Media Menu for January 11, 2012

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.

Wednesday,  January  11, 2012,
9-11  p.m.
PBS
U.S. History
Middle and High  School

NOVA; Bombing Hitler’s Dams

In  1943,  a squadron of British Lancaster bombers staged one of the most audacious raids in history — destroying two gigantic dams in Germany’s industrial heartland and cutting the water supply to arms factories — with a revolutionary bouncing bomb invented by British engineer Barnes Wallis. Wallis and the pilots of 617 Squadron dealt a mighty blow to the German war machine. This documentary re-creates the extreme engineering challenges faced by Wallis and the pilots with the aid of six spectacular experiments. Each represents a technical challenge that the “Dambusters” had to solve to make their mission a success. A team of experts — from dam engineers to explosives specialists — steps into the shoes of the Dambusters. They will adapt a vintage World War II DC4 to carry a bomb the size of an oil drum; train to drop it from a dangerously low altitude in pitch darkness; get it to bounce over obstacles and onto the target; and finally, at a test site in Canada with a 1:6 scale model of one of the German dams, try to repeat history.  TV-PG
Log on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/military/bombing-hitler-dams.html

Thursday,  January  12, 2012,
10-10:30 p.m. ET, 7-7:30 p.m.,
Ovation Channel
World History and Arts
Middle and High  School

The Iron Lady: An Inside Look at the Visionary Leader

This is a documentary about the making of the currently playing movie biography of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Log on http://www.biography.com/people/margaret-thatcher-9504796

Friday,  January  13, 2012,
5-6 p.m.
Science Channel
Science
Middle and High  School

Modern Marvels: Ice

The solid form of  water has played a key role in fashioning our history and is making its mark as an unusual tool of technology.  This documentary explores  how Earth's ice originated and recount how ice age glaciers sculpted North America. Cameras take an inside look at Colorado's National Ice Core Repository to see how ice drilled from Antarctica and Greenland is an invaluable archive of past climate, and at a Canadian research lab experts demonstrate the dynamics and dangers of icebergs.  See how Greenland's massive ice sheet may be sliding faster than ever toward the sea.  Look at how scientists are using Antarctica's ice as a gigantic lens to probe the secrets of the universe and ride aboard everyone's favorite ice resurfacing machine, the Zamboni machine. Other highlights include the search for extraterrestrial ice and a trip inside the studio of an ice artist as he sculpts a masterpiece.
Log on http://www.webmineral.com/data/Ice.shtml

Saturday,  January  14, 2012,
7-8 p.m.
Discovery Channel
Science
Middle and High  School

Dirty Jobs: Doomsday Seed Banker

Program host Mike Rowe  visits the Chicago Botanic Garden to help with the millennium seed bank project that collects and preserves flora seeds from around the world so life can replant itself in case of a catastrophic event. TV-PG
Log on http://www.chicagobotanic.org/research/seed_bank.php  and http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/dirtyjobs/about/about.html

Sunday,  January  15, 2012,
7-8 p.m.
Planet Green Channel
World History and Technology
Elementary, Middle and High  School

The Mystery of the Parthenon

Dominating the skyline of Athens is the ancient Acropolis, once the center of the Greek civilization. This documentary traces the history of the Temple of the Parthenon, from its history of design and construction, to the men involved in its destruction. TV-G
Log on http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110tech/parthenon.html

Monday,  January  16, 2012,
10-11  p.m.
PBS
U.S. History and Arts
Elementary, Middle and High  School

IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement

Airing in observance of Martin Luther King Day, President and Mrs. Obama host a broadcast concert in the White House East Room in honor of Black History Month. Artists include Yolanda Adams, Joan Baez, Natalie Cole, Bob Dylan, Jennifer Hudson, John Mellencamp, Smokey Robinson, the Blind Boys of Alabama, the Howard University Choir and The Freedom Singers, featuring Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, Rutha Harris, Charles Neblett and Toshi Reagon. Morgan Freeman is a guest speaker.TV-G
Log on http://video.pbs.org/video/1410865290

