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Greetings, TV viewers!
Some broadcast and cable programs contain material included
in the public school curriculum and on standardized examinations. Here are home
viewing suggestions for January 3 - January 9, 2004.
Happy New Year! The first Media Hour of 2005 will focus on space travel.
So you might want to catch the special on Mars on Tuesday, and the great related
website, too! How would you engineer a landing on a foreign planet? Is space
travel important to humanity? What would you do if you could live on another
planet? What have you learned about space travel on TV, in movies and in books?
In other questions, what do you think of the new format for
the Media Menu? We're continuing to make improvments, so if you have ideas about
what would make it easier to use, read, etc, let us know.
Remember to come to Saturday's Media Hour prepared! Watch the shows and really
read the related websites, so you can help us focus our discussion. Explor what
everyone thinks and remind us to think about what was in the shows and
on the websites. Come to the Media Hour prepared and you will be invited down
on stage, and you may earn clams, too!
What's the Media Hour? Watch the show(s)-of-the-week, jot down some ideas, then come and talk about them with me and other citizens (including other City Workers, if they're available). We get together at the Greek Theater (next to City Hall), every Saturday morning at 9 a.m., Whyville Time. (Whyville Time is now the same as Pacific Standard Time.) 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 makes everyone's chat bubbles overlap a little less than other rooms.
Monday, January 3
9-10:30 p.m. E/P
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PBS |
American History |
Middle and
High School
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"
Woodrow Wilson
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This is the second and final part of a documentary miniseries about U.S. President Wilson. An intellectual with unwavering moral principles, he became one of America's greatest presidents. Incapacitated by a stroke, Wilson carried out his duties from bed with the help of his wife, Edith, who became the de facto chief executive. (TV-PG)
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http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/28_wilson/index.html.
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Tuesday, January 4
7-8 p.m. E/P |
HIST (History Channel) |
American History/Technology |
Middle and High School |
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"
Modern Marvels: The Erie Canal
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This is a documentary about an important technology achievement of the 19th Century. Begun early in that century, the Erie Canal was an engineering wonder -- 363 miles of water highway linking the western frontier to the Atlantic seaboard. It took eight years to construct and thousands of hours of hard labor, but by the time it was done, 3,000 canal boats traveled the new corridor, making New York City the commercial capital of the U.S.
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Tuesday, January 4
8-9 p.m. |
PBS |
Science |
Middle School
High School |
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NOVA: Welcome to Mars
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| This is a documentary about space exploration. Exactly a year ago this month a tiny rover named Spirit crash-landed on the surface of Mars and sent its first message home. The excitement of the scientists involved, as well as the behind-the-scenes engineering story leading up to the landing, was captured by NOVA film makers for this program. It's a story of technical ingenuity, full of scientific and human drama, with stunning fresh images from an alien world. |
| More info and a link to a virtual experiment for students to design a parachute that will descend as slowly as possible -- at http://www.pbs.org/nova/mars |
Wednesday, January 5
8-11 p.m. E/P |
PBS |
Social Science/English |
Middle and High School |
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"
Do You Speak American?
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This is the premiere of a documentary series about how we use the English language. Why is what's spoken by Maine lobstermen so different from
what's spoken by cowboys in Texas? Does Spanish pose a threat to English as the dominant language in America? And what on earth do yins, wickety wack, ayuh, catty whompus and stomping it clean mean? Journalist and writer Robert MacNeil travels cross-country to answer these questions and examine the dynamic state of American English -- a language rich with regional variety, strong global impact and cultural controversy.
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Thursday, January 6
8-10:45 p.m. E/P |
AMC (American Movie Channel) |
American History |
Middle and High School |
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Macarthur
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This is a movie biography of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Academy Award-winning actor Gregory Peck delivers a spirited and introspective performance as the flamboyant, controversial and brilliant general. Framed by his West Point farewell speech ("Old soldiers never die... they just fade away...."), flashbacks capture his career, including recreations of the famous landing in the Philippines and the Japanese surrender on the battleship Missouri, as well as the ultimate showdown with President Harry Truman that led to MacArthur's dismissal.
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Friday, January 7
9-9:30 p.m. E/P |
PBS |
Social Science |
Middle and High School |
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NOW
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This is the premiere of the new version of PBS' Emmy award-winning weekly newsmagazine, "NOW". Anchoring this 2005 version is David Brancaccio, who joined the original version in fall 2003 after a decade as host of public radio's "Marketplace." "NOW" investigates stories overlooked by other public affairs broadcasts and travels the nation to research important public policy issues that have real-world impact on working Americans. In this broadcast, whistleblower David Graham, a senior official inside the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), explains how the regulation of drugs on the U.S. market has been cut back, putting the lives of Americans at risk.
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Saturday, January 8
8-10 p.m. E/P |
HIST (History Channel) |
Social Studies/Government |
High School |
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"The 9/11 Commission Report" |
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This is a documentary about one of most significant findings of the 9/11 Commission Report, which was released in July of 2004. Namely, a number of opportunities existed before that tragic day to disrupt the plot to attack the U.S. The 500 plus-page document by a federal panel with Democrats and Republicans was the result of months of research and testimony, spurred on by the families of the victims. The program contains interviews with those who testified, those who wrote the report, and some Commissioners themselves.
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Sunday, January 9
8-10 p.m. E/P |
PBS |
Natural Science/Geography |
Middle and High School |
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"Nature: Violent Hawaii" |
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This is a documentary about Hawaii. The beauty of the place was created by volcanoes on land and in the sea, by earthquakes and tsunamis. These forces. Continue to shape the islands today. A team of award-winning film makers who live on the islands have covered volcanic eruptions, rivers of molten lava, monster waves, humpback whales and perhaps most surprising of all, snow.
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