Media Menu

These listings cover television programs up to Friday, August 8th.

Greetings, TV viewers!

This week's MediaHour will cover the book The Wanderer by Sharon Creech.

For the regular Media Hour, watch the show(s)-of-the-week, jot down some ideas, then talk about them with me and other citizens (including other City Workers, if they're available) at the Greek Theater, over in City Hall. You'll find that the Theater makes discussions pretty easy, since City Workers are able to direct people's movement and behavior, when we need to, and it keeps everyone's chat bubbles from overlapping too much. We meet for MediaHour on Wednesdays from 6:30pm and 7:30pm Whyville Time (that's the same as Eastern Daylight Time).

Everyone is welcome to write to me about what you and your parents think: Y-mail me, the MediaWiz of Whyville!

And now... the Media Menu!

Friday, August 1

"The Wanderer" (live streaming audio web-event, log on www.kpcc.org -- and click on "Live KPCC", 5-5:30pm ET, 2-2:30pm PT) This is the monthly on-the radio meeting of the book club whose choice, "The Wanderer" by Sharon Creech, we will be discussing in the Whyville Media Hour on Wednesday, August 7. This Newbury Honor novel is about thirteen-year-old Sophie and her cousin Cody on a transatlantic crossing aboard the Wanderer, a forty-five foot sailboat. Along with uncles and another cousin, they're route to visit their grandfather in England. Get the book from a library, read it, listen to the webcast and come join the Whyville discussion next week.

"20/20" (ABC Network, 10-11pm E/P) This newsmagazine features stories about where unsolicited e-mail, or "spam" comes from., how those spammers got ahold of your address what riches are in it for them and what you can do to foil them. You'll meet spam entrepreneur who has been able to move from a trailer park to a sumptuous house on the profits of generating 180 million e-mails a day. Also, there's a profile of Wynonna Judd, and another about a scientist scientists I've told you about before, Doug Owsley -- he can read ancient bones to solve mysteries. The final segment is about patent-abuse, namely the rush by manufacturers, performers and others to lock in the legal rights to an idea or a name, or even a peanut butter and jelly sandwich

Saturday, August 2

"The Directors: Frank Darabont" (Encore Network, 11am-noon ET, 8-9 am PT) This documentary will tell you how a screenwriter researches and scripts a film by profiling the work of Frank Darabont. He is currently working on new screen versions of Fahrenheit 451 and the Indiana Jones story. He previously wrote numerous Adventures of Young Indiana Jones and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles episodes covering Austria, Congo, German East Africa and Palestine, as well as the movie scripts for Green Mile, Frankenstein, and Shawshank Redemption. He also wrote Nightmare On Elm Street, The Blob and The Fly II, plus parts of Saving Private Ryan and Minority Report, Schwarzenegger's Eraser and Collateral Damage, and so on. (Darabont, like any professional writer, occasionally has to work with a boss whose ideas he may not like.) These are good examples of how classically disciplined writing and research -- done for today's audiences -- make a movie compelling (and garner multiple Oscar nominations). Colleagues interviewed in the program, including Tom Hanks, Jim Carrey, Michael Clarke Duncan, James Cromwell and Michael Jeter praise the scripts he did for them. You'll learn a lot from watching this show -- and his shows (which are all available on video, although a lot of them are rated R, so get permission before checking them out!). Also look at http://www.filmsondisc.com/Features/darabont/darabont.htm.

Sunday, August 3

"60 Minutes" (CBS Newtork, 7-8pm E/P) This newsmagazine reveals that US. Customs can inspects just two percent of the six million cargo containers entering the U.S. annually, making seaports and the final destinations of the containers all across America vulnerable to terror. Then there's a visit to Quatar, the formerly traditional Persian Gulf country that is rapidly becoming one of the most progressive in the region. And an exp;oration of the idea that about 500 years ago the "old masters" began painting the human figure with such lifelike detail that it now seems they used projection devices and may have traced the images.

Monday, August 4

"Losing Ground: Farming in America" (National Geographic Channel, 7-7:30pm E/P) This is the initial episode of a week-long series of feature stories airing in this time-slot that take an inside look at farming in America -- the pressures on this critical industry and why this way of life is quickly disappearing all across the nation. The series begins the wheat fields of Kansas, and on following days goes to Iowa, Southern Minnesota and Colorado. For details log on to www.natgeochannel.com.

