The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching

Broad Street Bullies

In the mid-1970s, the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers entertained fans and detractors alike with a brawling, bruising style of play that carried them to two consecutive Stanley Cup championships. Bobby Clarke, Bernie Parent, and Dave “the Hammer” Schultz are among the former Flyers stars who look back

on the team’s most colorful and controversial era. Monday, May 10, at 7 p.m., HBO

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

American Experience: Into the Deep

Whaling was America’s first global industry, and thus became an essential element of the young country’s lore. This episode of American Experience chronicles whaling’s rise and decline over three centuries, dwelling particularly on

two incidents: the 1820 sinking of the Essex, after being rammed by a massive sperm whale, and the 1840 voyage during which a young Herman ­Melville met one of the Essex’s few survivors. Monday, May 10, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings

Independent Lens: The Horse Boy

Based on a best-selling memoir by Rupert Isaacson, this thought-provoking documentary chronicles his unorthodox quest to help his autistic son, Rowan, whose severe symptoms seem to be eased by contact with horses. Cameras follow the family on a grueling horseback trek across Mongolia to consult shamans. The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009. Tuesday, May 11, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings

Music by Prudence

In Zimbabwe, where physical deformities are commonly attributed to witchcraft, Prudence Mabhena was born with joint deformations so severe that her legs were eventually amputated. This inspiring film relates how she overcame horrendous hardships and shame to found a successful group of disabled musicians. It won this year’s Oscar for Best Documentary Short. Wednesday, May 12, at 8 p.m., HBO2

Gavin & Stacey

This Britcom about a young married couple and their madcap relatives and friends returns for a third season with all its charm intact. Mathew Horne and Joanna Page play Gavin and Stacey, who have moved from suburban Essex to rural Wales. In the season premiere, a christening reunites the couple’s respective families—none too harmoniously. Friday, May 14, at 9 p.m., BBC America

Other highlights

American Masters: The Doors

Previously unseen footage highlights this portrait of the influential rock band. Wednesday, May 12, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings

American Al Qaeda

Correspondent Nic Robertson traces how Bryant Neal Vinas went from Catholic altar boy to jihadist operative, and then helped plan a bomb attack on his native New York City. Saturday, May 15, at 8 p.m., CNN

Storm Worlds: Cosmic Fire

In 1859, a massive solar storm disrupted telegraph systems worldwide. Experts examine the aftermath and ask if such an event might have even more drastic effects today. Sunday, May 16, at 8 p.m., National Geographic Channel