Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars
This award-winning documentary short shows how an unlikely alliance of Texans—from CEOs and legislators to small-town mayors and citizens—came together to oppose 19 conventional coal-fired plants that were on the fast track to construction in the state. Their success is considered a model for other grass-roots environmental efforts. Robert Redford narrates. Tuesday, May 12, at 10 p.m., Sundance Channel
Secrets of the Dead: Michelangelo Revealed
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Michelangelo spent his life glorifying the Catholic Church. He died in mysterious circumstances, his body disappearing before it could be buried. Exploring an actual scholarly mystery as intriguing as The Da Vinci Code, an art historian points to clues in one of Michelangelo’s greatest masterworks—a sculpture of Moses—as evidence that he had become involved with the Spirituali, a sect attempting to reform the church. Wednesday, May 13, at 8 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Disaster Lab: Into the Tornado
National Geographic follows electrical engineer Tim Samaras into the heart of a “supercell” storm in Kansas, where he braves 120 mph winds to deploy devices that are intended to improve tornado warnings by creating a 3-D snapshot of the twister. He’s also assigned to capture giant hailstones inside the tornado, in order to help Boeing build safer aircraft. Thursday, May 14, at 8 p.m., National Geographic Channel
30 Rock
In “Kidney Now!” TV exec Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) may have finally found his biological father (guest star Alan Alda), only to lose him. Meanwhile, perennially unlucky-in-love Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) suddenly finds herself in demand as a relationship expert. The third-season finale of one of television’s funniest shows features many musical guest stars, including Elvis Costello, Mary J. Blige, and Sheryl Crow. Thursday, May 14, at 9:30 p.m., NBC
Nature: Victoria Falls
A vivid edition of Nature heads to the Zambia-Zimbabwe border to view “The Smoke That Thunders”—Victoria Falls, which plunges from twice the height of Niagara Falls into the Zambezi River. Cameras follow a 74-year-old fisherman through a tranquil Eden of elephants, lions, and hippos on the upper river, as well as through a mossy rain forest filled with monkeys and mongooses on treacherous cliffs above the raging abyss. Sunday, May 17, at 8 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Other highlights
Nursery University
A look at the fierce competition among New Yorkers to get their toddlers into the right Ivy League–feeder preschools. Monday, May 11, at 7:30 p.m., Showtime
Primeval
The fun sci-fi series about dinosaurs invading the present returns with an episode set (and shot on location) in the British Museum. Saturday, May 16, at 9 p.m., BBC America
