Nova: A Walk to Beautiful
Tuesday, May 13, 8 p.m. ET – Save Your Tuesday for the Best Science Shows on TV. This program tells the story
of three women in Ethiopia suffering from devastating childbirth injuries. Rejected by their husbands and ostracized by their communities, the women are left to spend the rest of their lives in loneliness and shame. NOVA follows each of them on their journey to a special hospital in Addis Ababa, where they find solace for the first time in years, and stays with them as their lives begin to change. The trials they endure and their attempts to rebuild their lives tell a universal story of hope, courage and transformation. Pictured: Wubete, after receiving news that an injury from giving birth may not be completely curable.
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Antiques Roadshow
Louisville, KY, Part 1 of 3
Monday, April 21, 8 p.m. ET;
Repeats Friday, April 25, 9 p.m. ET; Saturday, April 26, 6 p.m. ET - Save Your Monday for the Best in Antiques and Collectibles Shows on TV.
Host Mark L. Walberg welcomes ANTIQUES ROADSHOW viewers to Louisville, Kentucky, home of the world-famous Kentucky Derby. Tonight’s finds include valuable original cover art (pictured) for The Saturday Evening Post by John Falter; an early 19th-century embroidered silk mourning picture; and an enduring symbol of the Kentucky Derby: an heirloom mint julep cup created by Louisville silversmith William Kendrick. |
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NOVA
Car of the Future
Tuesday, April 22, 8 p.m. ET; Repeats Saturday, April 26, 4 p.m. ET -
Save Your Tuesday for the Best Science Shows on TV. How will the car of the future be powered? Will it run on hydrogen, batteries, ethanol or some as-yet undiscovered technology? Find out as NOVA takes a look at the latest and greatest in the automotive industry. Tom and Ray Magliozzi of NPR’s “Car Talk” fame take viewers on a
roller-coaster ride into the world of cars — examining new technologies and ideas about America’s most common form of transportation. |
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National Geographic’s Strange Days on Planet Earth
Most Dangerous Catch/Dirty Secrets
Wednesday, April 23, 9-11 p.m. ET - Save Your Wednesday for the Best in Investigative Shows on TV.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC’S STRANGE DAYS ON PLANET EARTH series shines the spotlight on both fresh and salt water with the aim of broadening awareness and deepening our understanding of these complex issues, while inspiring us all to learn more and take action. Tonight Most Dangerous Catch looks at how over-fishing is affecting life far beyond the shoreline, including Earth’s own life support systems. Meanwhile
Dirty Secrets reveals how striped bass are succumbing to flesh-eating bacteria in the Chesapeake Bay. Majestic seabirds are starving in Hawai’i. Coral reefs are weakening under a growing assault of invisible contaminants. Find out how are these mysteries related. Pictured: Edward Norton hosts.
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GREAT PERFORMANCES Primo
Thursday, April 24, 10 p.m. ET - Save Your Thursday for the Best in Performing Arts and Anthology Shows on TV. This one-man play recounts the Holocaust experiences of Primo Levi, the Italian chemist who found his young life shattered and utterly transformed by his internment at the Auschwitz camp in the final year of World War II. South African actor Sir Antony Sher stars in the title role. Adapted from Levi’s classic memoir Survival in Auschwitz, the play made its critically acclaimed debut at London’s National Theatre before transferring to Broadway. |
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Carrier
Sunday, April 27-Thursday, May 1, 9-11 p.m. ET;
Repeats Sunday April 27-Thursday, May 1, 11:30 p.m.–1:30 a.m. ET;
Parts 1-4, Saturday, May 3-7 p.m. ET;
Parts 5-10, Sunday, May 4, 2-8 p.m. ET - Save Your Nights for the Best in Non-fiction Docu-drama Shows on TV.
