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These listings cover television programs up to Friday, December 12.
Greetings, TV viewers!
The topic for the Media Hour on Wednesday, December 10th in the Greek Theatre is "Who decides what you give?" If that sounds like a strange question, just think for a minute about how you are making up your holiday gift list. Where did your ideas come from? Did friends and family give you suggestions? Did advertising influence you? What things would you be thinking about if you hadn't see ads or feature stories about those things on TV? (One example of such a story airs on CBS this Sunday.)
For the 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 to 7:30pm Whyville Time (that's the same as Eastern Daylight Time).
Friday, December 5
"Platypus: The World's Strangest Animal" (Discovery Channel, 6-7 p.m. E/P)
Ever seen this creature with a leathery bill, webbed feet, furred
body with venomous spurs? It has babies by laying eggs! The Australian platypus,
surely one of the strangest animals that has ever been seen and hasn't been seen
by many, because the platypus is notoriously elusive.
Saturday, December 6
"National Geographic Explorer Ultimate Explorer: Virus Crisis" (MSNBC Channel
8-9 p.m. ET, 5-6 p.m. PT) Investigate recent outbreaks of four exotic
diseases -- ebola, monkey pox, West Nile virus and SARS (Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome) -- and question how much we have to fear these outbreaks.
"Tora, Tora, Tora: The Real Story of Pearl Harbor" (History Channel 9-11 p.m.
E/P) This documentary, airing on the eve of a day of remembrances of the
events of December 7, 1941, looks deeply into how the Japanese surprised the
Americans at the beginning of WWII. It was an historical turning point -- the
world was forever changed after the attack on the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii. It resulted from a combination of factors -- and at any point, the
dangerous operation could have been called off before its Japanese commander
radioed back the code words "Tora, Tora, Tora" (Tiger, Tiger, Tiger), which
meant complete surprise had been achieved. The program is serious, but not so
grim that it made it impossible for the producers to assign it a rating of TV-G.
Sunday, December 7
"CBS News Sunday Morning" (CBS, 9-10:30 p.m. E/P) This edition of CBS'
thoughtfully compiled weekend newsmagazine includes reports on the "trading up"
phenomenon -- middle class American consumers who decide that some things they
buy are worthy of the "big splurge"; the first major American exhibition in
decades by famous Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn; a preview of "the best"
electronics gifts for the holiday season; an inquiry about what makes Reverend
Al Sharpton run... for president; and finally, a look at the Iraq National
Symphony Orchestra, which will perform side-by-side with the U.S. National
Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in
Washington, D.C. this month.
.
Monday December 8
"Hidden: Inside the World's Mightiest Bank" (Travel Channel, 9-10 p.m.
E/P) This documentary in a series called "Hidden" is about the U.S. Federal
Reserve Bank. It explains what the world's most powerful financial institution
is doing to control global demand for U.S. dollars, it investigates the Fed's
control over digital-age counterfeiting and how the U.S. economy is preparing
for a paperless future.
Tuesday, December 9
"Nova" The Orchid Hunter" (PBS, 8-9 p.m. E/P check local listings) Learn
about orchids, nature's most highly evolves plant. Also learn about an
all-consuming passion about orchids that for some people is more important than
life itself. The example shown is Tom Hart Dyke. During 9 months in 2000 he was
a captive of guerrillas who seized him while he was collecting wild orchids in
the Colombian rainforest. After his release he was at it again, this time in the
most orchid-rich and politically unstable part of Papua New Guinea. As you might
suspect, there's a website about this topic, at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/orchid/.
Wednesday, December 10
"60 Minutes II" (CBS, 8-9 p.m. E/P) Reports in this newsmagazine include
an inquiry into employee charges that working conditions at IBM caused cancers
and birth defects. And there's an interview with "Judge Judy". Judy Sheindlin is one of the highest paid women in television history -- $100 million for a
four-year contract. She has broadcast hundreds of real-life cases for each of
the past seven seasons, often beating "Oprah" in the ratings. Scheindlin started
her career as a lawyer in New York's Family Court and was appointed to be a
judge in 1982.
Thursday, December 11
"From Jesus To Christ: the First Christians" (PBS 9-11 p.m. E/P) This
documentary miniseries draws upon new and sometimes controversial historical
evidence, and challenges familiar assumptions about the origins of Christianity.
Program 1 traces the life of Jesus of Nazareth, exploring the message that helped
his ministry grow and the events that led to his crucifixion around 30 A.D. The film covers the period after Jesus' death,
examining the rise of Christianity and concluding with the siege of Jerusalem
and the beginning of a rift between Christianity and Judaism. The broadcast
explores new evidence suggesting that Jesus' followers, because of their
diversity and the differences in their cultures and languages, looked at and
interpreted Jesus and his teachings in many different ways. Program 2, which
airs December 18, traces the
development and impact of the Gospels
and looking at the increasingly hostile relationship between the Christians and
the Jews. It also documents the extraordinary events of the second and third
centuries in which Christianity grew from a small Jewish sect to an official
religion of the Roman Empire.
Friday, December 12
"Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked" (History Channel, 6-8 p.m. E/P) Even if
you hate documentaries, you might be able to sit though this one. And if you don't get History Channel where you live, you can order a tape of the show at
www.historychannel.com. This 2-hour special
reveals how comic book superheroes
reflect their times -- from the 1930s to the 21st century -- and how these
wish-fulfillment figures became role models for generations of kids It follows
the most
well-known cartoon crusaders and villains, as well as the industry that formed
them, you'll we see how they mirrored society -- from the Depression, WWII, the
Cold War, and the turbulent '60s to today -- and how they proved adaptable to
other media. Rated TV-G.
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