate ranks. With thousands of privateers and sailors out of work, the age of outlaw pirates was under way; even women (Anne Bonny and Mary Read, among them) joined in. Among the more colorful details in the program: Blackbeard intimidated foes by placing burning rope beneath his hat to create a fearsome cloud of smoke; Nassau, Bahamas, became the site of a sort of all-pirate resort; the iconoclastic Black Bart Roberts conducted religious services but hanged an official from a ship yardarm.
"Chappelle's Show: The Lost Episodes" (9 p.m., Comedy Central): Technically, it was Dave Chappelle who got lost and not the skits that Comedy Central has packaged as "The Lost Episodes" after the comedian walked away from a $50 million contract. The episodes were assembled by series co-creator Neal Brennan when Chappelle left during production of a new season. Among the bits: a successful Chappelle seeking revenge on those who belittled him in the past and one in which he plays the host of "Hip Hop Newsbreak" in whiteface. The show's three-episode run is abbreviated, but the biting humor and laughs aren't. Chappelle himself has expressed concerns about how racial elements of the show were received, perhaps one clue to his escape from TV and back to standup.
"Big Spender" (5:30 p.m., A & amp;E): Frivolous bank-breakers, beware: In each episode of this new series, behavior-change expert Larry Wingert stages an intervention with a shopaholic spender, using hidden-camera footage to expose their financial indiscretions.
"Brotherhood" (10 p.m., Showtime): If you're suffering from post-"Sopranos" withdrawal pains, you may want to check out "Brotherhood." It's a dark new drama series about a gangster (Jason Isaacs) who returns to his old Rhode Island neighborhood to regain control of its underworld activities. This severely complicates life for his brother (Jason Clarke), a local politician.
"Best Man, Worst Friend" (8 p.m., ABC Family): Good news: A bride-to-be meets Mr. Perfect. The bad news: She meets him at her engagement party.