Watch the shows and let me know what you think. Email me, the MediaWiz of Whyville!
Click here for an index of this week's shows. And now, the Media Menu!
Friday, April 19 "Video Games: Behind The Fun" (History Channel, 7-8pm E/P) This documentary about the not-to-distant history of video games describes how they have been a big driving force in the development of computer technology. You'll meet, on-camera, some creators of the most popular games and sample their most spectacular visuals. "Enigma" (movie, premiering this week in selected theatres, and later in the month at many theatres) This time I'm not going to wait until a good movie about math gets onto TV. It's rare that any movie portrays accurately the accomplishments -- and problems -- of really smart, mathematically inclined people. This is one such. Based on the Robert Harris novel, "Enigma", it's about military code-breakers in the era before computers. They worked at a secret location in England cracking WWII German codes -- using pencils and paper -- sort like the brainiest co-ed boarding school-group ever, working on the longest SATs ever. It's R-rated, so you'll have to drag an adult along. But first, show that adult the detailed review at http://us.imdb.com/Reviews/297/29739 to find out if they'll let you see the movie. That review, in turn, will refer you to a terrific educational website about the historical and technical facts behind the story http://pbs.org/wgbh/nova/decoding. Saturday, April 20 "Next@CNN (CNN, 1-1:30pm E/P, repeating Sunday 4-4:30pm E/P)" The main topic of this edition of CNN's newsmagazine about the latest technology is toilets. (With a drought, and accompanying water shortage threatening the U.S., this is not an unimportant matter -- toilets are to blame for using a quarter of all the water piped to our cities.) "Modern Marvels: Bulletproof" (History Channel, 6-7pm E/P) This technology documentary explains how you design material that can catch gunfire travelling at 3,000 feet per second. One place such materials are being put is into layering hidden in walls. Also now there's a system that deploys a shield within milliseconds when it detects an incoming round. What a world. Sunday, April 21 "A Civil Action" (NBC, 8:30-11pm E/P -- Rated PG-13 for some strong language) Airing on the eve of Earth Day, this dramatic movie is based on the Jonathan Harr book about a real-life environmental law battle waged by 8 families in Woburn, MA. They charged the Beatrice Foods and W.R. Grace companies with dumping chemicals that poisoned the town water supply, leading to the leukemia deaths of several children. John Travolta stars with a script by the same person who wrote the screenplay for "Schindler's List", Steven Zaillian. Note: For further information about the issues that Earth Day events will address, log on to www.earthdayresources.org. "Ansel Adams: A Documentary Film" (PBS, 9-10:30pm E/P) This inspiring program about the life and work of a great nature photographer stresses Adams' interest in the beauty of "the American earth", the inseparable bonds connecting mankind to nature and the "obligations the present owes to the future". For more of Adams' awesome photos log on to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/press/ansel.html. "In Search Of Eden" (The Learning Channel, 9-10pm E/P) Among the images that sustain our interest in saving the planet, even though we sometimes think it's hopeless, is the Biblical description of the Garden Of Eden. We would ideally like to restore our habitat to such a beautiful, non-polluted state. But what do we really know about Eden? This documentary follows a British researcher through archives, museums, and ancient ruins to the Zagros mountains of Iran near Tabriz where, he believes, lay the site of the Garden of Eden. There, he uses computer-generated maps to explore the once-lush possible site -- which has nowadays been turned into urban sprawl. Monday, April 22 "TV-Turnoff Week" (all day today -- through midnight April 28) In case you missed the news that this is national Turnoff TV Week, take a look at the article in Times Magazine For Kids' online-edition at http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/magazines/story/0,6277,227478,88.html. It describes the campaign going on to convince you not to watch programs like the one tonight about fish, or the history of the real Scorpion King tomorrow, or the documentary about politically radical movies Wednesday, or the inside look at the N.Y. Stock Exchange on Thursday. (My theory is that the people who organized the anti-TV week are worried that you'll become a vegetarian, or a historian, or a socialist, or a capitalist. I mean, they think you can't resist acting out anything you see on TV. Whom do you agree with?) "Empty Oceans, Empty Nets" (PBS, 10-11pm E/P) This documentary about the depletion of the ocean's fisheries shows conditions in New England, Alaska, Hong Kong, Senegal, Indonesia and France. Yes, there are still beautiful schools of fish to be viewed underwater and at bustling outdoor markets. But inadequate fishing regulations worldwide have cut the breeding stock to critically low levels -- so we're facing a fish shortage. (Think of it as if we were eating all our wheat and corn but planting none.) For details log on www.pbs.org/emptyoceans. To learn what companies like Whole Foods are doing about this, go to http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/issues/fishfuture_main.html. Tuesday, April 23 "The Real Scorpion King" (History Channel, 9-11pm E/P) You've probably noticed that there's a movie coming out with the name "The Scorpion King". Well, there really was such a person, according to Yale archaeologists John and Deborah Darnell. Their recent discoveries in Egypt, shown in this documentary, not only suggest the existence of an Egyptian king before anybody thought there were kings in that place, but also it may be that the carved tableaux showing this character brandishing a weapon over a captive (the Hollywood movie ads make over-dramatized use of this image) is the oldest historical document ever discovered. This spring the University of Chicago published Darnell's book on the topic, "Theban Desert Road Survey in the Egyptian Western Desert". Wednesday, April 24 "Reel Radicals: The 60's Revolution In Film" (American Movie Classics, 6-7 pm ET, 3-4pm PT) This documentary includes film clips and interviews with film makers from the era when movies had political content. Indeed, they were considered dangerous, anti-establishment and a challenge to the nation's belief system at the time. You will find some of this material tame now, and some of it still "way out". The clothes, of course, are coming back in style. Woody Harrelson (a bad boy then, a bad boy now) narrates. Thursday, April 25 "The Stock Exchange" (History Channel, 7-8pm E/P) The place where $90 million changes hands every minute used to be just a spot near the wooden wall that early New Yorkers built to keep off marauding Native Americans -- a spot where the dealers wrote up the rules of America's first stock exchange. Nowadays, handshakes have been replaced by computer technology. But the perils even greater than before, as this documentary illustrates -- perils such as the 1929 Crash that nearly wrecked the whole country.
