The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching

Independent Lens: The Parking Lot Movie

Independent Lens heads to the college town of Charlottesville, Va., for an amusing look at a parking lot staffed by an overqualified collection of grad students, philosophers, and slacker intellectuals. Class collisions provide most of the entertainment as the attendants manage customers, bosses, and their own ennui with varying degrees of humor and grace. Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings

Almighty Debt: A Black in America Special

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This thought-provoking news special drives home a thought expressed by Baptist pastor DeForest Soaries: For today’s black Americans, “debt is a bigger problem than racism.” Various members of Soaries’ New Jersey congregation share their financial struggles as host Soledad O’Brien makes the argument that a centuries-old wealth gap between black and white America has made the recession particularly hard for African-Americans. A town hall discussion follows. Thursday, Oct. 21, at 9 p.m., CNN

Night of Too Many Stars

The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart hosts a benefit show “overbooked” with live performances and short films featuring such comedy stars as Jimmy Kimmel, Larry David, Tracy Morgan, Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Sofia Vergara (Modern Family), and Rainn Wilson (The Office). The annual event benefits autism education. Thursday, Oct. 21, at 9 p.m., Comedy Central

Dean of Invention

Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway, hosts this new series about emerging technologies. Episode 1 focuses on “nanobots”—tiny robots designed to enter the bloodstream and repair the body at the cellular level. Episode 2 follows immediately, exploring the latest advances in prosthetics, which may transform the disabled into the hyper-abled. Friday, Oct. 22, at 10 p.m., Planet Green

Masterpiece: Sherlock

If Sherlock Holmes were around today, what would he be like? This witty new Mystery! series proposes that he’d have his own website, forgo his pipe for nicotine patches, and encounter people who assume that he and Watson are a couple. Purists may protest, but Benedict Cumberbatch’s Holmes and Martin Freeman’s Watson hew true to the spirit of the original partnership. Sunday, Oct. 24, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings

Other highlights

The Talk

Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete, Leah Rimini, and Marissa Jaret Winokur co-host this new daily talk show focusing on motherhood. Monday, Oct. 18, at 2 p.m., CBS

NOVA: Building the Great Cathedrals

Experts probe the secrets of Gothic architecture. Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 8 p.m., PBS; check local listings

I Am Alive: Surviving the Andes Plane Crash

A look back, through the eyes of one survivor, at a famous 1972 plane crash in the snowy Andes. Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 9 p.m., History