Media Menu for December 7, 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.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011,
8-10  p.m.
History  Channel
U.S. and World History
Middle and High  School

Pearl Harbor: 24 Hours After

This documentary offers an in-depth look at the critical 24-hour period after news of Japan's attack on U.S. soil in 1941 reached the President. Drawing on exhaustive research and new information provided by the FDR Library, the program gives a rare and surprising glimpse at the man behind the Presidency and how he confronted the enormous challenge of transitioning the nation from peace to war. There was no direct phone line between Pearl Harbor and the White House. As information slowly trickled in and word of the bombing got out, panic gripped the White House. FDR's unique style of leadership enabled him to galvanize the American people in the wake of a grave and potentially demoralizing attack. The program features  historian Steven M. Gillon, author of the recently released “Pearl Harbor: FDR Leads the Nation Into War”. TV-PG
Log on http://www.amazon.com/Pearl-Harbor-Leads-Nation-Into/dp/0465021395

Thursday, December 8, 2011,
5:30-6  p.m.
Science Channel
Science and Technology
Elementary, Middle and High  School

Machines

This is an episode in a documentary series which might change the way you look at machinery. It's a  trip inside, under, over and through the guts of ordinary and extraordinary machines. Photo-real computer animation takes us where no camera can fit, or even survive. Easy-to-understand commentary untangles aspects of complex design and engineering. This episode covers Coast Guard's Search and Rescue boat self-rights after capsizing; Aircraft Cabin pressure drives the vacuum toilet; A mass produced hybrid electric car depends on its power split device to make it work; the high performance Zeppelin makes a comeback.
Log on http://science.discovery.com/tv/machines/

Friday, December 9, 2011,
10-10:30  p.m.
History  Channel
Science and Technology
Middle and High  School

Invention USA: Great Balls Of Fire

For centuries, America has been an engine of invention and innovation, creating technology that has shaped world history. From Ben Franklin to the Wright brothers, from Thomas Edison to Steve Jobs, the United States has been a constant generator of revolutionary ideas. To this day, in basements and backyards around the country, Americans are striving to turn their dreams into the next big thing.   This documentary is the first in a series anchored  Reichart Von Wolfsheild and Garrett Lisi. They are both innovators and scientists with ties to investors, as they go in search of the next breakthrough invention. Whether they're traveling the country to visit garage innovators at home or meeting with inventors at their Los Angeles testing lab, Reichart and Garrett will put prototypes to the test and give a tough, no-nonsense evaluation of each invention's potential. If they like what they see, they'll invest to help bring the product to market. In this episode they                                                                                                                 travel to the Mojave Desert to meet an eccentric survivalist who has invented a combustible weapon for stopping wild animal attacks, but his invention may go up in flames. An old friend calls up to pitch a handy cell phone accessory -- the Phone Glove.
Log on http://www.history.com/shows/invention-usa

Saturday, December 10, 2011,
11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
AMC – American Movie Channel
U.S. History
Middle and High  School
The Alamo
This is a movie version of historical events in Texas 1835-36   before, during, and after the famous siege of the Alamo (February 23-March 6, 1836) where 183 Texans (American-born Texans) and Tejanos (Mexican-born Texans) commanded by Colonel Travis, along with Davey Crockett and Jim Bowie, were besieged in an abandoned mission outside San Antonio by a Mexican army of nearly 2,000 men under the personal command of the dictator of Mexico, General Santa Anna. The movie also shows what followed the Alamo’s fall -  the Battle of San Jacinto (April 21, 1836) where General Sam Houston's rag-tag army of Texans and Tejanos took on and defeated Santa Anna's army which led to the independence of Texas. Rated PG -13
Log on http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318974/ and http://www.thealamo.org/main/index.php

Sunday, December 11, 2011,
7-8 p.m.
Planet Green Channel
World History
Elementary, Middle and High  School

The Curse of Tutankhamun

When a team of British archaeologists opened the seal of King Tut's tomb in 1923, they revealed the teenage ruler's vast treasure, but also unleashed a protective spell. As described in this documentary, the mysterious and untimely deaths of those who opened the tomb support this legend. TV-G
Log  on  http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/tut.htm