"Video Games: Behind The Fun" (History Channel, 7-8pm E/P) This documentary about the not-to-distant history of video games describes how they have been a big driving force in the development of computer technology. You'll meet, on-camera, some creators of the most popular games and sample their most spectacular visuals. "Enigma" (movie, premiering this week in selected theatres, and later in the month at many theatres) This time I'm not going to wait until a good movie about math gets onto TV. It's rare that any movie portrays accurately the accomplishments -- and problems -- of really smart, mathematically inclined people. This is one such. Based on the Robert Harris novel, "Enigma", it's about military code-breakers in the era before computers. They worked at a secret location in England cracking WWII German codes -- using pencils and paper -- sort like the brainiest co-ed boarding school-group ever, working on the longest SATs ever. It's R-rated, so you'll have to drag an adult along. But first, show that adult the detailed review at http://us.imdb.com/Reviews/297/29739 to find out if they'll let you see the movie. That review, in turn, will refer you to a terrific educational website about the historical and technical facts behind the story http://pbs.org/wgbh/nova/decoding. Saturday, April 20 "Next@CNN (CNN, 1-1:30pm E/P, repeating Sunday 4-4:30pm E/P)" The main topic of this edition of CNN's newsmagazine about the latest technology is toilets. (With a drought, and accompanying water shortage threatening the U.S., this is not an unimportant matter -- toilets are to blame for using a quarter of all the water piped to our cities.) "Modern Marvels: Bulletproof" (History Channel, 6-7pm E/P) This technology documentary explains how you design material that can catch gunfire travelling at 3,000 feet per second. One place such materials are being put is into layering hidden in walls. Also now there's a system that deploys a shield within milliseconds when it detects an incoming round. What a world. Sunday, April 21 "A Civil Action" (NBC, 8:30-11pm E/P -- Rated PG-13 for some strong language) Airing on the eve of Earth Day, this dramatic movie is based on the Jonathan Harr book about a real-life environmental law battle waged by 8 families in Woburn, MA. They charged the Beatrice Foods and W.R. Grace companies with dumping chemicals that poisoned the town water supply, leading to the leukemia deaths of several children. John Travolta stars with a script by the same person who wrote the screenplay for "Schindler's List", Steven Zaillian. Note: For further information about the issues that Earth Day events will address, log on to www.earthdayresources.org. "Ansel Adams: A Documentary Film" (PBS, 9-10:30pm E/P) This inspiring program about the life and work of a great nature photographer stresses Adams' interest in the beauty of "the American earth", the inseparable bonds connecting mankind to nature and the "obligations the present owes to the future". For more of Adams' awesome photos log on to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/press/ansel.html. "In Search Of Eden" (The Learning Channel, 9-10pm E/P) Among the images that sustain our interest in saving the planet, even though we sometimes think it's hopeless, is the Biblical description of the Garden Of Eden. We would ideally like to restore our habitat to such a beautiful, non-polluted state. But what do we really know about Eden? This documentary follows a British researcher through archives, museums, and ancient ruins to the Zagros mountains of Iran near Tabriz where, he believes, lay the site of the Garden of Eden. There, he uses computer-generated maps to explore the once-lush possible site -- which has nowadays been turned into urban sprawl. Monday, April 22 "TV-Turnoff Week" (all day today -- through midnight April 28) In case you missed the news that this is national Turnoff TV Week, take a look at the article in Times Magazine For Kids' online-edition at http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/magazines/story/0,6277,227478,88.html. It describes the campaign going on to convince you not to watch programs like the one tonight about fish, or the history of the real Scorpion King tomorrow, or the documentary about politically radical movies Wednesday, or the inside look at the N.Y. Stock Exchange on Thursday. (My theory is that the people who organized the anti-TV week are worried that you'll become a vegetarian, or a historian, or a socialist, or a capitalist. I mean, they think you can't resist acting out anything you see on TV. Whom do you agree with?) "Empty Oceans, Empty Nets" (PBS, 10-11pm E/P) This documentary about the depletion of the ocean's fisheries shows conditions in New England, Alaska, Hong Kong, Senegal, Indonesia and France. Yes, there are still beautiful schools of fish to be viewed underwater and at bustling outdoor markets. But inadequate fishing regulations worldwide have cut the breeding stock to critically low levels -- so we're facing a fish shortage. (Think of it as if we were eating all our wheat and corn but planting none.) For details log on www.pbs.org/emptyoceans. To learn what companies like Whole Foods are doing about this, go to http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/issues/fishfuture_main.html. Tuesday, April 23 "The Real Scorpion King" (History Channel, 9-11pm E/P) You've probably noticed that there's a movie coming out with the name "The Scorpion King". Well, there really was such a person, according to Yale archaeologists John and Deborah Darnell. Their recent discoveries in Egypt, shown in this documentary, not only suggest the existence of an Egyptian king before anybody thought there were kings in that place, but also it may be that the carved tableaux showing this character brandishing a weapon over a captive (the Hollywood movie ads make over-dramatized use of this image) is the oldest historical document ever discovered. This spring the University of Chicago published Darnell's book on the topic, "Theban Desert Road Survey in the Egyptian Western Desert". Wednesday, April 24 "Reel Radicals: The 60's Revolution In Film" (American Movie Classics, 6-7 pm ET, 3-4pm PT) This documentary includes film clips and interviews with film makers from the era when movies had political content. Indeed, they were considered dangerous, anti-establishment and a challenge to the nation's belief system at the time. You will find some of this material tame now, and some of it still "way out". The clothes, of course, are coming back in style. Woody Harrelson (a bad boy then, a bad boy now) narrates. Thursday, April 25 "The Stock Exchange" (History Channel, 7-8pm E/P) The place where $90 million changes hands every minute used to be just a spot near the wooden wall that early New Yorkers built to keep off marauding Native Americans -- a spot where the dealers wrote up the rules of America's first stock exchange. Nowadays, handshakes have been replaced by computer technology. But the perils even greater than before, as this documentary illustrates -- perils such as the 1929 Crash that nearly wrecked the whole country.
