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These listings cover television programs up to Sunday, April 25.
Greetings, TV viewers!
The discussion theme
for the Media hour in the Greek Theatre Wednesday at 6:30 pm Whyville
Time will be those Earth Day themed
shows airing this week.
I have my own way of thinking
about environmentalism and want to know yours. Mine is "What did I or my family
buy this week that was environmentally friendly?'' What's your way?
Monday, April 19
"Patriots Day" (PBS 9-10 pm
E/P) This is a documentary about a group of Americans
who annually recreate the famous Revolutionary War battle of Lexington and
Concord. It captures them building sets, planning military engagements, and
rehearsing battles; looks at their 21st century lives; and explores their
fascination with American history. It is interesting to note that many of
the 65 members of "His Britannic Majesty's 10th
Regiment" and 67 "American rebels" are scientists, doctors,
dentists, forensic experts, etc. The program has a website about these 21st
century people who are passionate about "time
travel" back to the 18th Century. Log on
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/patriotsday/index.html.
T uesday,
April 20
"NOVA: World In The Balance" (PBS,8-10 pm E/P)
In observance of Earth Day this week ( April 22), this program presents an
up-to-date global snapshot of today's human family, now numbering 6.3 billion
and likely to increase to nearly 9 billion by 2050. You may
want to tell your teacher to go online and download a virtual role-playing game
so your class can explore the interplay between population and the environment -
http://www.pbs.org/nova/worldbalance. Plus, log onto
http://www.washingtonpost.com/liveonline
tomorrow, April 21 at 2 pm ET, to discuss the program with Geeta Rao Gupta,
Ph.D., President, International Center for Research on
Women.
"The Awesome Opossum" (Discovery Channel, 5-6 pm
E/P) Earth Day calls attention to the well-being of animals, not just the
cute and cuddly ones. Here's a documentary about one that often gets overlooked.
North America's only marsupial, the opossum, behaves unlike any other animal.
Its diet includes everything from carrion to nuts to snakes. This documentary
follows this unique creature in its daily battle for survival.
Wednesday, April 21
Tomorrow is Earth Day. In order
to get some timely ideas how to join in observances, here's website where you
can find out about Earth Day events wherever you live on this planet It has
links to regional home pages for Africa, Asia, Australia-Pacific, Canada,
Europe, Latin America, Caribbean, Middle East and United States:
http://earthday.org/g&e/searchNetwork.asp
Thursday, April 22
"The Colorado: River Of Wonders" (Travel Channel,
8-9 pm E/P) This is an earth science documentary about a mighty river
that flows from the top of the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California
-- so mighty a flow that the early Spanish explorers thought
it was part of an ocean separating California from
the North American continent. ("California is an island"
announced the geographers of 500 years ago.)
Nowadays, ecological wonders in six national parks including Grand
Canyon, line its banks.
"Frontline: Sons of Al Quaeda"
(PBS, 9-10 pm E/P) This is a documentary portrait of an Al Quaeda family
member. Growing up in the 1990s, Abdurahman Khadr's playmates were
the children of his father's longtime friend, Osama bin Laden. How Khadr was
raised to be an Al Quaeda terrorist--and how he ultimately found himself working
for the U.S.--is the focus of the program. Through interviews with Khadr as
well as his mother and siblings, it recounts his journey from terrorist
upbringing to CIA informant, offering a revealing glimpse inside the mindset of
an Al Quaeda family. More details at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/khadr/
"Journey to Planet Earth: Hot Zones" (PBS,
10-11 pm E/P) Something to tape and take to your science class, this program
explores the fragile relationship between people and the natural world they
inhabit including how recent trends in globalization and the altering of
ecosystems have led to dramatic increases in the spread of infectious diseases.
Narrated by Matt Damon. At
http://www.pbs.org/journeytoplanetearth you can
download a virtual science lesson about one aspect of the
fragile relationship we have with natural phenomena. It
involves testing the effectiveness of the sunscreen you plan
to use this summer.
Friday, April 23
"Dances With Wolves'' (HBO, 4-7 pm E/P , Also
available on video) This is an Oscar-winning movie about
an American Civil War hero who requests a posting on the western
frontier, and finds his new military base deserted. He soon discovers he is not
really alone, but meets a wolf he befriends and also encounters a curious tribe
of Sioux. He also encounters a white woman who was raised by this tribe.
He gradually earns the respect of the native people, and sheds his
white-man's ways. Not soon after, the frontier becomes the
frontier no more, and as the army advances on the plains, he must make a
decision that will not only affect him, but also the lives of the natives he now
calls his people.
Saturday, April 24
"Kindred"
(This has been National Library Week. So here's a book I recommend, and I'll
tell you lots of reasons why for. Information about it, and
an audio interview with the author are available online at
Author Octavia Butler was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship ("genius"
grant) in 1995 because of her science fiction, but she does
not consider "Kindred", the novel that made her famous, to be sci-fi. Readers of
all ages place her among the distinguished literary novelists of our time. (The
"City Reads" program of Rochester NY chose her book for everybody to read
-- http://www.wab.org/events/allofrochester/2003.html) The story:
Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with
her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and
transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner,
is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back again
and again for Rufus, yet each time the stay grows longer and more dangerous
until it is uncertain whether or not Dana's life will end, long before it has
even begun. Butler utilizes the
devices of science fiction in order to answer the question, "how could anybody
be a slave". This is but one book of
particular interest to girls reviewed in
Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books
for Readers 2-14. by Erica Baumeister.
Sunday, April 25
"Genesis
Awards 2004" (Animal Planet Channel, 3-5 pm E/P) Join animal rights
advocates in honoring individuals making significant contributions to the
advancement of animal welfare issues. The commitment and creativity of tonight's
honorees is helping shape society's attitudes toward the rights of animals.
Details at the Humane Society site
http://www.hsus.org/ace/14849
"Ultimate Explorer: Lost Gold Of The Republic"
(MSNBC, 8-9 pm E/P) Repeats Saturday, May 1, 2004, at 8 p.m. ET,
5 p.m. PT) You may recall news stories from last
December about the finding and the recovery of the sunken steamship the U.S.S.
Republic. This documentary follows up
this story of archaeology, and a Civil War era treasure that could be worth more
than $100 million. It delves into the history of the ship, which sank in a
hurricane 100 miles off the coast of Georgia. So far, more than 50,000 gold and
silver coins have been retrieved, along with other artifacts. This program's
host Lisa Ling was the first to go underwater in a high-tech submersible to
investigate the 138-year-old wreck in person, journeying more than 1,600 feet to
the bottom of the Atlantic.
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