Tuesday,  January  17, 2012,
4:15- 6:15 p.m. ET,  1:15 -3:15 p/m.
TCM- Turner Classic Movie Channel
English and U.S. History
Elementary, Middle and High  School

THE Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

This is a movie version of the classic Mark Twain story of a young troublemaker who tries to help a runaway slave. Director: Michael Curtiz , Cast: Tony Randall, Patty McCormack, Neville Brand
Log on http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/66668/The-Adventures-of-Huckleberry-Finn

Tuesday,  January  17, 2012,
8-10 p.m.
PBS
U.S. History
Middle and High  School

CUSTER’S LAST STAND: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

On June 26, 1876, near the Little Bighorn River in Montana Territory, General George Armstrong Custer ordered his soldiers to drive back a large army of Lakota and Cheyenne warriors. The battle pitted two larger-than-life antagonists against one another: Sitting Bull, the charismatic and politically savvy leader of the Plains Indians, and Custer, one of the Union’s greatest cavalry officers and a man with a reputation for fearless and often reckless courage. By day’s end, Custer and nearly a third of his army were dead. This biographical documentary about  one of the most charismatic and contradictory American leaders of the 19th century takes viewers on a journey from Custer’s memorable charge at Gettysburg, which turned the tide of the battle, to his lonely, untimely death on the windswept plains of the West. Along the way, viewers learn how, time and time again, the supremely ambitious son of a blacksmith ricocheted from triumph to disaster, from battlefield heroism to impetuous escapade. In the end, Custer’s reputation was saved by the wife he adored, who almost single-handedly turned the Battle of the Little Bighorn into one of the most iconic events in American history and mythologized Custer’s role, turning it into a tale of heroic sacrifice against all costs in the service of a country with only the most noble of motives. TV-PG
Log on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/custer/

Wednesday,  January  18, 2012,
8- 9 p.m.
Science Channel
English and World History
Middle and High  School
Prophets of Science Fiction: H. G. Wells
With stories like The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells established himself as a sci-fi writer of almost clairvoyant talent. But, as shown in this documentary, these tales of hi-tech adventure hold an ominous warning - beware the dark side of progress. TV-PG
Log on http://www.online-literature.com/wellshg/

Book TV Schedule

Saturday, January 14th

8am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 6 min.
"Margaret Sanger: A Life of Passion" 
Jean Baker

9:15am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 29 min.
"The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World" 
John Carlos; Dave Zirin

10:45am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 15 min.
"Hollywood Left and Right: How Movie Stars Shaped American Politics" 
Steven Ross

12pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
2011 Texas Book Festival: Panel on the Arab Spring with Robin Wright, James Zogby, and Austin Bay 
Austin Bay; Robin Wright; James Zogby

1pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 11 min.
"Kearny's March: The Epic Creation of the American West, 1846-1847" 
Winston Groom

2:15pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 3 min.
"American Emperor: Aaron Burr's Challenge to Jefferson's America" 
David Stewart

3:30pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 15 min.
"Lifeblood: How to Change the World One Dead Mosquito at a Time" 
Alex Perry

4:45pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 6 min.
"Margaret Sanger: A Life of Passion" 
Jean Baker

6pm (ET)
Approx. 56 min.
Encore Booknotes: "Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement" 
John Lewis

7pm (ET)
Approx. 56 min.
"My Long Trip Home: A Family Memoir" 
Mark Whitaker

8pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 3 min.
"American Emperor: Aaron Burr's Challenge to Jefferson's America" 
David Stewart

9pm (ET)
Approx. 59 min.
"A Soldier's Dream: Captain Travis Patriquin and the Awakening of Iraq" 
William Doyle

10pm (ET)
Approx. 58 min.
After Words: Chris Matthews, "Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero," hosted by Sam Donaldson, ABC News

11pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
"The Obamas" 
Jodi Kantor

Sunday, January 15th

12:15am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 15 min.
"Hollywood Left and Right: How Movie Stars Shaped American Politics" 
Steven Ross

1:30am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 17 min.
Memorial Service for Author and Historian John Morton Blum 
Multiple Speakers

3am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
2011 Texas Book Festival: Panel on the Arab Spring with Robin Wright, James Zogby, and Austin Bay 
Austin Bay; Robin Wright; James Zogby

4am (ET)
Approx. 32 min.
"Truth and Consequences: Life Inside the Madoff Family" 
Laurie Sandell

4:45am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 10 min.
"Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America" 
Melissa Harris-Perry

6am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 15 min.
"Lifeblood: How to Change the World One Dead Mosquito at a Time" 
Alex Perry

7:30am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
2011 Paolucci/Bagehot Book Award Dinner: Pauline Maier, "Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788" 
Pauline Maier

8:30am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 11 min.
"Kearny's March: The Epic Creation of the American West, 1846-1847" 
Winston Groom

9:45am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
"The Obamas" 
Jodi Kantor

11am (ET)
Approx. 59 min.
"A Soldier's Dream: Captain Travis Patriquin and the Awakening of Iraq" 
William Doyle

12pm (ET)
Approx. 56 min.
After Words: Jack Abramoff, "Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist," hosted by Eliza Newlin Carney, CQ Roll Call

1pm (ET)
Approx. 34 min.
George Washington University Interview: Benjamin Hopkins, "The Making of Modern Afghanistan" 
Benjamin Hopkins

1:35pm (ET)
Approx. 19 min.
George Mason University Interviews: Suzanne Smith, "To Serve the Living: Funeral Directors and the African American Way of Death" 
Suzanne Smith

2pm (ET)
Approx. 56 min.
"My Long Trip Home: A Family Memoir" 
Mark Whitaker

3pm (ET)
Approx. 52 min.
"Growing Up King: An Intimate Memoir" 
Dexter King

4pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 3 min.
"The Word of the Lord Is Upon Me: The Righteous Performance of Martin Luther King, Jr." 
Jonathan Rieder

5pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
"Hellhound On His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin" 
Hampton Sides

6pm (ET)
Approx. 52 min.
"Haiti After the Earthquake" 
Paul Farmer

7pm (ET)
Approx. 32 min.
"Truth and Consequences: Life Inside the Madoff Family" 
Laurie Sandell

7:30pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
"The Obamas" 
Jodi Kantor

9pm (ET)
Approx. 58 min.
After Words: Chris Matthews, "Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero," hosted by Sam Donaldson, ABC News

10pm (ET)
Approx. 56 min.
"My Long Trip Home: A Family Memoir" 
Mark Whitaker

11pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 3 min.
"American Emperor: Aaron Burr's Challenge to Jefferson's America" 
David Stewart

Monday, January 16th

12am (ET)
Approx. 58 min.
After Words: Chris Matthews, "Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero," hosted by Sam Donaldson, ABC News

1am (ET)
Approx. 59 min.
"A Soldier's Dream: Captain Travis Patriquin and the Awakening of Iraq" 
William Doyle

2am (ET)
Approx. 50 min.
"December 1941: 31 Days That Changed America and Saved the World" 
Craig Shirley

3am (ET)
Approx. 58 min.
After Words: Chris Matthews, "Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero," hosted by Sam Donaldson, ABC News

4am (ET)
Approx. 52 min.
"Growing Up King: An Intimate Memoir" 
Dexter King

5am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 3 min.
"The Word of the Lord Is Upon Me: The Righteous Performance of Martin Luther King, Jr." 
Jonathan Rieder

6am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
"Hellhound On His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin" 
Hampton Sides

7am (ET)
Approx. 49 min.
"Patriot Acts: What Americans Must Do to Save the Republic" 
Catherine Crier