CARRIER, a 10-part series filmed aboard the USS Nimitz, is a character-driven,
edge-of-your-seat, nonfiction drama and a once-in-a-lifetime total immersion in the
high-stakes world of a nuclear aircraft carrier. Given unprecendented access, the filmmakers follow a core group of characters, from the admiral and the fighter pilots
to the youngest sailors, as they navigate personal conflicts around their jobs, families,
faith, patriotism, love, the rites of passage and the war on terror. Filmed in stunning
high-definition during a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf, CARRIER takes a raw and personal look at the Navy’s role in this controversial war. |
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Nature: Superfish
Sunday, May 4, 8 p.m. ET
Repeats Saturday, May 10, 5 p.m. ET - Save Your Sunday for the Best Nature Shows on TV. They slice through the water’s surface with explosive power — sail, spear and half a ton of muscle flashing in the sun. Their journeys through the open ocean are epic, their life cycle, bizarre. They are the billfish — marlin, sailfish, spearfish and swordfish — largest and most highly prized of all gamefish. Nature tells their astonishing story. Pictured: Black marlin “grander.” |
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Masterpiece™: Cranford
Sundays, May 4-18, 9 p.m. ET - Save Your Sunday for the Best in Drama Shows on TV. A sleepy 1840s English village comes to life with gossip, parties, romances, sudden death, bankruptcy and the drama of an encroaching railway in the three-part “Cranford,” based on the beloved Victorian-era writings of Elizabeth Gaskell. Gaskell combines the romantic flair of
Jane Austen with the class-consciousness of Charles Dickens. The all-star cast includes
Judi Dench (Casino Royale), Eileen Atkins (Cold Mountain), Michael Gambon
(Harry Potter), Francesca Annis (“Jane Eyre”), Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake)
and enough other top actors to populate a picturesque hamlet. Shown (l-r): Lisa Dillon
as Miss Mary Smith, Eileen Atkins as Miss Deborah Jenkyns, Dame Judi Dench as
Miss Matty Jenkyns and Imelda Staunton as Miss Pole. |
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American Experience
George H.W. Bush, Parts 1 and 2
Monday, May 5 – Tuesday May 6, 9 p.m. ET; Repeats Sunday, May 11, 4:30-8 p.m. ET - Save Your Night for the Best in History Series on TV. This two-part biography examines the life and career of the 41st president, from his service in World War II
and his early career in Texas to his days in the Oval Office, first as vice president to
Ronald Reagan, then as the leader who presided over the first Gulf War. Drawing upon
Bush’s personal diaries and interviews with his closest advisors, the film also
explores Bush’s role as the patriarch of a political family whose influence resonates
in modern American life.
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Secrets of the the Dead
Doping for Gold
Wednesday, May 7, 8 p.m. ET
– Save Your Wednesday for the Best Detective Story and True-Life Drama
Shows on TV. In the 1970s, female East German athletes came out of nowhere to dominate international sport. But behind their success lay a secret, state-sponsored doping program that distributed untested steroids and male hormones to athletes as
young as 12. Doping for Golddigs deep into the secretive Cold War world
of East German athletes, examining what drugs were used, how they were distributed and what damage they did too many of the athletes who were forced to take them.
Pictured: Former East German Athletes (left) Andreas Krieger (formerly Heidi),
Dagmar Kerstin (center), an Olympic gymnast, with her daughter, and Katerina Bulin (right), an Olympic volleyball player whose experiences under the doping regime are highlighted in the program.
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American Masters
Marvin Gaye: What’s Going On
Wednesday, May 7, 9 p.m. ET – Save Your Wednesday for the Best in Biography Shows on TV. His standing among the most enduring 20th-century American musical artists is without question, yet his story is rarely told beyond the tragic circumstances of his death. He was the Motown star who challenged and changed the face of black music, embodying its evolution from roots in gospel, jazz and rhythm and blues to sophisticated pop and sexually, politically charged soul. Extensive performance footage and insight from Mary Wilson, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Mos Def, among many others, capture the tone and texture of a career that still leaves an indelible mark on the musical landscape.
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Live from Lincoln Center: Camelot
Sunday, May 11, 2-4:30 p.m. ET – Save Your Sunday for the Best in Performing Shows on TV. The New York Philharmonic performs a semi-staged version of the Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot. Based on T.H. White’s novel The Once and Future King, the musical is about the idealized kingdom of Camelot and the love triangle of King Arthur (Gabriel Byrne), Queen Guenevere (Marin Mazzie) and Sir Lancelot (Nathan Gunn). The score features such classic songs as “Camelot,” “If Ever I Would Leave You” and “The Lusty Month
of May.” Pictured: Kirk Browning, the longtime director of LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER, died on Sunday, February 10 in Manhattan. He was 86.
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America at the Crossroads
Sunday, May 11, 10 p.m. ET – Save Your Sunday for the Best in Documentary Shows on TV. The latest installment in the AMERICA AT A CROSSROADS series explores the emergence of Muslim- and Arab-American comedians in the wake of 9/11, demonstrating how they use humor to take on stereotypes about Middle Easterners and terrorism. Some of the comics are Arab, some are Muslim and some are both. All are Americans. This is the story of how each of these men and women felt the aftershock of 9/11. At a time when people of Middle Eastern background were advised to lie low, they all chose to stand up … and crack jokes. Pictured: Maysoon Zayid, captured in mid-punch line, is one of five
Muslim-American comics – all American citizens.
