Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel
A boxing-themed episode takes Gumbel to Atlanta, where he reports on the murder of welterweight champion Vernon Forrest, who was shot last year after a stop at a gas station with his 11-year-old godson. Also profiled are two other fighters who died in 2009: Canadian boxer Arturo “Thunder” Gatti and Nicaraguan champion-turned-politician Alexis Arguello. Tuesday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m., HBO
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Vaccines, the medical miracles that have eradicated such scourges as polio, have recently come under fire from some who claim they cause childhood disorders, from autism to ADHD. Frontline looks at the emotional debate—fanned by celebrities and the Internet—between the scientific establishment and parents who don’t get their kids vaccinated regularly, if at all. Tuesday, April 27, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Independent Lens: Garbage Dreams
With an 80 percent recycling rate, Cairo has one of the world’s most efficient waste systems, thanks to the Zabaleen (“garbage people”), low-paid workers who for generations have picked through the city’s trash for salable material. This documentary follows two teenage Zabaleen facing a new competitor—a multinational corporation. Tuesday, April 27, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Happy Town
Macabre secrets haunt a quaint Minnesota town in this ironically titled new series, a slice of American Gothic that echoes David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. The debut episode struggles to find a balance between oddball character comedy and ominous mystery, but the ensemble features several standout performers, including M.C. Gainey as a sheriff who’s not quite right, and a debonair yet menacing Sam Neill. Wednesday, April 28, at 10 p.m., ABC
Other highlights
NOVA: Mind Over Money
Many economists failed to foresee the recent financial crisis. NOVA explores insights into incentives and decision-making from the new field of “behavioral economics,” which may improve economic forecasting. Tuesday, April 27, at 8 p.m., PBS; check local listings
The Lazy Environmentalist
Host Josh Dorfman tries to help a fashion designer and two car-customizers make their businesses more environmentally efficient. Tuesday, April 27, at 8 p.m., Sundance Channel
Freezing
An Oscar-nominated actress and her husband are reduced to scrounging for work in this satirical miniseries, starring Elizabeth McGovern and Hugh Bonneville. Sunday and Tuesday, May 2 and 4, at 9:30 p.m., Sundance Channel
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Al fresco art: the UK's best sculpture parksThe Week Recommends Soak up the scenery with a stroll through these open-air galleries
