Independent Lens: Water Flowing Together
In this documentary profile, dancer Jock Soto faces retirement from the only life he has ever known. Independent Lens looks at Soto’s unlikely roots on Arizona’s Navajo Indian reservation, his remarkable 24 years with the New York City Ballet, and his life as a gay man and an artist. This film is the first by photographer Gwendolen Cates. Tuesday, April 8, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings
American Masters: Zora Neale Hurston
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Best known today for her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston was a prolific writer, a cultural anthropologist, and a leading light of the 1920s Harlem Renaissance. A pioneer black conservative, she was also controversial and outspoken, as American Masters documents through rare archival footage and interviews with Alice Walker, Maya Angelou, and others. Wednesday, April 9, at 9 p.m., PBS
30 Rock
The Emmy-winning comedy returns for its first new episode since the writers’ strike. Network executive Jack Donaghy is riding high on the success of his new reality hit, MILF Island—until a disparaging item in the New York Post threatens his ambitions, prompting a determined search for the anonymous source. Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey star. Thursday, April 10, at 8:30 p.m., NBC
Human Footprint
How much does the average American consume between cradle and grave? This special complements statistics with colorful visuals—such as an array of 28,433 rubber ducks to represent the number of showers taken in a lifetime. It traces where the products we use originate and also visits landfills to show where many of them wind up. ABC News’ Elizabeth Vargas anchors. Sunday, April 13, at 9 p.m., National Geographic Channel
Masterpiece: A Room With a View
In this adaptation of E.M. Forster’s satirical romance, Elaine Cassidy portrays a young Englishwoman torn between passion and propriety after a fateful trip to Tuscany. Fine performances, an intelligent script, and colorful locations in Italy and England all augment this top-drawer production. Sunday, April 13, at 9 p.m., PBS
Other highlights
Inside Straight Edge
A look at the youth movement Straight Edge, which shuns alcohol and drugs but has a violently militant faction. Wednesday, April 9, at 10 p.m., National Geographic Channel
Meeting David Wilson
A young African-American journalist meets a descendant of his ancestors’ slavemaster in this documentary. Friday, April 11, at 9 p.m., MSNBC
Night of Too Many Stars
A crowded roster of comedians is slated to perform in this live benefit for autism education. Jon Stewart will host. Sunday, April 13, at 8 p.m., Comedy Central
All listings are Eastern time.
Show of the week
The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo
In the civil war–ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo, rape is a weapon wielded by gangs of armed militia. During the past decade, more than a quarter-million women and girls have been systematically raped, condemning them to pain, shame, and health dangers, including AIDS. In this poignant and powerful documentary, director Lisa F. Jackson—herself a victim of a gang rape in Washington, D.C.—persuades victims to break their silence and share their shattering stories. She also talks to U.N. peacekeepers, law enforcement officials, and caregivers, as well as to some of the rapists themselves. Her film, which won a Special Jury Prize this year at Sundance, is a piercing cry of outrage to a world that has ignored injustice on a shocking scale. Tuesday, April 8, at 10 p.m., HBO
Movies on TV this week
Monday, April 7
King Kong (1933)
A 75th anniversary showing of the fantasy classic that pairs beauty Fay Wray with the ape whom director Merian C. Cooper called “the tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood.” 8 p.m., TCM
Tuesday
Ulee’s Gold (1997)
Peter Fonda was Oscar-nominated for his quietly powerful performance as a Florida beekeeper struggling to rebuild his shattered family. 7 p.m., IFC
Wednesday
Come See the Paradise (1991)
In one of his strongest roles, Dennis Quaid portrays a labor organizer whose Japanese-American wife is put in a U.S. internment camp during World War II. Tamlyn Tomita co-stars. 9:30 p.m., FMC
Thursday
Raggedy Man (1981)
Sissy Spacek gives a sensitive performance as a divorced mother contending with small-town gossip and a mysterious stranger in 1940s Texas. With Eric Roberts. 7 p.m., Sundance
Friday
Best in Show (2000)
Christopher Guest directed
this sendup of the insular world of dog shows. His ensemble cast includes Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, and Parker Posey. 2 p.m., HBO
Saturday
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter (2008)
Dermot Mulroney, Emily Watson, and Gretchen Mol star in this made-for-TV adaptation of Kim Edwards’ best-seller, which begins when a doctor delivers his own twin babies. 9 p.m., Lifetime
Sunday
L.A. Confidential (1997)
The film version of James Ellroy’s novel about police corruption in 1940s Hollywood won Oscars for supporting actress (Kim Basinger) and screenplay adaptation. Kevin Spacey and Russell Crowe star. 8 p.m., Encore