"Klondike: Quest for the Gold" (History Channel 8-11pm E/P) This 3-hour documentary special follows four men and one woman as they recreate a famous trek along the historic route taken during the 1897-98 Klondike Gold Rush, up the Yukon River to the gold fields near Dawson, Canada -- equipped with period clothes and tools, and carrying 3,000 pounds of provisions. Intertwined are stories from journals of people who sought their fortune in this stunningly beautiful and incredibly harsh part of the Canadian wilderness.

"Lost in the Grand Canyon" (PBS, 9-10pm E/P -- check local listings) Here's another documentary about the perilous beauties of nature. In the summer of 1869, a one-armed Civil War veteran led the first expedition down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. John Wesley Powell's epic journey into the unknown established the Grand Canyon as a national landmark, and made him a hero. But when he used his fame to argue against the over-development of the West, Powell was attacked as an enemy of progress. More info on the website http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/canyon/

Tuesday, August 5

"American Aloha: Beyond Hawai'i" (PBS, 10-11pm E/P) This is a documentary about the hula dance. For Hawaiians, it's not just a dance, but a way of life. While most Americans know only the stereotypes of grass skirts and coconut bras, the hula is a living tradition that tells of the rich history and spirituality of Hawai'i through music, language, and dance. This program describes the renaissance of Hawaiian culture as it continues to grow thanks to three kumu hula, or master hula teachers, who are perpetuating a culture, from the very traditional to the contemporary, as it evolves far from home -- on the U.S. mainland.

Wednesday, August 6

Note: The Whyville Media Hour, happening today at 6:30-7:30pm ET , 3:30-430pm PT, will be a discussion of the novel "The Wanderer" by Sharon Creech. If you missed the streaming audio event about the book Friday, August 1, read the book anyway or log on to www.kpcc.org and click on the archive version at "Talk Of The City/ Book Club for Young Readers".

"60 Minutes II" (CBS, 8:00-9:00pm E/P) Here's another report on advertising -- this time it's about unwanted phone calls and how those telemarketing callers get your number. Another report in this newsmagazine is maybe something you should ask your parents to join you in viewing -- its about how sex and fantasy fuel best-selling adult video games. The final story is about The Blind Boys of Alabama. Since this band was formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in the late 1930's, the three remaining original members have been all over the world spreading gospel good times, and have recently won two consecutive Grammy awards and appeared on the Tonight Show, late Night with David Letterman, and at the White House. But all three are diabetic and so their interest in diabetes research is personal.

"The Spartans" (PBS, 8-9-pm E/P -- check local listings) This documentary charts the rise and fall of one of the most intriguing and extreme civilizations of the ancient world. Oxford-trained British historian Bettany Hughes brings a special feeling to her stories of this secretive society of battle-hardened warriors, weak babies left exposed on hillsides to die and powerful, liberated women. Unlike its more famous rival, Athens, Sparta can't boast of philosophers, playwrights or politicians. It's famous for its frugality and its fighters -- who were reputed to be the best in the whole of ancient Greece. There's an implied lesson here -- warring leaves little for succeeding generations. This show is part 1 of 3 and some stations are showing all of them on one night --  check local listings to catch the others.

Thursday, August 7

"All The President's Movies" (Bravo Network, 7-10 E/P) This is a 3-part documentary series, all episodes airing on this night. It goes inside White House screening rooms and discovers the favorite films and unusual viewing habits of Presidents for the past 50 years -- from Eisenhower to George W. Bush. Based on film clips and screening notes kept by the official projectionists and covering 5,000 titles, the program includes remarks by Presidents themselves as well as historians of the various administrations. What war film did Nixon watch before invading Cambodia? Which President screened the first X-rated film? (Amazingly, it was Carter.) And while George W. Bush was influenced by "Black Hawk Down", he didn't understand "Field Of Dreams".

Friday, August 8

"Red Flag" (History Channel, 8-9pm E/P) This is a documentary about Nellis Air Force base near Las Vegas, NV -- home to one of the most sophisticated military training facilities in the world. There, in 12,000 square miles of airspace the USAF are conducted the "Red Flag" training exercises, where over 100 NATO and USAF combat aircraft engage hostile air and ground threats, unrestricted, at supersonic speeds, in a real-world environment, offering pilots invaluable experience in real-world air combat situations. As one aviator said after returning from a mission over Baghdad in the first Gulf War, "this is really tough, but it's not as intense as Red Flag.".