"Enigma" (movie, premiering this week in selected theatres, and later in the month at many theatres) This time I'm not going to wait until a good movie about math gets onto TV. It's rare that any movie portrays accurately the accomplishments -- and problems -- of really smart, mathematically inclined people. This is one such. Based on the Robert Harris novel, "Enigma", it's about military code-breakers in the era before computers. They worked at a secret location in England cracking WWII German codes -- using pencils and paper -- sort like the brainiest co-ed boarding school-group ever, working on the longest SATs ever. It's R-rated, so you'll have to drag an adult along. But first, show that adult the detailed review at http://us.imdb.com/Reviews/297/29739 to find out if they'll let you see the movie. That review, in turn, will refer you to a terrific educational website about the historical and technical facts behind the story http://pbs.org/wgbh/nova/decoding.
Saturday, April 20 "Next@CNN (CNN, 1-1:30pm E/P, repeating Sunday 4-4:30pm E/P)" The main topic of this edition of CNN's newsmagazine about the latest technology is toilets. (With a drought, and accompanying water shortage threatening the U.S., this is not an unimportant matter -- toilets are to blame for using a quarter of all the water piped to our cities.) "Modern Marvels: Bulletproof" (History Channel, 6-7pm E/P) This technology documentary explains how you design material that can catch gunfire travelling at 3,000 feet per second. One place such materials are being put is into layering hidden in walls. Also now there's a system that deploys a shield within milliseconds when it detects an incoming round. What a world. Sunday, April 21 "A Civil Action" (NBC, 8:30-11pm E/P -- Rated PG-13 for some strong language) Airing on the eve of Earth Day, this dramatic movie is based on the Jonathan Harr book about a real-life environmental law battle waged by 8 families in Woburn, MA. They charged the Beatrice Foods and W.R. Grace companies with dumping chemicals that poisoned the town water supply, leading to the leukemia deaths of several children. John Travolta stars with a script by the same person who wrote the screenplay for "Schindler's List", Steven Zaillian. Note: For further information about the issues that Earth Day events will address, log on to www.earthdayresources.org. "Ansel Adams: A Documentary Film" (PBS, 9-10:30pm E/P) This inspiring program about the life and work of a great nature photographer stresses Adams' interest in the beauty of "the American earth", the inseparable bonds connecting mankind to nature and the "obligations the present owes to the future". For more of Adams' awesome photos log on to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/press/ansel.html. "In Search Of Eden" (The Learning Channel, 9-10pm E/P) Among the images that sustain our interest in saving the planet, even though we sometimes think it's hopeless, is the Biblical description of the Garden Of Eden. We would ideally like to restore our habitat to such a beautiful, non-polluted state. But what do we really know about Eden? This documentary follows a British researcher through archives, museums, and ancient ruins to the Zagros mountains of Iran near Tabriz where, he believes, lay the site of the Garden of Eden. There, he uses computer-generated maps to explore the once-lush possible site -- which has nowadays been turned into urban sprawl. Monday, April 22 "TV-Turnoff Week" (all day today -- through midnight April 28) In case you missed the news that this is national Turnoff TV Week, take a look at the article in Times Magazine For Kids' online-edition at http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/magazines/story/0,6277,227478,88.html. It describes the campaign going on to convince you not to watch programs like the one tonight about fish, or the history of the real Scorpion King tomorrow, or the documentary about politically radical movies Wednesday, or the inside look at the N.Y. Stock Exchange on Thursday. (My theory is that the people who organized the anti-TV week are worried that you'll become a vegetarian, or a historian, or a socialist, or a capitalist. I mean, they think you can't resist acting out anything you see on TV. Whom do you agree with?) "Empty Oceans, Empty Nets" (PBS, 10-11pm E/P) This documentary about the depletion of the ocean's fisheries shows conditions in New England, Alaska, Hong Kong, Senegal, Indonesia and France. Yes, there are still beautiful schools of fish to be viewed underwater and at bustling outdoor markets. But inadequate fishing regulations worldwide have cut the breeding stock to critically low levels -- so we're facing a fish shortage. (Think of it as if we were eating all our wheat and corn but planting none.) For details log on www.pbs.org/emptyoceans. To learn what companies like Whole Foods are doing about this, go to http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/issues/fishfuture_main.html. Tuesday, April 23 "The Real Scorpion King" (History Channel, 9-11pm E/P) You've probably noticed that there's a movie coming out with the name "The Scorpion King". Well, there really was such a person, according to Yale archaeologists John and Deborah Darnell. Their recent discoveries in Egypt, shown in this documentary, not only suggest the existence of an Egyptian king before anybody thought there were kings in that place, but also it may be that the carved tableaux showing this character brandishing a weapon over a captive (the Hollywood movie ads make over-dramatized use of this image) is the oldest historical document ever discovered. This spring the University of Chicago published Darnell's book on the topic, "Theban Desert Road Survey in the Egyptian Western Desert". Wednesday, April 24 "Reel Radicals: The 60's Revolution In Film" (American Movie Classics, 6-7 pm ET, 3-4pm PT) This documentary includes film clips and interviews with film makers from the era when movies had political content. Indeed, they were considered dangerous, anti-establishment and a challenge to the nation's belief system at the time. You will find some of this material tame now, and some of it still "way out". The clothes, of course, are coming back in style. Woody Harrelson (a bad boy then, a bad boy now) narrates. Thursday, April 25 "The Stock Exchange" (History Channel, 7-8pm E/P) The place where $90 million changes hands every minute used to be just a spot near the wooden wall that early New Yorkers built to keep off marauding Native Americans -- a spot where the dealers wrote up the rules of America's first stock exchange. Nowadays, handshakes have been replaced by computer technology. But the perils even greater than before, as this documentary illustrates -- perils such as the 1929 Crash that nearly wrecked the whole country.