Monday, December 12, 2011,
7-8 p.m.  E/P Saturday April 30 7P Saturday April 30 6P Saturday April 30 8P Saturday April 30 7P Saturday April 30 5P
National Geographic Channel
World History
Elementary, Middle and High  School
Search for Noah's Ark
This documentary examines the latest clues and theories that attempt to confirm the biblical account of Noah's ark and the flood. Satellite imagery of mountaintops and underwater geological surveys help dissect the story timeline from God's warning to the receding waters.
Log  on http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/national-geographic-channel/all-videos/av-1539-2339/ngc-noahs-ark.html

Tuesday, December 13, 2011,
10:00 - 11:59   p.m. 
PBS
World History
Elementary, Middle and High  School

FRONTLINE: From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians

Drawing upon new and sometimes controversial historical evidence, this  2-part documentary transports viewers back 2,000 years to the time and place where Jesus of Nazareth once lived and preached and challenges familiar assumptions and conventional notions about the origins of Christianity. The first program traces the life of Jesus of Nazareth, exploring the message that helped his ministry grow and the events that led to his crucifixion around 30 C.E. The film then turns to the period that followed Jesus’ death, examining the rise of Christianity and concluding with the first revolt — the bloody and violent siege of Jerusalem and the beginning of a rift between Christianity and Judaism. The broadcast explores evidence suggesting that Jesus’ followers, because of their diversity and the differences in their cultures and languages, looked at and interpreted Jesus and his teachings in many different ways. Part 2 airs in this time-slot December 20.
Log  on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/
Wednesday, December 14, 2011,
8-10 p.m. 
PBS
Arts
Elementary, Middle and High  School

LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker

New York City Ballet’s beloved holiday favorite, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™, airs live from Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater. Set to Tchaikovsky’s glorious score, Balanchine’s Nutcracker features New York City Ballet’s entire roster of more than 150 dancers and musicians, as well as two alternating casts of 50 children from the School of American Ballet, the New York City Ballet’s official school. TV-G
Log  on http://www.pbs.org/programs/live-from-lincoln-center/

Book TV Schedule

Saturday, December 10th

8am (ET)
Approx. 55 min.
"Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy"
Bill Clinton

9am (ET)
Approx. 3 hr.
In Depth: David Brooks

12pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
2011 Year in Books
Sarah Weinman

1pm (ET)
Approx. 50 min.
"December 1941: 31 Days That Changed America and Saved the World"
Craig Shirley

2:15pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 2 min.
"Grant's Final Victory: Ulysses S. Grant's Heroic Last Year"
Charles Flood

3:30pm (ET)
Approx. 49 min.
"Patriot Acts: What Americans Must Do to Save the Republic"
Catherine Crier

4:30pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 18 min.
"Worm: The first Digital World War"
Mark Bowden

6pm (ET)
Approx. 57 min.
Encore Booknotes: David Denby "Great Books: My Adventures with Homer, Rousseau, Woolf and Other Indestructible Writers of the Western World"
David Denby

7pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 12 min.
"Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America"
Melissa Harris-Perry

8:15pm (ET)
Approx. 42 min.
"Eisenhower: The White House Years"
Jim Newton

9pm (ET)
Approx. 50 min.
"December 1941: 31 Days That Changed America and Saved the World"
Craig Shirley

10pm (ET)
Approx. 55 min.
After Words: Niall Ferguson, "Civilization: The West and the Rest," hosted by Susan Jacoby

11pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 32 min.
"The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World"
John Carlos; Dave Zirin

Sunday, December 11th

12:45am (ET)
Approx. 35 min.
"Scorpions for Breakfast: My Fight Against Special Interests, Liberal Media, and Cynical Politicos to Secure America's Border"
Gov. Jan Brewer

1:30am (ET)
Approx. 56 min.
"Sex, Mom, & God: How the Bible's Strange Take on Sex Led to Crazy Politics - and How I learned to Love Women (and Jesus) Anyway"
Frank Schaeffer

2:30am (ET)
Approx. 52 min.
"No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington"
Condoleezza Rice

3:30am (ET)
Approx. 38 min.
"Scorched Earth: Legacies of Chemical Warfare in Vietnam"
Noam Chomsky; Fred Wilcox