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Nova: A Walk to Beautiful
Tuesday, May 13, 8 p.m. ET – Save Your Tuesday for the Best Science Shows on TV. This program tells the story
of three women in Ethiopia suffering from devastating childbirth injuries. Rejected by their husbands and ostracized by their communities, the women are left to spend the rest of their lives in loneliness and shame. NOVA follows each of them on their journey to a special hospital in Addis Ababa, where they find solace for the first time in years, and stays with them as their lives begin to change. The trials they endure and their attempts
to rebuild their lives tell a universal story of hope, courage and transformation.
Pictured: Wubete, after receiving news that an injury from giving birth may not be completely curable.
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Frontline: Storm Over Everest
Tuesday, May 13, 9-11 p.m. ET – Save Your Tuesday for the Best in Investigative Shows on TV. World-renowned climber and filmmaker David Breashears travels to Mount Everest to tell the story of a 1996 storm that resulted in the worst climbing tragedy in Everest's history. It is the story of 11 climbers, with eyewitness accounts of their astonishing survival in the world's most unforgiving environment. Pictured: David Breashears outside his tent at Everest
Base Camp.
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The Adirondacks
Wednesday, May 14, 9-11 p.m. ET; Repeats Sunday, May 18, 6-8 p.m. ET
– Save Your Night for the Best in Natural History Shows on TV. Sprawled across six million acres in upstate New York, the Adirondack Park is by far the largest park in the lower 48 states. Yet it is the only one on the continent in which large human populations live and whose land is divided almost evenly between protected wildernesses and privately owned tracts. This patchwork pattern of land ownership has created an utterly unique place that maintains, at its very heart, a delicate and dynamic relationship between progress and preservation. This program explores the remarkable history, seasonal landscape and current state of the Adirondacks. Pictured: Lake George viewed from
the top of Tongue Mountain.
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Depression: Out of the Shadows
Wednesday, May 21, 9-11 p.m. ET – Save Your Night for the Best in Mental Health Awareness Shows on TV. This
90-minute documentary about clinical depression is followed by a half-hour panel discussion hosted by Jane Pauley. The documentary tells the dramatic stories of
people of different ages, from diverse backgrounds, who live with various forms of clinical depression — and explores its causes and treatments. Following the broadcast
of the documentary, veteran journalist Jane Pauley (pictured) hosts a panel discussion with mental health experts to discuss the issues raised in the film.
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National Memorial Day Concert 2008
Sunday, May 25, 8 p.m. ET; Repeats Monday, May 26, 12 p.m. ET
– Save Your Sunday for the Best in the National Memories Shows on TV.
The nation's premier memorial event is broadcast live on the eve of Memorial Day from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. The television event will feature
a mix of dramatic readings, documentary footage and live musical performances, along with an all-star line-up of dignitaries, actors and musical artists. The event will be led
for the third year by co-hosts Gary Sinise (“CSI: NY”) and Tony Award-winner
Joe Mantegna (“Criminal Minds”), two acclaimed actors who have dedicated themselves to veterans' causes and supporting our troops in active service. Plus in the lineup are Gladys Knight, General Colin Powel, Charles Durning, actor and comedian
Denis Leary (Rescue Me) and actress Gail O'Grady (American Dreams, Boston Legal) and Erich Kunzel conducting the National Symphony Orchestra.
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Great Performances
Maestro: Portrait of Valery Gergiev
Wednesday, May 28, 9 p.m. ET–Save Your Wednesday for the Best in Performing Arts and Anthology Shows on TV. Valery Gergiev is widely acclaimed as one of the leading conductors of our time. Currently artistic and general director of the Mariinsky Theater and principal conductor of the London Symphony, he also holds posts at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, in addition to being founder and artistic director of Stars of the White Nights Festival and the Moscow Easter Festival.
“Maestro” offers viewers an exclusive look at Gergiev on the go: the film moves back and forth between rehearsal and performance sequences and the maestro’s demanding
life as administrator of the enormous Mariinsky in St. Petersburg. The program looks at the impossible conducting schedule that takes Gergiev to London, New York and other major capitals around the world.
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