"Next@CNN (CNN, 1-1:30pm E/P, repeating Sunday 4-4:30pm E/P)" The main topic of this edition of CNN's newsmagazine about the latest technology is toilets. (With a drought, and accompanying water shortage threatening the U.S., this is not an unimportant matter -- toilets are to blame for using a quarter of all the water piped to our cities.) "Modern Marvels: Bulletproof" (History Channel, 6-7pm E/P) This technology documentary explains how you design material that can catch gunfire travelling at 3,000 feet per second. One place such materials are being put is into layering hidden in walls. Also now there's a system that deploys a shield within milliseconds when it detects an incoming round. What a world. Sunday, April 21 "A Civil Action" (NBC, 8:30-11pm E/P -- Rated PG-13 for some strong language) Airing on the eve of Earth Day, this dramatic movie is based on the Jonathan Harr book about a real-life environmental law battle waged by 8 families in Woburn, MA. They charged the Beatrice Foods and W.R. Grace companies with dumping chemicals that poisoned the town water supply, leading to the leukemia deaths of several children. John Travolta stars with a script by the same person who wrote the screenplay for "Schindler's List", Steven Zaillian. Note: For further information about the issues that Earth Day events will address, log on to www.earthdayresources.org. "Ansel Adams: A Documentary Film" (PBS, 9-10:30pm E/P) This inspiring program about the life and work of a great nature photographer stresses Adams' interest in the beauty of "the American earth", the inseparable bonds connecting mankind to nature and the "obligations the present owes to the future". For more of Adams' awesome photos log on to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/press/ansel.html. "In Search Of Eden" (The Learning Channel, 9-10pm E/P) Among the images that sustain our interest in saving the planet, even though we sometimes think it's hopeless, is the Biblical description of the Garden Of Eden. We would ideally like to restore our habitat to such a beautiful, non-polluted state. But what do we really know about Eden? This documentary follows a British researcher through archives, museums, and ancient ruins to the Zagros mountains of Iran near Tabriz where, he believes, lay the site of the Garden of Eden. There, he uses computer-generated maps to explore the once-lush possible site -- which has nowadays been turned into urban sprawl. Monday, April 22 "TV-Turnoff Week" (all day today -- through midnight April 28) In case you missed the news that this is national Turnoff TV Week, take a look at the article in Times Magazine For Kids' online-edition at http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/magazines/story/0,6277,227478,88.html. It describes the campaign going on to convince you not to watch programs like the one tonight about fish, or the history of the real Scorpion King tomorrow, or the documentary about politically radical movies Wednesday, or the inside look at the N.Y. Stock Exchange on Thursday. (My theory is that the people who organized the anti-TV week are worried that you'll become a vegetarian, or a historian, or a socialist, or a capitalist. I mean, they think you can't resist acting out anything you see on TV. Whom do you agree with?) "Empty Oceans, Empty Nets" (PBS, 10-11pm E/P) This documentary about the depletion of the ocean's fisheries shows conditions in New England, Alaska, Hong Kong, Senegal, Indonesia and France. Yes, there are still beautiful schools of fish to be viewed underwater and at bustling outdoor markets. But inadequate fishing regulations worldwide have cut the breeding stock to critically low levels -- so we're facing a fish shortage. (Think of it as if we were eating all our wheat and corn but planting none.) For details log on www.pbs.org/emptyoceans. To learn what companies like Whole Foods are doing about this, go to http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/issues/fishfuture_main.html. Tuesday, April 23 "The Real Scorpion King" (History Channel, 9-11pm E/P) You've probably noticed that there's a movie coming out with the name "The Scorpion King". Well, there really was such a person, according to Yale archaeologists John and Deborah Darnell. Their recent discoveries in Egypt, shown in this documentary, not only suggest the existence of an Egyptian king before anybody thought there were kings in that place, but also it may be that the carved tableaux showing this character brandishing a weapon over a captive (the Hollywood movie ads make over-dramatized use of this image) is the oldest historical document ever discovered. This spring the University of Chicago published Darnell's book on the topic, "Theban Desert Road Survey in the Egyptian Western Desert". Wednesday, April 24 "Reel Radicals: The 60's Revolution In Film" (American Movie Classics, 6-7 pm ET, 3-4pm PT) This documentary includes film clips and interviews with film makers from the era when movies had political content. Indeed, they were considered dangerous, anti-establishment and a challenge to the nation's belief system at the time. You will find some of this material tame now, and some of it still "way out". The clothes, of course, are coming back in style. Woody Harrelson (a bad boy then, a bad boy now) narrates. Thursday, April 25 "The Stock Exchange" (History Channel, 7-8pm E/P) The place where $90 million changes hands every minute used to be just a spot near the wooden wall that early New Yorkers built to keep off marauding Native Americans -- a spot where the dealers wrote up the rules of America's first stock exchange. Nowadays, handshakes have been replaced by computer technology. But the perils even greater than before, as this documentary illustrates -- perils such as the 1929 Crash that nearly wrecked the whole country.