4:15am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 17 min.
"An Anatomy of Addiction: Sigmund Freud, William Halsted, and the Miracle Drug Cocaine"
Howard Markel

5:30am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
2011 Year in Books
Sarah Weinman

6:45am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 24 min.
50th Anniversary of Joseph Heller's "Catch-22"
Christopher Buckley; Robert Gottlieb; Mike Nichols

8:15am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
2011 Paolucci/Bagehot Book Award Dinner: Pauline Maier, "Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788"
Pauline Maier

9:15am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 7 min.
"Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, and the Education of a President"
Ron Suskind

10:30am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 11 min.
"A Governor's Story: The Fight for Jobs and America's Economic Future"
Jennifer Granholm

12pm (ET)
Approx. 59 min.
After Words: Max Hastings, "Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945," hosted by Toby Harnden, Daily Telegraph of London

1pm (ET)
Approx. 12 min.
University of Maryland Interviews: Kristina Miler, "Constituency Representation in Congress: The View from Capitol Hill"
Kristina Miler

1:12pm (ET)
Approx. 10 min.
University of Maryland Interviews: Jon Sumida, "Decoding Clausewitz: A New Approach to 'On War'"
Jon Sumida

1:22pm (ET)
Approx. 29 min.
University of Maryland Interviews: Philip Joyce, "The Congressional Budget Office: Honest Numbers, Power, and Policymaking"
Philip Joyce

1:51pm (ET)
Approx. 10 min.
University of Maryland Interviews: Carol Graham, "The Pursuit of Happiness: An Economy of Well-Being"
Carol Graham

2:15pm (ET)
Approx. 48 min.
"Growing a Better America"
Chuck Leavell

3pm (ET)
Approx. 53 min.
"War of the Worldviews: Science vs. Spirituality"
Deepak Chopra; Leonard Mlodinow

4pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 32 min.
"The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World"
John Carlos; Dave Zirin

6pm (ET)
Approx. 42 min.
"Eisenhower: The White House Years"
Jim Newton

6:45pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr.
2011 Year in Books
Sarah Weinman

7:45pm (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 18 min.
"Worm: The first Digital World War"
Mark Bowden

9pm (ET)
Approx. 55 min.
After Words: Niall Ferguson, "Civilization: The West and the Rest," hosted by Susan Jacoby

10pm (ET)
Approx. 56 min.
"Sex, Mom, & God: How the Bible's Strange Take on Sex Led to Crazy Politics - and How I learned to Love Women (and Jesus) Anyway"
Frank Schaeffer

11pm (ET)
Approx. 49 min.
"Patriot Acts: What Americans Must Do to Save the Republic"
Catherine Crier

Monday, December 12th

12am (ET)
Approx. 55 min.
After Words: Niall Ferguson, "Civilization: The West and the Rest," hosted by Susan Jacoby

1am (ET)
Approx. 12 min.
University of Maryland Interviews: Kristina Miler, "Constituency Representation in Congress: The View from Capitol Hill"
Kristina Miler

1:12am (ET)
Approx. 10 min.
University of Maryland Interviews: Jon Sumida, "Decoding Clausewitz: A New Approach to 'On War'"
Jon Sumida

1:22am (ET)
Approx. 29 min.
University of Maryland Interviews: Philip Joyce, "The Congressional Budget Office: Honest Numbers, Power, and Policymaking"
Philip Joyce

1:51am (ET)
Approx. 10 min.
University of Maryland Interviews: Carol Graham, "The Pursuit of Happiness: An Economy of Well-Being"
Carol Graham

2:15am (ET)
Approx. 42 min.
"Eisenhower: The White House Years"
Jim Newton

3am (ET)
Approx. 55 min.
After Words: Niall Ferguson, "Civilization: The West and the Rest," hosted by Susan Jacoby

4am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 29 min.
"Allah, Liberty and Love: The Courage to Reconcile Faith and Freedom"
Irshad Manji

5:30am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 3 min.
"Ethan Allen: His Life and Times"
Willard Sterne Randall

6:45am (ET)
Approx. 1 hr. 9 min.
"Collision Course: Ronald Reagan, the Air Traffic Controllers, and the Strike that Changed America"
Joseph McCartin