Media Menu for February 19, 2011

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, February 19, 2011,
5:30-8 p.m. ET, 3:30 – 5 p.m. PT
TCM- Turner Classic Movie Channel
U.S. and World History
Elementary, Middle and High School

” Sergeant York " (American hero in WWI)

This Oscar-winning movie tells the true story of the farm boy who made the transition from religious pacifist to World War I hero. Cast: Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Director: Howard Hawks. On the eve of American involvement in WWII, the final scenes were being filmed at the Warner Brothers studio lot for one of the greatest war film biographies. It took many years to bring to the screen this account of America's most famous and honored war heroes, resulting in a film which would boost morale of an American public faced with the prospect of worldwide changes. TV-G
Log on http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/naked-science/4284/Overview

Sunday, February 20, 2011,
7-8 pm ET/PT
CBS
U.S. and World History
Middle and High School

”60 minutes” (Tunisia, Sen. Scott Brown, “The King’s Speech”)

In the first story in this newsmagazine, “The Spark”, Bob Simon reports from Tunisia, where protests against the repressive government not only toppled its autocratic ruler, but sparked the uprising in Egypt that forced President Hosni Mubarak to resign. In the second story, “Against All Odds”, Massachusetts senator Scott Brown describes his traumatic childhood, including revelations of sexual and physical abuse. Lesley Stahl reports. Lastly, in a story about the movie “The King’s Speech”, reporter Scott Pelley talks to its starring actor, Colin Firth, and reports on the historic find in an attic that helped make the “The King’s Speech” an Oscar favorite.
Log on http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml?tag=hdr;snav

Monday, February 21, 2011,
9:00-11:00 p.m. ET
PBS
U.S. and World History
Elementary, Middle and High School

” AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: Jimmy Carter" (profile of President Carter)

Jimmy Carter is the protagonist of one of the most dramatic resurrections in American political history transforming his reputation as failed president to that of a successful diplomat and humanitarian. Jimmy Carter's story is one of the greatest dramas in American politics. In 1980, he was overwhelmingly voted out of office in a humiliating defeat. Over the subsequent two decades, he became one of the most admired statesmen and humanitarians in America and the world. This documentary traces the ascent of the ambitious farm boy from Georgia to the White House; the nature of Carter's political leadership in the context of the turbulent 1970s; the internal conflicts with his own Christian religion; the role of his confidant and advisor, wife Roslynn, and his eventual emergence as a world politician.
Log on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/carter

Monday, February 21, 2011,
10-11 pm ET/PT
MSNBC Channel
U.S. and World History
Middle and High School

” President Of The World: The Bill Clinton Phenomenon" (interview with President Clinton)

Since President Clinton left office in January 2001, he’s taken on a new and very successful role as an international humanitarian—his Clinton Global Initiative, Clinton Health Access Initiative, the William J. Clinton Foundation and countless other worthy efforts have made him a hero to peoples across the globe. Clinton’s innate talent for diplomacy gained him international recognition in 2009 when he aided in the release of two imprisoned American journalists from North Korea. In the last year alone, he’s provided invaluable political support to President Obama, hitting the campaign trail for countless Democratic candidates leading up to the November 2010 midterm elections. In “President of the World: The Bill Clinton Phenomenon,” “Hardball” host Chris Matthews managed to spend a whirlwind week with Bill Clinton—hopping from the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City to Ireland, where Matthews sat down for a one-on-one interview with the former president. In addition, the hour includes intimate interviews with many of Clinton’s close friends and colleagues, including Tony Blair, Terry McAuliffe, John Podesta, Mary Steenburgen and Kevin Spacey.
Log on http://www.nbcumv.com/mediavillage/networks/msnbc/pressreleases?pr=contents/press-releases/2011/01/31/presidentofthew1296501542202.xml

Tuesday, February 22, 2011,
9:00-10:00 p.m. ET
PBS
World History
Middle and High School

”FRONTLINE: Revolution in Cairo” (youth in revolt)