"Modern Marvels: Bulletproof" (History Channel, 6-7pm E/P) This technology documentary explains how you design material that can catch gunfire travelling at 3,000 feet per second. One place such materials are being put is into layering hidden in walls. Also now there's a system that deploys a shield within milliseconds when it detects an incoming round. What a world. Sunday, April 21 "A Civil Action" (NBC, 8:30-11pm E/P -- Rated PG-13 for some strong language) Airing on the eve of Earth Day, this dramatic movie is based on the Jonathan Harr book about a real-life environmental law battle waged by 8 families in Woburn, MA. They charged the Beatrice Foods and W.R. Grace companies with dumping chemicals that poisoned the town water supply, leading to the leukemia deaths of several children. John Travolta stars with a script by the same person who wrote the screenplay for "Schindler's List", Steven Zaillian. Note: For further information about the issues that Earth Day events will address, log on to www.earthdayresources.org. "Ansel Adams: A Documentary Film" (PBS, 9-10:30pm E/P) This inspiring program about the life and work of a great nature photographer stresses Adams' interest in the beauty of "the American earth", the inseparable bonds connecting mankind to nature and the "obligations the present owes to the future". For more of Adams' awesome photos log on to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/press/ansel.html. "In Search Of Eden" (The Learning Channel, 9-10pm E/P) Among the images that sustain our interest in saving the planet, even though we sometimes think it's hopeless, is the Biblical description of the Garden Of Eden. We would ideally like to restore our habitat to such a beautiful, non-polluted state. But what do we really know about Eden? This documentary follows a British researcher through archives, museums, and ancient ruins to the Zagros mountains of Iran near Tabriz where, he believes, lay the site of the Garden of Eden. There, he uses computer-generated maps to explore the once-lush possible site -- which has nowadays been turned into urban sprawl. Monday, April 22 "TV-Turnoff Week" (all day today -- through midnight April 28) In case you missed the news that this is national Turnoff TV Week, take a look at the article in Times Magazine For Kids' online-edition at http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/magazines/story/0,6277,227478,88.html. It describes the campaign going on to convince you not to watch programs like the one tonight about fish, or the history of the real Scorpion King tomorrow, or the documentary about politically radical movies Wednesday, or the inside look at the N.Y. Stock Exchange on Thursday. (My theory is that the people who organized the anti-TV week are worried that you'll become a vegetarian, or a historian, or a socialist, or a capitalist. I mean, they think you can't resist acting out anything you see on TV. Whom do you agree with?) "Empty Oceans, Empty Nets" (PBS, 10-11pm E/P) This documentary about the depletion of the ocean's fisheries shows conditions in New England, Alaska, Hong Kong, Senegal, Indonesia and France. Yes, there are still beautiful schools of fish to be viewed underwater and at bustling outdoor markets. But inadequate fishing regulations worldwide have cut the breeding stock to critically low levels -- so we're facing a fish shortage. (Think of it as if we were eating all our wheat and corn but planting none.) For details log on www.pbs.org/emptyoceans. To learn what companies like Whole Foods are doing about this, go to http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/issues/fishfuture_main.html. Tuesday, April 23 "The Real Scorpion King" (History Channel, 9-11pm E/P) You've probably noticed that there's a movie coming out with the name "The Scorpion King". Well, there really was such a person, according to Yale archaeologists John and Deborah Darnell. Their recent discoveries in Egypt, shown in this documentary, not only suggest the existence of an Egyptian king before anybody thought there were kings in that place, but also it may be that the carved tableaux showing this character brandishing a weapon over a captive (the Hollywood movie ads make over-dramatized use of this image) is the oldest historical document ever discovered. This spring the University of Chicago published Darnell's book on the topic, "Theban Desert Road Survey in the Egyptian Western Desert". Wednesday, April 24 "Reel Radicals: The 60's Revolution In Film" (American Movie Classics, 6-7 pm ET, 3-4pm PT) This documentary includes film clips and interviews with film makers from the era when movies had political content. Indeed, they were considered dangerous, anti-establishment and a challenge to the nation's belief system at the time. You will find some of this material tame now, and some of it still "way out". The clothes, of course, are coming back in style. Woody Harrelson (a bad boy then, a bad boy now) narrates. Thursday, April 25 "The Stock Exchange" (History Channel, 7-8pm E/P) The place where $90 million changes hands every minute used to be just a spot near the wooden wall that early New Yorkers built to keep off marauding Native Americans -- a spot where the dealers wrote up the rules of America's first stock exchange. Nowadays, handshakes have been replaced by computer technology. But the perils even greater than before, as this documentary illustrates -- perils such as the 1929 Crash that nearly wrecked the whole country.
