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

“Aftermath: Population Zero ”

Could Earth’s ecosystem, now 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

Sunday, September 5,  2010, 8 p.m.–midnight ET, 5-9 p.m. PT
TCM-Turner Classic Movie  Channel
U.S. and World History
Middle and High  School

“March Of Time  75th Anniversary”

Before television news there were newsreels and news-feature films running in movie houses from the 1930’s to the 1950’s.  The goal for the reports called The March of Time was to present an event or situation so effectively that viewers felt like they were experiencing the real thing. To accomplish that, it combined archival footage, re-enactments, interviews, and dramatic narration.  March of Time crews had no qualms about asking the notable and the notorious to portray themselves in re-enactments. They stage-directed politicians, labor leaders, religious figures, and others so that famous moments could be re-created for the camera. Episodes were structured into four distinct parts, generally with inter-titles to announce each new section. The first part established the importance of the event or urgency of the issue; the second offered a historical context of the origins and causes; the third noted any current complications, which underscored its topicality; and the final part concluded by looking toward the future. This linear structure made the finer points of each topical event or issue easy to grasp in the ten to twenty-minute running time.
 
Here is the Schedule of March of Time episodes airing on TCM Sunday, September 5th.:

8:00 PM ET - 3 short reports: Dogs for Sale, Dust Bowl, Poland and War-June 11, 1937
8:30 PM ET  Inside Nazi Germany - (Vol. 4, Ep. 6) - Jan. 18, 1938,
9:00 PM ET Show Business at War - (Vol. 9, Ep. 10) - May 1943,
9:30 PM  ET Youth in Crisis - (Vol. 10, Ep. 3) - Nov. 1943,
10:00 PM ET Palestine Problem - (Vol. 12, Ep. 1) - Sept. 17, 1945, 
10:30 PM ET American Beauty - (Vol. 12, Ep. 2) - Oct. 5, 1945,
11:00 PM ET Problem Drinkers - (Vol. 12, Ep. 11) - June 14, 1946,
11:30 PM ET Mid-Century-Half Way to Where? - (Vol. 16, Ep. 1) - Feb. 3, 1950
 
Log on http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/cid=343405&mainArticleId=343404

Monday, September 6, 2010, 8:30-10:30 p.m. E/P
Science  Channel
Science and Technology
Elementary, Middle and High  School

“How It’s Made –  4 Episodes”

Airing in observance of Labor Day, this is a broadcast of 4 episodes of a documentary series about people making things. Have you ever wondered how things are made? Find out how the everyday objects and specialty products come to be:  Flight Simulators, Traditional Bookbinding, Greenhouse Tomatoes,   Flavorings, Dog Sleds, Athletic Shoes Kelp Caviar, Luxury Sailboats, Dental Crowns, High-Performance Engines Leather Briefcases, Crop Dusters, Corn Whiskey, Drag Racing Clutches.
 
Log on http://science.discovery.com/tv/how-its-made

Tuesday, September 7, 2010, 8- 9 p.m. E/P
PBS
Science

Middle and High  School

“Becoming Human: Birth of Humanity”

This documentary’ the second part of the three-part series "Becoming Human," investigates the first skeleton that really looks like us–"Turkana Boy"–an astonishingly complete specimen of Homo erectus found by the famous Leakey team in Kenya. These early humans are thought to have developed key innovations that helped them thrive, including hunting large prey, the use of fire, and extensive social bonds. The program examines an intriguing theory that long-distance running–our ability to jog–was crucial for the survival of these early hominids. Not only did running help them escape from vicious predators roaming the grasslands, but it also gave them a unique hunting strategy: chasing down prey animals such as deer and antelope to the point of exhaustion. "Birth of Humanity" also probes how, why, and when humans' uniquely long period of childhood and parenting began.  TV-PG

Log on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/becoming-human-part-2.html
Wednesday, September 8, 2010, 9-11 p.m. E/P
PBS
Arts
Middle and High  School

“LATIN MUSIC USA :Bridges/The Salsa Revolution”

