The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching

Alphas

As this sci-fi series about a motley crew of super-powered misfits concluded its first season last fall, the group’s neurologist leader (shrewdly played by David Strathairn) had revealed the existence of “Alphas” to the public. Season 2 begins with the doctor imprisoned in a government facility, and his team scattered and demoralized. The show’s dark tone provides a refreshing contrast to much of Syfy’s more tongue-in-cheek fare. Monday, July 23, at 10 p.m., Syfy

Birders: The Central Park Effect

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“It was one of those rare times in an adult’s life that the world suddenly seems more magical...like I was stepping through a portal and finding a wild world in my own backyard,” says birder and author Jonathan Franzen. This appealing documentary spotlights the amazing variety of migratory birds in Central Park, which attracts 200-plus species every year as well as hundreds of birding enthusiasts, like Franzen. Tuesday, July 24, at 11:30 a.m., HBO

The Godfather Legacy

“It was on such a track to be a failure—everybody hated it,” director Francis Ford Coppola says of his 1972 film The Godfather, now considered a cinematic milestone. In this engaging retrospective, stars Al Pacino, Talia Shire, James Caan, and others join Coppola in providing insights about the film’s ongoing cultural impact. Tuesday, July 24, at 9 p.m., History

Going for Gold—The ’48 Games

In the 1948 London Olympics, an odd couple competed for Britain in the double sculls rowing event: Bert Bushnell, son of a shipbuilder, and Dickie Burnell, scion of the upper class. Matt Smith (Doctor Who) and Sam Hoare star as Bushnell and Burnell in this uplifting dramatization of how the pair overcame their class differences to win gold. Wednesday, July 25, at 8 p.m., BBC America

Independent Lens: Strong!

Former Olympic weightlifter Cheryl Haworth drives a huge, beautiful old Lincoln Continental that suits her 300-pound frame, but says in this documentary that “people like you if you’re smaller.” She was nearing the end of a remarkable career when cameras followed her to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where her size—so often a burden—remained integral to her medal dreams. Thursday, July 26, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings

Other highlights

Warehouse 13

Brent Spiner (Star Trek: The Next Generation) guest-stars in the season premiere of this sci-fi series about a secret storehouse of supernatural artifacts. Monday, July 23, at 9 p.m., Syfy

Frontline: Alaska Gold

A look at the battle between those dependent on salmon in Bristol Bay, Alaska, and the foreign firms that are hoping to dig an open-pit mine there. Tuesday, July 24, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings

Ernest Borgnine marathon

A string of 10 films featuring the late actor begins at 6 a.m. Marty, for which Borgnine won a Best Actor Oscar, starts at 9 p.m. Thursday, July 26, TCM