Sunday, April 21 "A Civil Action" (NBC, 8:30-11pm E/P -- Rated PG-13 for some strong language) Airing on the eve of Earth Day, this dramatic movie is based on the Jonathan Harr book about a real-life environmental law battle waged by 8 families in Woburn, MA. They charged the Beatrice Foods and W.R. Grace companies with dumping chemicals that poisoned the town water supply, leading to the leukemia deaths of several children. John Travolta stars with a script by the same person who wrote the screenplay for "Schindler's List", Steven Zaillian. Note: For further information about the issues that Earth Day events will address, log on to www.earthdayresources.org. "Ansel Adams: A Documentary Film" (PBS, 9-10:30pm E/P) This inspiring program about the life and work of a great nature photographer stresses Adams' interest in the beauty of "the American earth", the inseparable bonds connecting mankind to nature and the "obligations the present owes to the future". For more of Adams' awesome photos log on to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/press/ansel.html. "In Search Of Eden" (The Learning Channel, 9-10pm E/P) Among the images that sustain our interest in saving the planet, even though we sometimes think it's hopeless, is the Biblical description of the Garden Of Eden. We would ideally like to restore our habitat to such a beautiful, non-polluted state. But what do we really know about Eden? This documentary follows a British researcher through archives, museums, and ancient ruins to the Zagros mountains of Iran near Tabriz where, he believes, lay the site of the Garden of Eden. There, he uses computer-generated maps to explore the once-lush possible site -- which has nowadays been turned into urban sprawl. Monday, April 22 "TV-Turnoff Week" (all day today -- through midnight April 28) In case you missed the news that this is national Turnoff TV Week, take a look at the article in Times Magazine For Kids' online-edition at http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/magazines/story/0,6277,227478,88.html. It describes the campaign going on to convince you not to watch programs like the one tonight about fish, or the history of the real Scorpion King tomorrow, or the documentary about politically radical movies Wednesday, or the inside look at the N.Y. Stock Exchange on Thursday. (My theory is that the people who organized the anti-TV week are worried that you'll become a vegetarian, or a historian, or a socialist, or a capitalist. I mean, they think you can't resist acting out anything you see on TV. Whom do you agree with?) "Empty Oceans, Empty Nets" (PBS, 10-11pm E/P) This documentary about the depletion of the ocean's fisheries shows conditions in New England, Alaska, Hong Kong, Senegal, Indonesia and France. Yes, there are still beautiful schools of fish to be viewed underwater and at bustling outdoor markets. But inadequate fishing regulations worldwide have cut the breeding stock to critically low levels -- so we're facing a fish shortage. (Think of it as if we were eating all our wheat and corn but planting none.) For details log on www.pbs.org/emptyoceans. To learn what companies like Whole Foods are doing about this, go to http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/issues/fishfuture_main.html. Tuesday, April 23 "The Real Scorpion King" (History Channel, 9-11pm E/P) You've probably noticed that there's a movie coming out with the name "The Scorpion King". Well, there really was such a person, according to Yale archaeologists John and Deborah Darnell. Their recent discoveries in Egypt, shown in this documentary, not only suggest the existence of an Egyptian king before anybody thought there were kings in that place, but also it may be that the carved tableaux showing this character brandishing a weapon over a captive (the Hollywood movie ads make over-dramatized use of this image) is the oldest historical document ever discovered. This spring the University of Chicago published Darnell's book on the topic, "Theban Desert Road Survey in the Egyptian Western Desert". Wednesday, April 24 "Reel Radicals: The 60's Revolution In Film" (American Movie Classics, 6-7 pm ET, 3-4pm PT) This documentary includes film clips and interviews with film makers from the era when movies had political content. Indeed, they were considered dangerous, anti-establishment and a challenge to the nation's belief system at the time. You will find some of this material tame now, and some of it still "way out". The clothes, of course, are coming back in style. Woody Harrelson (a bad boy then, a bad boy now) narrates. Thursday, April 25 "The Stock Exchange" (History Channel, 7-8pm E/P) The place where $90 million changes hands every minute used to be just a spot near the wooden wall that early New Yorkers built to keep off marauding Native Americans -- a spot where the dealers wrote up the rules of America's first stock exchange. Nowadays, handshakes have been replaced by computer technology. But the perils even greater than before, as this documentary illustrates -- perils such as the 1929 Crash that nearly wrecked the whole country.
"A Civil Action" (NBC, 8:30-11pm E/P -- Rated PG-13 for some strong language) Airing on the eve of Earth Day, this dramatic movie is based on the Jonathan Harr book about a real-life environmental law battle waged by 8 families in Woburn, MA. They charged the Beatrice Foods and W.R. Grace companies with dumping chemicals that poisoned the town water supply, leading to the leukemia deaths of several children. John Travolta stars with a script by the same person who wrote the screenplay for "Schindler's List", Steven Zaillian. Note: For further information about the issues that Earth Day events will address, log on to www.earthdayresources.org.
"Ansel Adams: A Documentary Film" (PBS, 9-10:30pm E/P) This inspiring program about the life and work of a great nature photographer stresses Adams' interest in the beauty of "the American earth", the inseparable bonds connecting mankind to nature and the "obligations the present owes to the future". For more of Adams' awesome photos log on to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/press/ansel.html.
"In Search Of Eden" (The Learning Channel, 9-10pm E/P) Among the images that sustain our interest in saving the planet, even though we sometimes think it's hopeless, is the Biblical description of the Garden Of Eden. We would ideally like to restore our habitat to such a beautiful, non-polluted state. But what do we really know about Eden? This documentary follows a British researcher through archives, museums, and ancient ruins to the Zagros mountains of Iran near Tabriz where, he believes, lay the site of the Garden of Eden. There, he uses computer-generated maps to explore the once-lush possible site -- which has nowadays been turned into urban sprawl. Monday, April 22 "TV-Turnoff Week" (all day today -- through midnight April 28) In case you missed the news that this is national Turnoff TV Week, take a look at the article in Times Magazine For Kids' online-edition at http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/magazines/story/0,6277,227478,88.html. It describes the campaign going on to convince you not to watch programs like the one tonight about fish, or the history of the real Scorpion King tomorrow, or the documentary about politically radical movies Wednesday, or the inside look at the N.Y. Stock Exchange on Thursday. (My theory is that the people who organized the anti-TV week are worried that you'll become a vegetarian, or a historian, or a socialist, or a capitalist. I mean, they think you can't resist acting out anything you see on TV. Whom do you agree with?) "Empty Oceans, Empty Nets" (PBS, 10-11pm E/P) This documentary about the depletion of the ocean's fisheries shows conditions in New England, Alaska, Hong Kong, Senegal, Indonesia and France. Yes, there are still beautiful schools of fish to be viewed underwater and at bustling outdoor markets. But inadequate fishing regulations worldwide have cut the breeding stock to critically low levels -- so we're facing a fish shortage. (Think of it as if we were eating all our wheat and corn but planting none.) For details log on www.pbs.org/emptyoceans. To learn what companies like Whole Foods are doing about this, go to http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/issues/fishfuture_main.html. Tuesday, April 23 "The Real Scorpion King" (History Channel, 9-11pm E/P) You've probably noticed that there's a movie coming out with the name "The Scorpion King". Well, there really was such a person, according to Yale archaeologists John and Deborah Darnell. Their recent discoveries in Egypt, shown in this documentary, not only suggest the existence of an Egyptian king before anybody thought there were kings in that place, but also it may be that the carved tableaux showing this character brandishing a weapon over a captive (the Hollywood movie ads make over-dramatized use of this image) is the oldest historical document ever discovered. This spring the University of Chicago published Darnell's book on the topic, "Theban Desert Road Survey in the Egyptian Western Desert". Wednesday, April 24 "Reel Radicals: The 60's Revolution In Film" (American Movie Classics, 6-7 pm ET, 3-4pm PT) This documentary includes film clips and interviews with film makers from the era when movies had political content. Indeed, they were considered dangerous, anti-establishment and a challenge to the nation's belief system at the time. You will find some of this material tame now, and some of it still "way out". The clothes, of course, are coming back in style. Woody Harrelson (a bad boy then, a bad boy now) narrates. Thursday, April 25 "The Stock Exchange" (History Channel, 7-8pm E/P) The place where $90 million changes hands every minute used to be just a spot near the wooden wall that early New Yorkers built to keep off marauding Native Americans -- a spot where the dealers wrote up the rules of America's first stock exchange. Nowadays, handshakes have been replaced by computer technology. But the perils even greater than before, as this documentary illustrates -- perils such as the 1929 Crash that nearly wrecked the whole country.
