Hey! You ever wonder why people look the way they do? Is it all genetics, or is it luck, or are they the same thing? Check out Friday's show on "Genes and Body Type" if that stuff appeals to you.

Or if you're thinking about the September 11th tragedies, and wondering if anyone could ever predict such events, turn on your TV on Wednesday to watch a show on Nostradamus, a guy from 500 years ago, who, depending on how you interpret his writings, supposedly predicted all the major events of the last half-millenia.

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

Friday, October 5

"Assignment Discovery: Genes and Body Type" (Discovery Channel, 9:30 a.m. E/P) If you've occasionally been able to snatch a fact from some of the shows I've recommended to use on a class test, you might be feeling brash enough to let one of your science teachers know about it and even get him or her to switch on the TV in the classroom for a look at this particular program. No one will fall asleep while the room is dark because the topic this time is how genes determine how we look (fat, muscular, etc.).

"The Mummy Road Show" (National Geographic Channel, 9-10 p.m. E/P) The somewhat grotesque title of this documentary series is at least accurate -- it's about a mobile anthro-biology lab which scientists use at sites where mummified human remains have been located. That's not just in Egypt, by the way, but in places like Mexico, Peru, Italy, Canada and even the Far West. In the two initial episodes airing tonight, the objects investigated are a mummified Egyptian girl located in the Province of Ontario and an outlaw who, legend claims, lost his life in a gunfight and is now preserved and on display in Seattle.

Saturday, October 6

"The True Story Of the Bridge On The River Kwai" (History Channel, 8-10 p.m. E/P) This documentary describes a major civil engineering feat: the construction of a 225 mile railway by the Japanese during WWII. Using 65,000 Allied prisoners of war as slave laborers, they slashed their way through the Thai-Burmese jungle over the course of just 14 months. The feat has also been described in a terrific action novel, "Bridge Over The River Kwai" (available in libraries) by French engineer-author Pierre Boulle (who also wrote "The Planet Of The Apes") and recounted again in an Oscar-winning movie based on his book. An essay comparing all three of these very different accounts of what happened would make an impressive extra-credit project for most any science or history class.

Sunday, October 7

"Hyperspace" (The Learning Channel, 8-11 p.m. E/P) This 3-part documentary about the cosmos zips through the universe's creation and development -- using computer graphics and animation. In segments entitled "Life", "Survival" and "Destiny". It takes on topics like "How did life start on earth?" (arrival by meteorite), "Will a flaming comet trash our planet?" (probably not, but black holes are a threat) and "Where will we go when the sun flames out?" (Mars, if we can get our space stations and ion engines working before the next Big Bang).

"Mastodon In Your Backyard" (Discovery Channel, 9-10 p.m.) Follow a Hyde Park, NY family's experience of discovering mastodon remains in their back yard while working on a home-improvement project. Scientists called in from the Paleontological Research Institute in Ithaca, NY identified the remains eventually unearthed -- 90% of a complete skeleton -- as a creature that died 11,000 years ago at the site.

Monday, October 8

"This Week In History" (History Channel, 8-9 p.m. E/P) This news-magazine show looks back at events that happened during this part of the month. The choices tend towards the technological and enterprise -- this episode is about the introduction of the Kodak camera, the economic impact of the Great Chicago Fire, Columbus' first ocean-crossing, and the experimental airplane which broke the sound barrier.

Tuesday, October 9

"The Quest For Noah's Flood" (PBS, 9-10 p.m. E/P) This is a documentary produced by National Geographic describing an underwater expedition to the bottom of the Black Sea. Led by Dr. Robert Ballard (the man who located the Titanic wreck), scientists have found signs of human habitation 500 feet below the surface, indicating that a calamity in that location might have occurred in 5600 B.C., creating the biblical legend of the Flood. There's more about this topic available at www.pbs.org.

"Science Times" (National Geographic Channel, 9-10 p.m. E/P) The main report in this TV newsmagazine produced by the New York Times is entitled "Rocket Ranch" and describes NASA's complex plan to launch seven to eight flights a year as it assembles the International Space Station. The second report, "Flying On Sunlight" describes how solar-powered flight is changing aviation, communications and atmospheric studies.

Wednesday, October 10

"In Search Of Nostradamus" (History Channel, 5:30-6 p.m. E/P) This documentary is on a topic, pseudo-science, that I usually avoid. But the name of this 16th century French medical school professor has appeared in news reports recently because of the September 11 events, and I thought it useful to to suggest a source of historical information on him. Also an astrologer, he seems to have predicted a number of big events -- mostly disasters -- in a famous book he wrote, "Centuries". Lately, but not in this particular documentary, people are crediting him with predicting the New York tragedy. One thing you'll learn from this show is that a book can be interpreted in many, many different ways.

Thursday, October 11

"Dot Con" (PBS, 9-10 p.m. E/P) This documentary in PBS' "Frontline" series investigates the financial forces behind the last year's unprecedented rise and seemingly overnight fall of the Internet economy. Were people intoxicated by their own dreams of easy riches, or did the nation's investment banks manipulate the stock market and exploit public trust?