ACTING FUNNY

TUESDAY, MAY 6 @ 9:00PM

From the depths of television history to the chart-topping hit shows of the 21st century, TV actors have always excelled at providing audiences with a good laugh. Their performances made us laugh and together, they brought comedy acting to the television age. Through the decades, comedic acting has undergone many evolutions, each incarnation leaving its distinctive mark on the genre’s development and acting as a legacy for generations of funny folks eager to learn the craft.

This episode peeks behind the curtain to reveal the backstage techniques of America’s favorite comedic actors, tracing the form from slapstick to improvisation and impressions, from sketch comedy to scripted, narrative banter. Robin Williams dissects his signature frenetic improvisational style first honed during the early days of “Mork & Mindy,” attributing his success to his comic idol and co-star Jonathan Winters.

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THE LOST GARDENS OF BABYLON

TUESDAY, MAY 6 @ 7:00PM & 12:00AM

This film examines a world wonder so elusive that most people have decided it must be mythical. Centuries of digging have turned up nothing — but the searchers were digging in the wrong place. Now, this film proves that the spectacular Hanging Gardens of Babylon did exist, shows where they were, what they looked like and how they were constructed.

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A FRAGILE TRUST: PLAGIARISM, POWER,

AND JAYSON BLAIR AT THE NEW YORK TIMES/LIES

MONDAY, MAY 5 @ 8:00PM

A Fragile Trust tells the shocking story of Jayson Blair, the most infamous serial plagiarist of our time, and how he unleashed the massive scandal that rocked The New York Times and the entire world of journalism.

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SEASON 3 EPISODE 6

SUNDAY, MAY 4 @ 9:00PM

Tom, the local curate, asks Trixie to join him for a day of cricket. She happily accepts, but their date is disastrous and she’s left feeling disappointed. Shelagh decides to talk to Dr. Turner about adopting a baby. Patsy struggles to adapt to the unpredictable and chaotic working life that midwifery brings. When she upsets a young mother in the clinic, she’s taken off midwifery and put on to the district rota. In the course of her work, she forms a bond with a docker and works tirelessly to find a diagnosis for his unusual symptoms.

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MR. SELFRIDGE

SEASON 2, EPISODE 6

SUNDAY, MAY 4 @ 7:00PM & 11:00PM

Discussing Harry’s mysterious disappearance on a business trip to the Continent, Kitty tells Frank: “It’s like he’s vanished into thin air!” During the chief’s absence, Henri lands in trouble, one of the staff is killed at the front, Josie finds unexpected joy, and Frank publishes a shocking scandal. As if that isn’t enough, Rose faces a falling out with those close to her, and bad news arrives about another soldier on the staff.

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PENNSYLVANIA BALLET AT 50

SATURDAY, MAY 3 @ 9:00PM

Pennsylvania Ballet at 50 showcases one of Philadelphia’s cultural treasures, Pennsylvania Ballet, and honors the company’s golden anniversary. Produced by WHYY in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet at 50 is a one-hour show featuring the company’s 50th anniversary celebration performance from October 2013 at Philadelphia’s historic Academy of Music. The program highlights spectacular performances alongside exclusive interviews with Barbara Weisberger, Pennsylvania Ballet founder, and Roy Kaiser, artistic director of the company. Multi-Emmy Award-winning director of dance documentaries, Matthew Diamond, directs the production. Diamond has also directed commercial series such as “Desperate Housewives” and “So You Think You Can Dance.”

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WITH GWEN IFILL

FRIDAY, MAY 2 @ 9:00PM

President Obama will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House on Friday to discuss how the U.S. and European allies may be able to exert additional pressure on Russia to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine. Earlier this week, new sanctions were announced against Russia targeting the country’s defense industry and companies controlled by President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies. Ukraine’s acting president has admitted his government is not equipped to stop a rolling takeover by pro-Russia separatists.

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THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OF THE BUTTERFLIES

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18 @ 7:00PM

Orange-and-black wings fill the sky as NOVA charts one of nature’s most remarkable phenomena: the epic migration of monarch butterflies across North America. To capture a butterfly’s point of view, NOVA’s filmmakers used a helicopter, ultralight, and hot-air balloon for aerial views along the transcontinental route. This wondrous annual migration, which scientists are just beginning to fathom, is an endangered phenomenon that could dwindle to insignificance if the giant firs that the butterflies cling to during the winter disappear.

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SUPER TANKS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30 @ 8:00PM

With historic footage, recreations of milestone moments and interviews with history, engineering, and military strategy experts, Nazi Mega Weapons recounts the strategic triumphs and wartime blunders of the Third Reich.

Hitler’s megalomaniacal impulses led him to demand the construction of the largest tank the world had ever seen – a mobile fortress weighing 180 tons. But even this colossus couldn’t satisfy Hitler’s thirst for enormous weapons of war, as he went on to request a land battleship weighing 1,000 tons. This is the story of the Nazi engineers tasked with fulfilling that dream, and an arms race that resulted in the evolution of super-guns and tanks.

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MAN IN THE MIDDLE

A VOCES SPECIAL PRESENTATION

FRIDAY, MAY 4 @ 11:00PM

Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle, a documentary by Phillip Rodriguez, examines the life and mysterious death of pioneering journalist Ruben Salazar. At the heart of the story is Salazar’s transformation from a mainstream, establishment reporter to primary chronicler and supporter of the radical Chicano movement of the late 1960s. Killed under mysterious circumstances by a law enforcement officer in 1970, Salazar became an instant martyr to Latinos — many of whom had criticized his reporting during his lifetime. Adding to the Salazar mystique is that the details of his death have been obscured in the ensuing four decades.

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