What's On!

Here is another column full of programs that put a scientific, scholarly spin on some scary stuff -- prisons, teenage angst, people poking one another with spears, buildings collapsing, teens with gambling problems, hurricanes blowing towns off the map... and Ralph Nader's opinions about what's happening to American democracy.

Do you think this stuff is scary? What gives you the heebiejeebies? People who use words like "heebiejeebies"? ;-)

Watch the shows and tell me what you think. Email me, the new MediaWiz of Whyville!

Click here for an index of this week's shows. And now, the Media Menu!

Thursday, August 8

"Backstory: Wall Street" (American Movie Classics Channel, 7-7:30 pm ET, 4-4:30 pm PT) This is a documentary about the making of a movie entitled "Wall Street" (which is out on video). When the movie came out it was thought to be unflattering to hard-working stockbrokers in New York. Well, there was more truth than fiction in that movie, as the documentary points out.

"Prisons" (History Channel, 7-8 pm, E/P) There's a lot of talk these days about prisons -- as a destination for crooked CEO's, etc. This documentary looks at the technology, architecture and social philosophy of U.S. prisons, comparing them -- unfavorably and favorably -- with 18th century English "scientifically designed'' facilities and even medieval dungeons.

Friday, August 9

"The Science Of Sports/Rock n' Roll Physics" (A&E, 7-8 am E/P -- note that this is a morning, not an evening broadcast) This documentary is one of those that could be taped for possible us in one of your classes -- or viewed right away to give you some insights you can use while watching the 2002 U.S. Gymnastics Championships on Sunday, August 9. In this documentary, scientists (including two high school physics teachers) and trainers analyze how top athletes (including Michael Jordan) function.

"Dateline NBC" (NBC, 8-9 pm E/P) This edition of NBC's weekly newsmagazine digs into some daily of the problems of teenage years -- raging hormones, hunger for independence and balancing lifestyles with life-altering options. The program also looks at these things from a parent's vantage point (i.e. what effect is your struggle having on your parents).

"NOW -- With Bill Moyers" (PBS, 9-10 pm E/P) The main segment of this weekly current events program will be an interview with former Green Party Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader about the state of democracy in the U.S. Nader often talks about things that haven't been reported in the papers yet. Currently the papers are carrying stories about things he was describing years ago. Tune in tonight to see what he says that -- probably -- will ''come out'' in the news later this year.

"The 4th Annual Family Television Awards" (ABC, 9-10 pm E/P) This awards program, honoring on TV programs in eight categories that are relevant and interesting for the whole family to view together, contains sample scenes from some shows I have recommended that you watch --and some I haven't. Take a trip down memory lane and see if you agree with the Family Friendly Programming Forum, who picked the awardees, or me.

Saturday, August 10

"Jousting" (A&E, 8-9pm E/P) You know how I like to pitch shows about people doing things that I warn you against trying at home. Well, this documentary is about something that you may have frequently tried to do, virtually, in a video game about knights. But if you want to do it for real, you'll have to do what Hollis Hale, a carpenter from LaGrange, Georgia did -- study this medieval technology at home for 9 years and then go to England to compete in an international jousting tournament.

Sunday, August 11

"CBS 60 Minutes" (CBS, 7-8 pm E/P) There's a segment in this newsmagazine that raises a question which people who operate virtual businesses on Whyville might think about: If your business has a setback and you can't pay employees, do you do what Aaron Feuerstein did when his New England mill burned? He continued to pay his workers anyway while he re-built his business. Would you? The program also has a report on racial profiling. Just because all 19 of the September 11 hijackers were young Arab men, should officials "profile" Arab men at security checkpoints?

"2002 U.S. Gymnastic Championships" (NBC, 7-8 pm E/P) This is a tape-delay broadcast of the best performances in the gymnastic categories of trampoline, tumbling, sports acrobatics, balance and tempo.

Monday, August 12

"Engineering Disasters" (History Channel, 9-11 pm E/P) This is a documentary about what happens when the calculations of engineers prove wrong and it all comes tumbling down. This kind of failure to double-check your arithmetic has been going on for a long time-all the way back to ancient Babylon where a wise and careful king (Hammurabi) decreed the first building-standards codes. Today, the concerns are more than just keeping castle walls upright, it's now about nuclear and chemical plants that don't break down. I am putting my own parental warning on this program -- it may be scary for some kids to see how mistakes cause buildings and bridges to fail.

Tuesday, August 13

"Teenage Gambling" (A&E, 7-8 am, E/P -- note that it's a morning broadcast) I don't think I have to twist your arm to make you watch this documentary, or at least time-shift it via your VCR. It is, as you might suspect, about 15 year-old kids who roll dice for dollars, a 17 year-old who went to the race track instead of high school graduation , a youth whose gambling addiction drove him to crime and... teenagers who gamble at home through the internet. The show will not inspire you to go and do likewise, unless you are immune to stories with sad endings.

Wednesday, August 14

"Hurricane Andrew" (A&E, 2-3 pm E/P) Meteorology, the science of weather, is usually not a terrifying thing to contemplate. But when weather is bad, such as was the case with the killer winds and rain that descended on the east coast of Florida in 1992, you end up with the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history to date. This documentary is based on detailed accounts by people who survived the event.

Thursday, August 15

"Liberty Ships" (History Channel, 10-11 pm E/P) It's amazing what engineers -- in this case naval engineers -- can do when they put their minds to it. During WWII supply ships were being sunk faster than anybody thought they could be replaced. But in this documentary you'll see how designers and builders figured a way, in a matter of months, to replace these ships and go on for 4 years to build more ocean-going shipping capacity than been built in the whole of prior human history.