Media Menu, August 28, 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, August 28, 2010, 8-midnight ET, 5-9 p.m. PT
TCM – Turner Classic Movie Channel
World History and Art
Middle and High  School

“Lawrence Of Arabia”

This 7-time Oscar winning history movie about a British military officer and his Arab allies in desert warfare during the First World shows roots of present conditions in the Middle East – and the world. In 1916 British Intelligence supports the Arab rebellion against the Turkish-German alliance. Story: They select Lieut. T. E. Lawrence, an enigmatic 29-year-old scholar, to evaluate the Arab revolt. Enthusiastically undertaking this assignment, the officer contacts Prince Feisal, a rebel leader, and persuades Feisal to lend him a force of 50 men. With this skeleton crew, accompanied by Sherif Ali, Lawrence crosses the Nefud Desert. At the journey's end, however, Lawrence learns that one of his men is missing. Undeterred by Arab assertions that the missing man's death had been divinely decreed, Lawrence returns to the desert and rescues him, earning thereby Ali's friendship and the respect of his subordinates. At a well Lawrence is confronted by the sheikh Auda Abu Tayi, whom he persuades to join the assault on Agaba, a Turkish port at the desert's edge. The Turks, surprised by the overland attack, are routed, and the victory revitalizes the Arab rebellion. Arab unity, however, is undermined by internecine warfare. When one of his troops slays one of Auda Abu Tayi's henchmen, Lawrence in expiation executes the murderer, who proves to be the Arab he had saved in the desert. Unnerved, Lawrence returns to Cairo. Delighted by Lawrence's military success, however, General Allenby provides him with arms and money for future victories. Lawrence launches a series of successful guerrilla raids, which, as reported by an ambitious American journalist, establish his international reputation. While on a scouting mission with Ali, Lawrence is captured and tortured by the Turks. He returns to Cairo, where General Allenby persuades him to spearhead an attack on Damascus, Syria. After the battle, Lawrence leads his men in the massacre of the retreating Turks. Upon entering Damascus the British Army is met by victorious Arab forces. Lawrence relinquishes control of the city to an Arab Council, but soon factionalism threatens to destroy it.  Cast: Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness. Dir: David Lean.  TV-14

Log on http://telawrence.info/telawrenceinfo/index.htm  or http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=4455

Sunday, August 29, 2020,
8-9 p.m. E/P
PBS
Science
Elementary, Middle and High  School

“NOVA: Superfish”

This is a documentary about billfish: marlin, sailfish, spearfish and swordfish. They slice through the water's surface with explosive power - sail, spear and a half-ton of muscle flashing in the sun. Their journeys through the open ocean are epic, their life cycle, bizarre. They are the largest and most highly prized of all gamefish. Their story has never been fully told. Emmy award-winning filmmaker and biologist Rick Rosenthal brings to the screen a lifetime of experience with these sea creatures as he observes tiny billfish nurseries in the wild, dives deep into secret undersea canyons, films incredible color-changing behavior and embarks on a quest for an elusive thousand-pound "grander."

Log on http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/superfish/introduction/1003/

Sunday, August 29, 2020,
9-10 p.m. E/P
Discovery Channel
Science
Middle and High  School

“Last Day of the Dinosaurs ”

This documentary is an account of the cataclysm that ended the 150-million year reign of the dinosaurs, and forever changed the course of life on Earth. TV-PG

Log on http://dsc.discovery.com/search/results.html?query=Last+Day+of+the+Dinosaurs+&search.x=20&search.y=1

Monday, August 30, 2020,
9-10 p.m. E/P
Discovery Channel
Science
Middle and High  School

“How Food Made Us Human ”

We are the only species on earth that cooks its food - and we are also the most intelligent species on the planet. The question this documentary asks is: do we cook because we're clever and imaginative, or are we clever and imaginative because our ancestors discovered cooking? TV-PG

Log on http://science.discovery.com/search/results.html?query=How+Food+Made+Us+Human+&search.x=10&search.y=6

Tuesday, August 31, 2010,
8-9 p.m. E/P
National Geographic Channel
U.S. History and Economics
Middle and High  School

“Warren Buffett: The Modern Midas “

How does a small-town, midwestern boy transform into the world's richest man? This documentary takes an inside look at the legendary business acumen and intriguing private life of investment icon Warren Buffett. First, we'll investigate the deceptively simple business strategy that made Berkshire Hathaway a $150 billion empire. Then the program digs even deeper into the life of this iconic investor. We'll listen to accounts of his unrivaled powers of persuasion, tour the simple Berkshire Hathaway headquarters and visit his modest Omaha home.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010,  8-9 p.m. E/P
PBS
Science
Middle and High  School

“Becoming Human: First Steps ”

Where did we come from? What makes us human? An explosion of recent discoveries sheds light on these questions. This is the initial episode of a three-part  documentary special, "Becoming Human," examining  the latest scientific research  about our hominid relatives. Part 1, "First Steps," examines the factors that caused us to split from the other great apes. The program explores the fossil of "Selam," also known as "Lucy's Child." Paleoanthropologist Zeray Alemseged spent five years carefully excavating the sandstone-embedded fossil.  Cameras are there to capture the unveiling of the face, spine, and shoulder blades of this 3.3 million-year-old fossil child. And the program takes viewers "inside the skull" to show how our ancestors' brains had begun to change from those of the apes. Why did leaps in human evolution take place? "First Steps" explores a provocative "big idea" that sharp swings of climate were a key factor. The other programs, airing following Tuesdays in this time slot are:  Part 2 - "Birth of Humanity," which profiles the earliest species of humans, and Part 3 -  "Last Human Standing," which examines why, of various human species that once shared the planet, only our kind remains.

