Media Menu, May 1, 2010

Here are home viewing suggestions 
for the week, selected from online advanced TV program listings and
aligned with the state and national K-12 academic standards available
online. Please consult local listings also, since actual broadcast times
may vary. The Websites cited in the “Log on“ box below the tv listing
provide further details about the show’s topic and may contain links
to video clips from the show or a complete streaming video version of
the show.

Saturday, May 1, 2010, 8-11 p.m. E/P	AMC Channel	Literature and World History	Middle and High School
“Master and Commander-The Far Side Of The World”
This Oscar-winning movie is based on two Napoleonic War-era adventure novels in author Patrick O’Brian’s historical series (“Master and Commander” and “ The Far Side of the World”). Russell Crowe stars as Captain Jack Aubrey, a high-seas adventurer and his comrade-in-arms ship-surgeon Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany). The setting: After conquering much of Europe , Napoleon's forces have set their sights on taking Britain, so Aubrey and the crew of his ship, the HMS Surprise, take to far reaches of the Pacific to intercept any ships from the French colonies there on their way to English waters.. When Aubrey eyes a renegade French super-frigate, the Surprise pursues, leading to a chase through the distant reaches of the ocean. PG-13
Details at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0311113

Sunday, May 2, 2010, 9-11, p.m. E/P	History Channel	U.S. History	Middle and High School
“AMERICA THE STORY OF US: Westward/Division”
The new documentary series, AMERICA THE STORY OF US, continues its telling of how America was invented, looking at the moments where Americans harnessed technology to advance human progress— from the rigors of linking the continent by transcontinental railroad, the internet of its day, to triumphing over vertical space through construction of steel structured buildings to putting a man on the moon. The series is also a story of conflict – Native American wars, slavery, the revolutionary war that birthed the nation, the civil war that divided it and the great world wars that shaped its future. Viewers will hear insights from some of America’s most respected artists, business leaders, academics and intellectuals. This Sunday, May 2, the series follows westward expansion in an episode entitled “Westward” and, as America experiences rapid change in trade, transport and manufacturing, quickly turning America into one of the wealthiest nations on Earth there is increasing animosity between North and South in an episode entitled “Division”.
Details at http://www.history.com/classroom

Monday, May 3, 2010, 9-10:30 p.m. E/P	PBS	U.S. History	High School
“AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: The Road To Memphis”
This is a documentary tells the fatefully entwined stories of assassin James Earl Ray and his target, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “We were never concerned with who killed Martin Luther King, but what killed Martin Luther King,” says former King aide Andrew Young in this film which is set against the backdrop of the seething and turbulent forces in American society that led these two men to their violent and tragic collision in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. Based on a forthcoming book by Hampton Sides (Ghost Soldiers), the program relies on eyewitness testimony from King’s inner circle and the officials involved in Ray’s capture and prosecution following an intense two-month international manhunt. Rated TV-MA
Details at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/memphis

Tuesday, May 4, 2010, 8:30-9:30 p.m. E/P	Sundance Channel	World History and Geography	Middle and High School
”Cities On Speed: Shanghai”
This is an episode in a documentary miniseries which examines challenges facing the world's growing megacities, which are expected to double their populations by 2040. This episode, directed by Nanna Frank Moeller, visits Shanghai, a city that has experienced a phenomenal transformation during past 15 years. But even with 4,000 skyscrapers, thousands of miles of highway and thousands of government planners, Shanghai may be beyond control. Rated TV-PG
Details at http://www.dfi.dk/faktaomfilm/danishfilms/dffilm.aspx?id=22404

Tuesday, May 4, 2010, 9:30-10:30 p.m. E/P	PBS	U.S. History and Economics	Middle and High School
” FRONTLINE: College, Inc.”
This documentary investigates for-profit universities. The business of higher education is booming. It’s a $400 billion industry fueled by taxpayer money. But what are students getting out of the deal? Critics say a worthless degree and a mountain of debt. Investors insist they’re innovators, widening access to education. This program follows the money to uncover how Wall Street and a new breed of for-profit universities are transforming the way we think about college in America.
Details at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/collegeinc/

Wednesday, May 5, 2010, 8-9 p.m. E/P	Ovation Channel	World History and Geography	Middle and High School
” Wonderful World of Albert Kahn: The Birth of Nations”
This documentary tracks the travels of a team of photographers into Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine during an historic time when border lines were being redrawn, sparking the earliest beginnings of today's Middle East conflict. In 1909 the millionaire French banker and philanthropist Albert Kahn embarked on a project to create a color photographic record of, and for, the peoples of the world. Kahn believed that he could use the new autochrome process, the world's first user-friendly, true-color photographic system, to promote cross-cultural peace and understanding. He used his fortune to send a group of photographers to more than fifty countries around the world, often at crucial junctures in their history, when age-old cultures were on the brink of being changed forever by war and the march of twentieth-century globalization. At the end of WWI the seeds of new conflict were sewn—in the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire. This program traces the Kahn team’s expeditions into Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine as Western powers redrew the map of the region. The French takeover of Syria, the Balfour Declaration, and Turkey’s war with Greece come to life in Kahn’s autochromes.
Details at http://www.albertkahn.co.uk/museum.html

Thursday, May 6, 2010 8-8:30 p.m. E/P (repeating tonight 9:30 -10 p.m. E/P)	Planet Green Channel	World History and Geography	Middle and High School
” Future Food: Miracle Food”
The host of this documentary series about science and nutrition, Chef Omar Cantu, puts a radical idea for ending world hunger to the test. His restaurant team comes up with several dishes aimed at fooling the diners taste buds. Having been homeless as a child, this episode about hunger is a very personal issue for the host. Omar explores his idea of how to open the door to ending world hunger through the use of Miracle Fruit, a berry that when eaten does not allow the taste buds to taste sour and bitter. The team prefers dishes using plants, cactus, flowers and weeds that are never eaten because of their bitter components. (Recipes featured in this episode include: Creeping Thyme Soup) Rated TV-PG
Details at http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tv/future-food/feeding-homeless-episode.html

Thursday, May 6, 2010 10-11 p.m. E/P	National Geographic Channel	Science	Middle and High School
” Known Universe: Final Frontier”
More than seventy percent of Earth is covered in water, but we’ve only explored roughly 5 percent of it. We’ve roamed even less of our solar system. Until recently, scientists haven’t had the tools necessary to traverse either of these alien environments. Now, armed with some of the latest advances, this documentary’s crew join scientists on a voyage into the unknown — from the far reaches of space to the extreme depths of our oceans — where new discoveries have experts questioning everything we know about the universe.
Details at http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/known-universe/4500/Overview

Friday, May 7, 2010, 8:30-9:30 p.m. E/P	PBS	U.S. History, Science and Economics	Middle and High School
” NEED TO KNOW”
This is the premiere episode of a cross-media news and public affairs magazine that culls stories from the best of the week’s online reporting, culminating in a one-hour on-air broadcast every Friday night on PBS. The program will feature documentary-style reports, short features, studio-based interviews and more. The program will cover five primary news beats: the economy; the environment and energy; health; national security; and culture. Alison Stewart and Jon Meacham co-host.
Details at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know

Saturday, May 8, 2010, 7-8 p.m. ET, 4-5 P.M. PT	CNBC Channel	Economics	Elementary, and High School
”Biography on CNBC: Home Depot - Do It Yourself Success”
When Home Depot’s founders were fired from Handy Dan in the late 1970’s, they put on their tool belts and went to work on a new concept. After the Home Depot’s disappointing opening day when “nobody came,” the do-it-yourself center went on to become the fastest growing retailer in U.S. history. This documentary explains how.