Monday, April 22 "TV-Turnoff Week" (all day today -- through midnight April 28) In case you missed the news that this is national Turnoff TV Week, take a look at the article in Times Magazine For Kids' online-edition at http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/magazines/story/0,6277,227478,88.html. It describes the campaign going on to convince you not to watch programs like the one tonight about fish, or the history of the real Scorpion King tomorrow, or the documentary about politically radical movies Wednesday, or the inside look at the N.Y. Stock Exchange on Thursday. (My theory is that the people who organized the anti-TV week are worried that you'll become a vegetarian, or a historian, or a socialist, or a capitalist. I mean, they think you can't resist acting out anything you see on TV. Whom do you agree with?) "Empty Oceans, Empty Nets" (PBS, 10-11pm E/P) This documentary about the depletion of the ocean's fisheries shows conditions in New England, Alaska, Hong Kong, Senegal, Indonesia and France. Yes, there are still beautiful schools of fish to be viewed underwater and at bustling outdoor markets. But inadequate fishing regulations worldwide have cut the breeding stock to critically low levels -- so we're facing a fish shortage. (Think of it as if we were eating all our wheat and corn but planting none.) For details log on www.pbs.org/emptyoceans. To learn what companies like Whole Foods are doing about this, go to http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/issues/fishfuture_main.html. Tuesday, April 23 "The Real Scorpion King" (History Channel, 9-11pm E/P) You've probably noticed that there's a movie coming out with the name "The Scorpion King". Well, there really was such a person, according to Yale archaeologists John and Deborah Darnell. Their recent discoveries in Egypt, shown in this documentary, not only suggest the existence of an Egyptian king before anybody thought there were kings in that place, but also it may be that the carved tableaux showing this character brandishing a weapon over a captive (the Hollywood movie ads make over-dramatized use of this image) is the oldest historical document ever discovered. This spring the University of Chicago published Darnell's book on the topic, "Theban Desert Road Survey in the Egyptian Western Desert". Wednesday, April 24 "Reel Radicals: The 60's Revolution In Film" (American Movie Classics, 6-7 pm ET, 3-4pm PT) This documentary includes film clips and interviews with film makers from the era when movies had political content. Indeed, they were considered dangerous, anti-establishment and a challenge to the nation's belief system at the time. You will find some of this material tame now, and some of it still "way out". The clothes, of course, are coming back in style. Woody Harrelson (a bad boy then, a bad boy now) narrates. Thursday, April 25 "The Stock Exchange" (History Channel, 7-8pm E/P) The place where $90 million changes hands every minute used to be just a spot near the wooden wall that early New Yorkers built to keep off marauding Native Americans -- a spot where the dealers wrote up the rules of America's first stock exchange. Nowadays, handshakes have been replaced by computer technology. But the perils even greater than before, as this documentary illustrates -- perils such as the 1929 Crash that nearly wrecked the whole country.
"TV-Turnoff Week" (all day today -- through midnight April 28) In case you missed the news that this is national Turnoff TV Week, take a look at the article in Times Magazine For Kids' online-edition at http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/magazines/story/0,6277,227478,88.html. It describes the campaign going on to convince you not to watch programs like the one tonight about fish, or the history of the real Scorpion King tomorrow, or the documentary about politically radical movies Wednesday, or the inside look at the N.Y. Stock Exchange on Thursday. (My theory is that the people who organized the anti-TV week are worried that you'll become a vegetarian, or a historian, or a socialist, or a capitalist. I mean, they think you can't resist acting out anything you see on TV. Whom do you agree with?)
"Empty Oceans, Empty Nets" (PBS, 10-11pm E/P) This documentary about the depletion of the ocean's fisheries shows conditions in New England, Alaska, Hong Kong, Senegal, Indonesia and France. Yes, there are still beautiful schools of fish to be viewed underwater and at bustling outdoor markets. But inadequate fishing regulations worldwide have cut the breeding stock to critically low levels -- so we're facing a fish shortage. (Think of it as if we were eating all our wheat and corn but planting none.) For details log on www.pbs.org/emptyoceans. To learn what companies like Whole Foods are doing about this, go to http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/issues/fishfuture_main.html.
