LEFT BY THE SHIP
THURSDAY, MAY24 @ 8:00 & 11:00PM
In the 1970s and 1980s, the world was touched by the stories of Amerasian children, the offspring of U.S. military personnel stationed in Asia and the Pacific in the aftermath of World War II, and during the Korean and Vietnam wars. Many of these children were born to impoverished prostitutes who worked on the outskirts of the American military bases, and left behind by their American fathers as soon as their deployment ended.
SALMON: RUNNING THE GAUNTLET
WEDNESDAY, JULY 2 @ 10:00PM
The Columbia River Basin once teemed with young salmon heading toward the ocean and mature salmon returning to their home rivers and streams to spawn. Now, many salmon species of the Pacific Northwest are extinct, and thirteen, including the iconic sockeye salmon, are currently endangered. When European Americans arrived in the area 150 years ago, the subsequent growth and change in population severely affected the ecosystems. Overfishing, habitat destruction, and dam construction contributed to salmon’s decline, which led, in the late-nineteenth century, to a new government-sanctioned industry created to restore dwindling salmon populations: hatcheries. Today, salmon hatcheries provide controlled environments where early developmental stages of the salmon lifecycle are replicated within the confines of concrete walls; eggs are artificially fertilized and incubated in tubes and plastic bags, and young salmon are raised in tanks before being released into the wild.
THE WEST AND THE REST WITH NIALL FERUGUSON
TUESDAY, MAY 29 @ 6:00PM & 9:00PM
For the past five centuries, Western civilizations have prevailed around the world. More people have been influenced by Western food, clothing, medicine, government and religion worldwide than by any other civilization. How did that happen? What led the West to be so influential and powerful? And how long will the West sustain its supremacy? As America approaches the 2012 presidential election in the midst of a geopolitical paradigm shift, acclaimed historian Niall Ferguson returns to public television with a timely look at the reasons behind the West’s economic ascendancy and why Eastern civilizations may now be taking the lead.
BURT BACHARACH & HAL DAVID
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS GERSHWIN PRIZE
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2 @ 7:00PM & 12:00AM
A star-studded tribute to the songwriting team who penned such classic tunes as “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head,” “What The World Needs Now is Love,” “Walk on By” and “Alfie.” Composer Bacharach and lyricist David’s extraordinary collaboration has produced numerous hits and enjoyed a resurgence in popularity, with songs featured in the “Austin Powers” films and an episode of “Glee.”
THE REICHENBACH FALL
Sherlock, Series II
SUNDAY, AUGUST 30 @ 10:00PM
While Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch, The Last Enemy, War Horse, The Hobbit) accrues unwanted accolades and press in gratitude for his mystery-solving prowess and John pointlessly counsels humility, the insane criminal mastermind Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott, Lennon Naked) is busy plotting the crime of the century. But bringing Britain to its knees is just a prelude for Sherlock’s arch-nemesis, who orchestrates a perilous cat-and-mouse game with the object of his obsession.
AT THE MET
THE ENCHANTED ISLAND
FRIDAY, MAY 18 @ 7:00PM & 12:00AM
The Enchanted Island is a contemporary take on the 18th-century tradition of operatic “pasticcios” (pastiches), in which new librettos were combined with music from various compositions to create entirely new theatrical pieces. The tradition was particularly popular in London, where Handel was a prominent practitioner. The score for The Enchanted Island comprises selections from a variety of Baroque operas, cantatas, and oratorios, many of which are rarely performed in contemporary opera houses.
PRECIOUS KNOWLEDGE
THURSDAY, MAY 17 @ 8:00PM & 11:00M
At Tucson High School, ethnic studies programs have improved graduation rates among Latino students. But some state politicians think ethnic studies promote “racial solidarity” and anti-Americanism. When books are banned and the programs eliminated, teachers and students fight back in a modern civil rights struggle.
CRACKING THE KOALA CODE
SATURDAY, JANUARY 3 @ 10:00PM
Loud bellows ring out from a small pocket of forest surrounded by dense suburbs and busy roads in Brisbane, Australia. It’s mating season for koalas. Their thunderous roars are difficult to reconcile with the familiar perception of them as cuddly creatures. But these complex choruses of bellows and grunts have become invaluable for those striving to learn more about the species.
JOHNNY CARSON: KING OF LATE NIGHT
FRIDAY, MARCH 14 @ 7:00PM & 12:00AM
Johnny Carson (10/23/1925 – 1/23/2005) was seen by more people on more occasions than anyone else in American history. Over the course of 30 years, 4,531 episodes and 23,000 guests, he became a fixture of national life and a part of the zeitgeist. In a 2007 TV Land/Entertainment Weeklypoll, Americans voted Carson the greatest icon in the history of television. Two-time Emmy®-winning filmmaker Peter Jones explores his life, career, complexities, and contradictions.
THE HOUNDS OF BASKERVILLE
SUNDAY, AUGUST 23 @ 7:00PM & 11:00AM
Boredom has set in at 221 Baker Street, with Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch, The Last Enemy, War Horse, The Hobbit) jonesing for a meaty case and — in its absence — a cigarette. Only the arrival of Henry Knight (Russell Tovey, Little Dorrit), terrorized and desperately clinging to sanity, piques the consulting detective’s interest. A gigantic hound — part tourist attraction, part conspiracy theory, part demonic moor stalker — is legend around Baskerville, a top-secret military compound where, it’s rumored, chemical and biological weapons experiments are conducted on genetically engineered animals. (90 MINUTES)