NTV picks for Aug. 15: 'Lost City of Gladiators,' 'Best Seller,' 'Daria'

"Lost City of Gladiators" takes you inside the locker room of warriors battling for more than a gold medal in this documentary that painstakingly re-creates life in Carnuntum at the height of the Roman Empire. The two-hour exploration gives "fight club" a whole new dimension and serves as proper homework for next weekend's new big-screen "Ben-Hur."

7 p.m., Smithsonian Channel

Brian Dennehy and James Woods don't pop up in films nearly as much as they used to, which is too bad; both actors always emit a red-hot glow, even in B-movie thrillers like 1987's "Best Seller," a silly but effective two-hander in which a hit man and a veteran cop/novelist go mano a mano. Watching these two pros chew the scenery will give you an appetite.

7 p.m., ThisTV, Ch. 5.6

Before Lena Dunham gave young female slackers a name, there was "Daria," an MTV staple in the late '90s that perfectly captured a generation who had a hard time getting enthusiastic about anything, let alone the drudgery of high school. Revisit the animated series, then immediately start circulating a petition to bring her back in a live-action feature film starring "Modern Family's" Alex Winter.

9 p.m., VH1 Classic

Neal Justin