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These listings cover television programs up to Sunday, June 27.
Greetings, TV viewers!
The discussion topic in the Greek Theater this Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Whyville
Time will be "What does the Fourth of July mean?" Participants in the U.S. as
well as elsewhere are encouraged to give their opinions.
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 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Whyville Time (that's the same as Eastern Standard Time).
Monday, June 28
"History Detectives" (PBS, 9-10 p.m. E/P) This is another episode of the
new series about how to do scientific research based on historical objects.
First, a San Francisco archive has discovered a set of watercolor paintings of
what appears to be a prison camp. Piecing them together shows they were painted
on the back of a Japanese-American internment notice from 1942. What is the
story behind these paintings? Then, a man in Delaware has an old board game that
bears a remarkable similarity to Monopoly, but was made 20 years before Parker
Brothers patented their creation. Could he own the earliest version of the
world's best-selling board game? Rather than originating in the Great Depression
of the 1930s, Monopoly could be a much older game, reflecting an economic
argument that -- if followed -- would have created a radically different
economy. Finally, a Minnesota man has an old wooden cane that has been in his
family for as long as he can remember. The family tale is that Meriwether Lewis
and William Clark gave the cane to his ancestor in return for assistance they
received during the famous Corps of Discovery expedition. Further info at
http://www.pbs.org/historydetectives.
Tuesday, June 29
"Hot Dog Heavens" (Travel Channel, 9-10 p.m. E/P) This documentary takes
a look at the signature food of America's national holiday -- from foot-longs
and chili dogs to "puka dogs" (bright red wieners at Nu-Way Wieners in Georgia)
and the place where it all started, Nathan's on Coney Island.
"NOVA: Fireworks!" (PBS, 9-10 p.m. E/P) This documentary explores the the
science and art of experts who play with fire for our visual delight. There is
more than meets the eye to creating the sequence of vivid colors and impressive
effects that light up the night sky every Fourth of July. Log on to the online
feature "Name That Shell" to watch video clips of fireworks bursting in air and
find out how well you know your chrysanthemums from your peonies at
http://www.pbs.org/nova/fireworks.
Wednesday, June 30
"Rebels and Redcoats: How Britain Lost America" (PBS, 9-11 p.m. E/P)
These are the concluding episodes of a documentary miniseries about the British
side of the American Revolution. Entitled "The War Moves South" and "The World
turned Upside Down", they show the military struggles, leaders, tactics and
strategy of the Redcoats, including the battle of King's Mountain and the
British surrender at Yorktown.
Thursday, July 1
"Wide Angle" (PBS, 9-10 p.m. E/P) The host of this documentary series is
Cambridge-educated Pakistani journalist Mishal Husain, whose life -- described
in a web-link below -- is as interesting as some of the people profiled in her
reports. This particular program is about a group of men who set out to
sacrifice their lives for their religious and national causes. In a series of
interviews from inside Israeli prisons, three Palestinians who planned to be
suicide bombers, one recruiter and one bomb builder captured by Israeli security
forces speak of their training, motivation, operational methodology and profound
belief in the idea of entering paradise by becoming a shahid -- a martyr killed
for the cause of Islam. They also speak of personal motivations that have
influenced them -- including a failed love, a sense of personal revenge, the
frustration of living under Israeli occupation and envy for the prosperous
Israeli lifestyle: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/about/hosts.html.
Friday, July 2
"Life-Size" (Disney Channel 8-10 p.m. E/P, Movie-rated G) This is a movie
about a doll named Eve (played by Tyra Banks) that comes to life and discovers
that real-life is rather more flawed than she expected it to be. A 14 year-old
girl named Casey (played by Lindsay Lohan) is the owner of the doll and brings
it to life by accident during a period in her life when she has begun to miss
her mother who has died. Eve is not the perfect role model she's always
considered herself to be, but as she gains more experience in the real world she
brings out the best in Casey, encouraging her to renew old friendships and
spurring personal growth and healing. Available on video.
Saturday, July 3
"To Kill A Mockingbird" (TCM Turner Classic Movie Channel, 8-10 p.m. ET, 5-7
p.m. PT) This movie is required viewing in social studies classes in many
schools. Based on Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, it's about Atticus
Finch, a lawyer in a racially-divided Alabama town in the 1930s. He agrees to
defend a young black man who is accused of a violent crime Many of the
townspeople try to get him to pull out of the trial, but he decides to go ahead.
(Repeats Sunday, July 4 at 6 p.m. ET, 3 p.m. PT)
Sunday, July 4
"Restore America: 2004" (HGTV Channel, 5-6 p.m. E/P) This is a
documentary about the restoration progress of 12 historic buildings and the
stories of the people working to save these important pieces of the past. The
sites, all part of Save America??s Treasures include Martin Luther King, Jr.'s
Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta; the homes of Edith Wharton and Mark Twain;
the oldest public conservatory in the Western Hemisphere; Frederick C. Robie
House in Chicago, the epitome of Frank Lloyd Wright??s America Prairie style of
architecture, and MANY, MANY more. Further details at
http://www.hgtv/com/restoreamerica.
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