Right America: Feeling Wronged—Some Voices From the Campaign Trail
The voices are those of McCain/Palin supporters whom filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi interviewed as she followed Sen. John McCain’s Straight Talk Express during the recent presidential campaign. They share their passionate beliefs about such issues as abortion, national security, and media bias—and a portrait emerges of a considerable part of the nation that feels overlooked, misunderstood, and aggrieved. Monday, Feb. 16, at 8 p.m., HBO
Stealing Lincoln’s Body
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In 1876, just 11 years after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, a group of Chicago counterfeiters plotted to steal his body and hold it for ransom. This set in motion a series of exhumations, until the slain president was finally laid to permanent rest in a steel-reinforced vault in 1901. Images of Lincoln, digitally created from historical photos, help relate one of the more bizarre episodes in America’s past. Monday, Feb. 16, at 9 p.m., History Channel
Sin City Law
From the makers of the acclaimed The Staircase, this documentary series following criminal cases in Las Vegas returns with two new episodes. The story they trace is a grim one: A woman who faces a first-degree murder charge, for being complicit in the beating death of her 3-year-old daughter, balks at testifying against her abusive boyfriend. Thursdays, Feb. 19–26, at 9 p.m., Sundance Channel
Mistresses
Four actresses familiar to viewers of imported British TV—Sharon Small (The Inspector Lynley Mysteries), Sarah Parish (Viva Blackpool), Orla Brady, and Shelley Conn—help make this prime-time soap smarter and more sophisticated than Lipstick Jungle or Sex and the City. They play four friends from college, each of whom becomes entangled in a different facet of infidelity. Friday, Feb. 20, at 8 p.m., BBC America
Taking Chance
Kevin Bacon gives a quietly powerful performance as a veteran Marine officer who volunteers to accompany the remains of a young soldier slain in Iraq to his Wyoming hometown. The dignified drama is based on a factual account by Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, who co-wrote the screenplay. Saturday, Feb. 21, at 8 p.m., HBO
Other highlights
The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306
This eyewitness account of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. is an Oscar nominee for Best Documentary Short. Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 8 p.m., HBO2
Late Night
After 15 seasons, Conan O’Brien hosts his final episode of Late Night. He will take over as host of The Tonight Show on June 1. Friday, Feb. 20, at 12:35 a.m., NBC
Academy Awards
In a year in which no box-office blockbusters have been nominated for Best Picture, the Oscars also have an untried host: Hugh Jackman. Sunday, Feb. 22, at 8 p.m., ABC