Log on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/becoming-human-part-1.html

Wednesday, September 1, 2010, 9:30-11 p.m. E/P
PBS
Arts
Elementary, Middle and High  School

“A Surprise In Texas: The Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition ”

This documentary is a behind-the-scenes experience of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, the most prestigious piano contest in the world. Twenty-nine of the world’s best young pianists hailing from fourteen countries converged in Fort Worth for a once-in-a-lifetime chance at the coveted gold medal in the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition The documentary features Haochen Zhang of China, 19—the youngest competitor—as well as blind pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, 20, of Japan and Yeol Eum Son, 23, of South Korea. Finalists from the competition now have an unparalleled opportunity to perform throughout the United States, including more than 300 engagements coordinated by the Van Cliburn Foundation. In addition, the gold medalists will perform international engagements arranged by IMG Artists Europe. Collectively, the Cliburn winners will earn more than $1,000,000 during that time.

Log on http://www.pbs.org/vancliburnpianocompetition
 
Thursday, September 2, 2010, 9-10 p.m. E/P
History Channel
Science
Middle and High  School

“The Universe: Asteroid Attack”

This documentary presents latest discoveries about asteroids.  Will a recently returned Japanese spacecraft become the first to bring an asteroid sample back to our planet?  What would happen to America's East Coast if the massive asteroid impact that helped form Chesapeake Bay 35 million years ago struck today?  And why did President Barack Obama choose an asteroid as the destination for the next great manned mission into space?  Over fifty years have passed since man first ventured into outer space, but the heavens are only now yielding their greatest secrets.

Log on http://www.history.com/shows/the-universe

Friday, September 3, 2010,
8 p.m.–2 a.m. PT, 5-11 p.m. PT
TCM- Turner Classic Movie Channel
World History and Arts
Middle and High  School

“ Asi’ Era Pancho Villa”  ,  Pancho Villa y la Valentina”, “Cuando ¡Viva Villa.! Es La Muerte”

(In Spanish with English subtitles)

This is a triple-feature broadcast of movies from Mexico – airing this month in observance of Mexico’s Bicentennial.  The movement that led to Mexico's independence began on September 16, 1810, and the Mexican Revolution began on November 20, 1910. These three films are about a personality from the latter era.     The first of the  two-hour films in a trilogy about the legendary folk hero of Mexico, “Así era Pancho Villa” ( aka This Was Pancho Villa) is essential viewing for anyone interested in Mexican cinema and a colorful example of populist storytelling for the movie-going public in that nation. Directed by Ismael Rodríguez, the Villa trilogy is a mixture of fact and fiction that attempts to resurrect Villa's larger than life personality and his exploits which have passed into folklore in his native land. The first film sets the movie's magical realism tone from the beginning as Villa's head, encased in a glass jar in some cloistered archival facility, recalls memories and events from his life. While real facts and documented incidents may occasionally figure in the events that transpire on screen, Rodríguez is more interested in capturing the essence of Villa, the man and mythmaker, and it often borders on the fantastic. While many actors have portrayed Pancho Villa on the screen over the years - everyone from Wallace Beery to Yul Brynner to Antonio Banderas in a 2003 TV movie - Pedro Armendáriz is the one most identified with the role for Latin American audiences; he played him a total of four times. Under Rodríguez's direction, Armendáriz's portrayal of Villa emerges as impulsive, mercurial, lusty, and prone to rabble rousing and inspirational oration. He's also quick to anger and pass sentence and just as quick to forgive if he feels he has acted in error. The other two films in Rodríguez's Pancho Villa trilogy are Pancho Villa y la Valentina (1960) and Cuando! Viva Villa...¡Es La Muerte (1960). Though these films were extremely popular in Mexico, they are less well known in the U.S. and Rodríguez's international reputation as a director is due more to his 1957 feature Tizoc, starring Pedro Infante in his last film role, and Animas Trujano (1962), an Oscar® nominee for Best Foreign language film that featured Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune as a Mexican Indian.

Log on http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=804362&category=Articles

Saturday, September 4,  2010, 8-10 p.m. E/P
National Geographic Channel
Science
Middle and High  School

“Aftermath: Population Zero ”

Could Earth’s ecosystem plagued with years of pollution ever recover?  This documentary asks such hypothetical questions and envisions a world we'll never see: a world without people.  Imagine if one minute from now, every single person on Earth disappeared. All 6.6 billion of us. Human history just stopped. What would happen to the world without us? How long would it be before our nuclear power plants erupted, skyscrapers crumbled and satellites dropped from the sky? What would become of the household pets and farm animals?

Log on http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/aftermath-population-zero-3225