Theater of War
In 2006, New York’s Public Theater staged Bertolt Brecht’s classic anti-war play Mother Courage and Her Children with Meryl Streep. This documentary offers a fascinating look behind the scenes of the revival, which was informed by the Iraq war. It also examines the life and career of Brecht, from his rise in Weimar Germany to his wartime exile in America to his 1956 death in East Berlin. Monday, Nov. 30,
at 9 p.m., Sundance Channel
Sci-Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible
Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku hosts this new series, which examines the feasibility of such seemingly outlandish concepts as time travel and teleportation. The premiere takes him to Brookhaven National Laboratory’s particle accelerator as he explores the possibilities of traveling at the speed of light. Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 10 p.m., Science Channel
Where the Water Meets the Sky
Marking World AIDS Day, this moving documentary relates how a group of women in a poor village in northern Zambia—many of them illiterate—learned filmmaking and then used their new skills to tell the story of one of their own: an 18-year-old orphaned by AIDS. Morgan Freeman narrates. Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 10 p.m., Sundance Channel
Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel
Leading this edition: the poignant story of a Texas father and his son, who was paralyzed in a high school football game. They now work to help other young players who have suffered a similar misfortune. Also: a look at the NFL’s efforts to curb fan misbehavior fueled by alcohol, and a profile of a New York City firefighter coming back from an injury to compete in a triathlon. Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 7 p.m., HBO
Alice
Alice in Wonderland gets made over into a sci-fi thriller: This Alice, played by Caterina Scorsone, is in her 20s and knows martial arts—which comes in handy when she pursues a kidnapped boyfriend into a dystopian parallel world. Lewis Carroll would likely disapprove, but the effects are good, and character actors such as Harry Dean Stanton, Tim Curry, and Kathy Bates have fun in supporting roles. Sunday and Monday, Dec. 6 and 7, at 9 p.m., Syfy
Other highlights
A Charlie Brown Christmas
The animated holiday classic, originally broadcast in 1965, has been digitally remastered. Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 8 p.m., ABC
Christmas in Rockefeller Center
Michael Bublé, Aretha Franklin, and Alicia Keys are among the performers whose music will accompany the lighting of this year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 8 p.m., NBC
Death Fog
In August 1986, nearly 2,000 villagers mysteriously died near Cameroon’s Lake Nyos after it emitted a white cloud. Scientists conduct interviews with witnesses and test the lake to probe the cause. Saturday, Dec. 5, at 8 p.m., National Geographic Channel
