Luckey
Designer Tom Luckey created striking, intricate sculptures for such venues as the Boston Children’s Museum—until a fall left him quadriplegic. This affecting documentary follows his son’s herculean efforts to carry on Luckey’s work, and paints a powerful picture of how a turn of fate can upend an entire family. Monday, Oct. 26, at 9 p.m., Sundance Channel
Frontline: Close to Home
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A hair salon on Manhattan’s upscale Upper East Side becomes an unlikely economic barometer in this offbeat Frontline. Patrons tell of foreclosures, faltering businesses, mounting debt, job searches, delayed retirements, and general downward mobility. Their tales of frustrated dreams and uncertain futures come to seem emblematic of the profound pain this recession has caused for countless others. Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel
Leading this edition of HBO’s Emmy-winning series is a touching profile of Nick Adenhart, the promising pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim who last April was tragically killed in a collision with an allegedly drunken driver. Other segments look at schools whose athletic programs have suffered cutbacks and a man who has set more than 200 Guinness World Records on all seven continents. Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 10 p.m., HBO
Independent Lens: Journals of a Wily School
An especially colorful episode of Independent Lens travels to Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India—a city teeming with pickpockets—to present a portrait of a young thief every bit as engaging as Charles Dickens’ Artful Dodger. Caught by police, the boy agrees to help them hunt bigger criminals, and a fascinating relationship develops between him and a cop who hopes to save him from a life of lawbreaking. Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Masterpiece: Place of Execution
Shuttling between 1963 and the present, this intelligent mystery explores the disappearance of a 13-year-old girl. Nearly a half-century later, a journalist making a documentary about the police official who originally investigated the case uncovers disturbing new details about it—and her own past. Juliet Stevenson stars in the moody thriller, based on Val McDermid’s novel Wire in the Blood. Sundays, Nov. 1 and 8, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Other highlights
Alaska State Troopers
This new show follows real-life lawmen in the Alaskan bush, where people are few yet crime is all too frequent. Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 10 p.m., National Geographic Channel
The Office
While Dunder Mifflin’s employees plan a Halloween party for the children of Scranton, Pa., Michael (Steve Carell) makes a big splash—literally—at an important meeting. Thursday, Oct. 29, at 9 p.m., NBC
Rescue Ink Unleashed
This new unscripted series follows tattooed tough guys who rescue abused and abandoned animals in New York City. Friday, Oct. 30,
at 10 p.m., National Geographic Channel
Why ghost guns are so easy to make — and so dangerous
The Week contest: Swift stimulus
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