On Sunday, there are two good shows that will give you some perspective on New York's past and present. If you're looking for something that isn't related to the disasters of September 11, how about Star Trek? There's also another installment of the awesome Junkyard Wars on Wednesday, involving NASA engineers and haunted house designers going head to head!

Watch the shows and let me know what you think!
Email me, the MediaWiz of Whyville!

Saturday, September 29

"Pile-Up" (Discovery Channel 9-10 p.m. E/P) This is a documentary about the new automotive technologies for preventing the highway pile-ups that result when cars drive fast and too close to one another or faster than fog and snow or dust conditions warrant.

Sunday, September 30

"The Day It All Changed" (WB Network, 7-8 p.m. E/P) This is a news special with teen agers in a town hall type setting discussing the tragic events of September 11 and their feelings about the unrest in the world today. They will be able to question reporters who have traveled to Afghanistan both before and after the Taliban came to power, as well as reporters just back from western Pakistan, where suspected terrorists are trained as young people, San Diego, California, where U.S. Marines are training, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, where large numbers of Arab-American attend university.

"New York" (PBS, 9-11 p.m. E/P) Modern, optimistic New York emerges in this episode, entitled "City Of Tomorrow (1929-45)" in the current PBS documentary series about that city's history. Monday, from 9-11 p.m., the series concludes with "The City And The World", about the complexities of that modern city, including its social and cultural changes since WWII. (These programs were filmed prior to the bombing of the World Trade Center, so, in certain respects, the series is about the history -- including the civil engineering innovations involved -- of places recently damaged or destroyed.)

Monday, October 1

"America's Love Affair With Star Trek" (The National Network - TNN, 7-8 p.m. E/P) This documentary introduces viewers to the fact that this new network, TNN, will be running three entire Star Trek TV series and five Star Trek movies during the next few years. Right away, actually even before this evening's documentary show, TNN will begin airing the movies. At 9 in the morning they'll start with "Star Trek: The Wrath Of Khan" and then go to "Star Trek: the Search for Spock" and "Star Trek: The Final Frontier", which ends at 7 p.m. The series will be shown every weekday evening, beginning this night at 8 p.m. E/P , repeating at 11 p.m. E/P. Here's a book recommendation: "The Physics Of Star Trek", by Lawrence M. Kraus, chairman of the department of physics at Case Western Reserve University. In a foreword to this book, Stephen Hawking says, "Today's science fiction is often tomorrow's science fact. The physics that underlies Star Trek is surely worth investigating."

"Rock And Religion" (VH1 Channel, 5-6 p.m. E/P) Airing on one of the main music cable stations, this documentary looks at the relationship between rock music and organized religion. You'll learn about the struggles of early rock pioneers (Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard) to reconcile their love of the music with their Protestant upbringing, the uses of religious imagery in music videos and the religious pursuits of Cat Stevens (Moslem) Bob Dylan (Jewish), the Beatles and Madonna (Catholic).

Tuesday, October 2

"Search For A Safe Cigarette" (PBS, 8-9 p.m. E/P) This is a documentary on a topic previously covered in earlier shows, but this time there are new zingers -- such as on-camera admission by the scientists hired to make a ''safe" cigarette that no such thing is possible. They also reveal that nicotine, though addictive, is not particularly toxic, so the main physically-damaging thing about cigarettes has been from asbestos fibers in the filters and chemicals in commercially-processed tobacco. Log on www.pbs.org/nova/cigarette for a closer look at some 'virtual' cigarettes, both conventional and ''safer''.

"5 Girls" (PBS, 9-11 p.m. E/P) This documentary was filmed over 3 years in Chicago's diverse neighborhoods and provides a glimpse into the hearts and minds of five teenage girls. They deal with parental expectations, first loves and the gulf between wealth and poverty, showing that they have in common a certain resilience, self awareness and a determination to be themselves,. Parental Advisory: Rated PG for language and discussion of gender issues.

Wednesday, October 3

"Candid Camera" (PAX Network, 8-9 p.m. E/P) The current episode of this long-running TV series about people caught unawares by a hidden camera shows what happens when new office workers show up to work at a business where the computer is powered by a bike, the fax machine has a foot pump and the intercom works with a squeeze handle.

"Electric Money" (PBS, 8-10 p.m. E/P) This documentary explains how the digital revolution has transformed virtually every sort of money-related activity - from credit cards to the stock market to ATM banking. And maybe there won't be actual cash-money eventually, just ''bits''.

"Junkyard Wars: Power Raft" (The Learning Network, 9-10 p.m. E/P) This is another episode of the TLC series in which scientists -- or people with a science-related hobby -- compete using junkyard stuff to build things like airplanes, cars and boats. In tonight's show a NASA team (nicknamed "The Rocket Men") compete with "The Dukes Of Spook" (a crew that builds haunted house attractions for a living) to build rafts that will carry them up and down a fast moving river.

Thursday, October 4