Airing in observance of Hispanic Heritage Month, this documentary explores how Puerto Ricans and other Latinos in New York reinvented the son cubano and the plena from Puerto Rico by adding elements from soul and jazz to create salsa — which became a defining rhythm for Latinos the world over. Primarily a dance genre, it is characterized by syncopated arrangements in  clave  rhythm, Spanish lyrics, and a strong rhythmic pulse punctuated by the trumpet or trombone.  The word "Salsa" was used as an umbrella term for a variety of different existing rhythms and song styles (Guaracha,  Son, Mambo to name a few), to help market the genre as a uniquely Latino music.  Fania Records was the biggest Salsa record label, and its artists were truly all-stars.  By the late 70s, Salsa had grown far beyond New York, becoming the emblematic music for much of Latin America.
 
Log on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/latinmusicusa

Wednesday, September 8, 2010, 10-11 p.m. E/P
Science  Channel
Science and Technology
Elementary, Middle and High  School

“Sci-Fi Science: The Physics Of The Impossible”

Ninety percent of the rocks in space are big enough to destroy the entire human civilization. In this documentary , physicist Dr. Michio Kaku says that it is no longer a question of whether or not these rocks will eventually hit earth, but rather a question of when. Dr. Kaku meets with  Harvard Professor, Brian Marsden, who explains how a massive comet could potentially smash into earth with no warning at any given moment. Looking to ground-breaking scientific ideas, Dr. Kaku explores different solutions to save Earth from a hypothetical yet global catastrophe. He discards sci-fi’s long withstanding nuclear weapon solution, realizing the imminent danger behind this idea. Searching for a safer solution, Dr. Kaku looks to none other than Star Wars. He believes that designing a laser system equipped with Death Stars can perhaps zap the lethal space rocks before they destroy earth.
 
Log on http://science.discovery.com/tv/sci-fi-science

Thursday, September 9, 2010, 10-11 p.m. E/P
Science  Channel
World History
Middle and High  School

“IN SEARCH OF MYTHS AND HEROES “The Queen of Sheba”

In this documentary host Michael Wood begins a quest for the exotic and mysterious woman of power — the Queen of Sheba. Immortalized in the Hebrew Bible, the Muslim Koran and in many Christian traditions, the tale of the Queen's journey to Jerusalem to meet  King Solomon has been told and retold for nearly 3,000 years. Wood's journey starts on Easter night in Jerusalem and takes him round the Red Sea to Egypt, Eritrea and Ethiopia, and the lost world of Axum, the little-known first civilization of Black Africa. In the Yemen, he explores the stunning monuments of Marib, the earliest civilization of Arabia. TV-PG

Log on http://www.pbs.org/mythsandheroes/program_episode.html

Friday, September 10, 2010, 10:30-11 p.m. ET, 7:30 - 8 p.m. PT
CNBC Channel
Economics and Geography
Middle and High  School

“Put It On The Map”

This documentary is part of a series which tells the behind-the-scenes stories of some of America's greatest manufactured products and the cities & towns they call home. In this episode: the stories behind Crayola, Louisville Slugger, and Tabasco.
The program brings the nation's business landscape to life through the words of the entrepreneurs, inventors and visionaries whose products have become household names.
We meet the company employees -- everyone from the CEO to the workers on the line -- who give us a first-hand look at how their famous products come to life..

Log on http://www.cnbc.com/id/25242674

Saturday, September 11, 2010, 10-11 p.m. E/P
History Channel
U.S. History
Middle and High  School

“9/11 Attacks - 102 Minutes That Changed America”

This program contains rarely seen and heard archival material that document the 102 minutes between the first attack on the World Trade Center to the collapse of the second tower. This commercial-free special uses unique material from sources ranging from amateur photography and video to FDNY, NYPD, Port Authority and emergency dispatch radio recordings, photography and video. Also seen is footage broadcast outside the US, electronic messages and voicemails and "outtakes" culled from raw network footage.   TV- 14

Log on http://www.history.com/interactives/witness-to-911