Tuesday, April 23 "The Real Scorpion King" (History Channel, 9-11pm E/P) You've probably noticed that there's a movie coming out with the name "The Scorpion King". Well, there really was such a person, according to Yale archaeologists John and Deborah Darnell. Their recent discoveries in Egypt, shown in this documentary, not only suggest the existence of an Egyptian king before anybody thought there were kings in that place, but also it may be that the carved tableaux showing this character brandishing a weapon over a captive (the Hollywood movie ads make over-dramatized use of this image) is the oldest historical document ever discovered. This spring the University of Chicago published Darnell's book on the topic, "Theban Desert Road Survey in the Egyptian Western Desert". Wednesday, April 24 "Reel Radicals: The 60's Revolution In Film" (American Movie Classics, 6-7 pm ET, 3-4pm PT) This documentary includes film clips and interviews with film makers from the era when movies had political content. Indeed, they were considered dangerous, anti-establishment and a challenge to the nation's belief system at the time. You will find some of this material tame now, and some of it still "way out". The clothes, of course, are coming back in style. Woody Harrelson (a bad boy then, a bad boy now) narrates. Thursday, April 25 "The Stock Exchange" (History Channel, 7-8pm E/P) The place where $90 million changes hands every minute used to be just a spot near the wooden wall that early New Yorkers built to keep off marauding Native Americans -- a spot where the dealers wrote up the rules of America's first stock exchange. Nowadays, handshakes have been replaced by computer technology. But the perils even greater than before, as this documentary illustrates -- perils such as the 1929 Crash that nearly wrecked the whole country.
"The Real Scorpion King" (History Channel, 9-11pm E/P) You've probably noticed that there's a movie coming out with the name "The Scorpion King". Well, there really was such a person, according to Yale archaeologists John and Deborah Darnell. Their recent discoveries in Egypt, shown in this documentary, not only suggest the existence of an Egyptian king before anybody thought there were kings in that place, but also it may be that the carved tableaux showing this character brandishing a weapon over a captive (the Hollywood movie ads make over-dramatized use of this image) is the oldest historical document ever discovered. This spring the University of Chicago published Darnell's book on the topic, "Theban Desert Road Survey in the Egyptian Western Desert". Wednesday, April 24 "Reel Radicals: The 60's Revolution In Film" (American Movie Classics, 6-7 pm ET, 3-4pm PT) This documentary includes film clips and interviews with film makers from the era when movies had political content. Indeed, they were considered dangerous, anti-establishment and a challenge to the nation's belief system at the time. You will find some of this material tame now, and some of it still "way out". The clothes, of course, are coming back in style. Woody Harrelson (a bad boy then, a bad boy now) narrates. Thursday, April 25 "The Stock Exchange" (History Channel, 7-8pm E/P) The place where $90 million changes hands every minute used to be just a spot near the wooden wall that early New Yorkers built to keep off marauding Native Americans -- a spot where the dealers wrote up the rules of America's first stock exchange. Nowadays, handshakes have been replaced by computer technology. But the perils even greater than before, as this documentary illustrates -- perils such as the 1929 Crash that nearly wrecked the whole country.
Wednesday, April 24 "Reel Radicals: The 60's Revolution In Film" (American Movie Classics, 6-7 pm ET, 3-4pm PT) This documentary includes film clips and interviews with film makers from the era when movies had political content. Indeed, they were considered dangerous, anti-establishment and a challenge to the nation's belief system at the time. You will find some of this material tame now, and some of it still "way out". The clothes, of course, are coming back in style. Woody Harrelson (a bad boy then, a bad boy now) narrates. Thursday, April 25 "The Stock Exchange" (History Channel, 7-8pm E/P) The place where $90 million changes hands every minute used to be just a spot near the wooden wall that early New Yorkers built to keep off marauding Native Americans -- a spot where the dealers wrote up the rules of America's first stock exchange. Nowadays, handshakes have been replaced by computer technology. But the perils even greater than before, as this documentary illustrates -- perils such as the 1929 Crash that nearly wrecked the whole country.
"Reel Radicals: The 60's Revolution In Film" (American Movie Classics, 6-7 pm ET, 3-4pm PT) This documentary includes film clips and interviews with film makers from the era when movies had political content. Indeed, they were considered dangerous, anti-establishment and a challenge to the nation's belief system at the time. You will find some of this material tame now, and some of it still "way out". The clothes, of course, are coming back in style. Woody Harrelson (a bad boy then, a bad boy now) narrates. Thursday, April 25 "The Stock Exchange" (History Channel, 7-8pm E/P) The place where $90 million changes hands every minute used to be just a spot near the wooden wall that early New Yorkers built to keep off marauding Native Americans -- a spot where the dealers wrote up the rules of America's first stock exchange. Nowadays, handshakes have been replaced by computer technology. But the perils even greater than before, as this documentary illustrates -- perils such as the 1929 Crash that nearly wrecked the whole country.
Thursday, April 25 "The Stock Exchange" (History Channel, 7-8pm E/P) The place where $90 million changes hands every minute used to be just a spot near the wooden wall that early New Yorkers built to keep off marauding Native Americans -- a spot where the dealers wrote up the rules of America's first stock exchange. Nowadays, handshakes have been replaced by computer technology. But the perils even greater than before, as this documentary illustrates -- perils such as the 1929 Crash that nearly wrecked the whole country.
"The Stock Exchange" (History Channel, 7-8pm E/P) The place where $90 million changes hands every minute used to be just a spot near the wooden wall that early New Yorkers built to keep off marauding Native Americans -- a spot where the dealers wrote up the rules of America's first stock exchange. Nowadays, handshakes have been replaced by computer technology. But the perils even greater than before, as this documentary illustrates -- perils such as the 1929 Crash that nearly wrecked the whole country.
Saturday, April 20 Next@CNN Modern Marvels: Bulletproof
Sunday, April 21 A Civil Action Ansel Adams: A Documentary Film In Search of Eden
Monday, April 22 TV-Turnoff Week Empty Oceans, Empty Nets
Tuesday, April 23 The Real Scorpion King
Wednesday, April 24 Reel Radicals: The 60's Revolution in Film
Thursday, April 25 The Stock Exchange
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