FRONTLINE dispatches teams to Cairo, going inside the youth movement that helped light the fire on the streets. We follow the “April 6th” group, which two years ago began making a bold use of the Internet for their underground resistance — tactics that led to jail and torture for many of their leaders. Now, starting with the “Day of Rage,” we witness those same leaders plot strategy and head into “Liberation Square” to try to bring down President Mubarak. Also in this hour, veteran Middle East correspondent Charles Sennott of GlobalPost lands in Cairo for this program to take a hard look at Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood — the most well-organized and powerful of the country’s opposition groups — as a new fight for power in Egypt begins to takes shape.
Log on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/revolution-in-cairo/?utm_campaign=homepage&utm_medium=proglist&utm_source=proglist

Wednesday, February 23, 2011,
8-9 p.m. E/P
PBS
Science
Middle and High School

” NOVA scienceNOW: What’s the Next Big Thing?” (cutting-edge science developments)

In this episode of NOVA scienceNOW, come face to face with social robots that understand human feelings, carry on conversations, even make jokes. Then travel to Haiti, where geologists investigate the 2010 earthquake not long after it struck for clues to how to better forecast future quakes. Afterwards, join engineers at General Motors who are testing tiny, two-wheeled cars called EN-Vs, which one day might drive themselves through city streets. Learn about proposals for making our outdated electric grid "smart." And meet Nebraska native Jay Keasling, a pioneer in synthetic biology who shares his work on developing "designer" microbes that produce biofuels and medicines.
Log on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/what-is-the-next-big-thing.html

Thursday, February 24, 2011,
7-8 p.m. ET, 4-5 p.m. PT
Natural Geographic
Channel
Science and
Geography
Elementary, Middle and High School

” Naked Science: Birth of the Grand Canyon” (earth science)

The Grand Canyon: It’s one of the most famous natural wonders of the world, yet little is known about how it came to be — and even less is agreed upon. NGC experts investigate the diverse theories about the canyon’s age, formation and iconic rock layers. Join us as we peel apart the mysteries of the powerful forces that, even today, continue to incise the Grand Canyon.
Log on http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/naked-science/6114/Overview

Thursday, February 24, 2011,
9-10:30 p.m. E/P
HBO
U.S. History
Elementary, Middle and High School

” Thurgood” (the life of civil rights pioneer and Supreme Court justice)

This is a film of the one-man show based on the life of the late Civil Rights great and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall starring Tony winner Laurence Fishburne. Filmed in front of a live audience at the Kennedy Center's Eisenhower Theater in Washington, D.C., the play was written by Academy Award and Emmy Award winner George Stevens, Jr.; directed by Emmy Award winner Michael Stevens. The form of the play is a present-tense narration revisiting the turning points in Marshall’s life and career as he remembers them. Recalling childhood stories of his family and home life in Baltimore, to his college days in North Carolina as an aspiring lawyer, Marshall recollects his triumphs over adversity to pursue a successful career in the judicial system fighting for human rights. Establishing benchmarks in Civil Rights advancement, Marshall tried the historic case of Brown vs. Board of Education before the Supreme Court, successfully challenging the unconstitutional segregation of black and white students in public schools. His achievements eventually led him to become the first African-American to serve as a Supreme Court Justice.
Log on http://www.hbo.com/#/movies/thurgood/synopsis.html

Friday, February 25, 2011,
10-11 p.m. ET, 7-8 p.m. PT
CNBC
Science and Economics
Middle and High School

”Surviving the Future" (good and bad news about the future)

What will life be like a hundred years from now? "Surviving the Future" explores the reality behind the most extreme predictions. Astonishing and provocative, this one-hour documentary examines why some predictions come true while others fade into obscurity, and concedes that, however fraught and inexact they may be, the effort to predict the future has a powerful hold on us. After all, human life and the life of the planet depend on it.
Log on http://www.cnbc.com/id/15837856

Saturday, February 26, 2011,
8-10 p.m. E/P
History Channel
U.S. History
Middle and High School

“It's Good to be President" (behind the scenes at the White House)

You may think you know the president, but do you know what it's like to be the President? This documentary report ranges from the mundane tasks and the oddities, the perks and perils of being the most powerful man in the world. It reveals hitherto secret details of the President's every-day life inside the White House. Featuring interviews with past presidents, rarely seen recordings, and home movies, the program explores and exposes the day-to-day lives of our Commanders in Chief. Get a fresh perspective on the men you thought you knew. A look that trades everyday politics for their everyman side. TV - PG