The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching
Plus, Other highlights; Show of the week; Movies on TV this week
Great Performances: Dance in America,
Wolf Trap’s Face of America
This special features highlights of music and dance pieces—with influences ranging from jazz to country—commissioned by the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. The goal is to foster preservation of national parks, and settings include Yosemite, Kitty Hawk, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave National Park. In high-def where available. Monday, April 21, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings
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Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel
Segments include an interview with the Los Angeles Angels’ Torii Hunter, who rose from a difficult childhood to become a star center fielder; an investigation into the death last year of minor-league baseball coach Mike Coolbaugh, killed by a foul ball; and a profile of Lee Benson Jr., who is trying to restart his once-promising basketball career after more than eight years in prison. Tuesday, April 22, at 5 p.m., HBO
National Geographic’s
Strange Days on Planet Earth
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Two back-to-back episodes of this series about environmental change study the world’s water supply. “Dangerous Catch” shows how rampaging baboons in Ghana and sulfurous ocean fumes off the coast of Namibia point to the effects of overfishing, while “Dirty Secrets” probes the ways in which freshwater contamination is damaging striped bass, seabirds, and, ultimately, humans. Edward Norton hosts. Wednesday, April 23, PBS; check local listings
J’Accuse/La Roue
Digital restorations of two seminal silent films by French director Abel Gance debut as part of TCM’s “Lost & Found” film series. J’Accuse (1919), the first major anti-war film, has a memorable climax in which thousands of dead rise from the battlefields of World War I. The tragic romance La Roue (1923) broke ground in editing, lighting, and cinematography. New orchestral scores accompany both. Sunday, April 27, at 8 p.m., Turner
Classic Movies
Nazi Scrapbooks From Hell
A recently discovered notebook provides a glimpse of Auschwitz that, in its way, can seem more disturbing than the horrific images from within the concentration camp: It reveals Nazis at play, enjoying carefree parties and music near the camp. First-person testimony, archival footage, and other materials supply perspective. Sunday, April 27, at 9 p.m., National Geographic Channel
Other highlights
Great Performances: Primo
Sir Antony Sher’s acclaimed one-man play, based on chemist Primo Levi’s memoir of his internment in Auschwitz. Thursday, April 24, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Carrier
A five-night documentary series follows crew of the USS Nimitz during a deployment to the Persian Gulf. Sunday–Thursday, April 27–May 1, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings
All listings are Eastern time.
Show of the week
NOVA: Car of the Future
Tom and Ray Magliozzi—also known as Click and Clack, wisecracking hosts of NPR’s long-running Car Talk—embark on a lighthearted journey with a serious purpose: to learn about the next wave of automotive technology. Their quest takes them from the North American International Auto Show in Detroit to Boston’s AltWheels Festival to Reykjavik, Iceland, where the buses run on hydrogen. Along the way they learn about producing ethanol from plant wastes; plug-in hybrid vehicles that use ordinary household current; the Tesla, a battery-powered car that is both fast and stylish; and other innovative alternatives to their beloved but inefficient gasoline-powered engine. John Lithgow narrates. Tuesday, April 22, at 8 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Movies on TV this week
Monday, April 21
No Highway in the Sky (1951)
No one will listen to a scientist who claims that a new airplane design is defective. James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich star in the adaptation of a novel by Nevil Shute. 8 a.m., FMC
Tuesday
The Greening of Southie (2007)
This documentary follows the sometimes-problematic construction of Boston’s first “green” residential building, in the city’s working-class Southie district. 9:35 p.m., Sundance
Wednesday
Field of Dreams (1989)
An Iowa farmer builds a baseball diamond in his cornfield at the behest of a disembodied voice in this mystical sports drama starring Kevin Costner. 8 p.m., Encore
Thursday
Fahrenheit 451 (1967)
Francois Truffaut directed the screen version of Ray Bradbury’s novel about a dystopian future in which books are burned. Oskar Werner and Julie Christie star. 7 p.m., Sundance
Friday
Fight Club (1999)
Director David Fincher’s controversial drama about a secret society of men who alleviate their tensions through fisticuffs features Edward Norton and Brad Pitt. 8 p.m., HBO
Saturday
Melinda and Melinda (2004)
A troubled young woman’s story unfolds in parallel versions (one tragic, one comic) in this Woody Allen film. The ensemble includes Radha Mitchell, Chloë Sevigny, and Will Ferrell. 1:30 p.m., IFC
Sunday
Neighbors (1981)
In his final film, John Belushi played the change-of-pace role of a suburbanite plagued by noxious neighbors. Dan Aykroyd and Cathy Moriarty
co-star in the black comedy. 8 p.m., Flix
