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Programming

Best Bets - Week of 6/22

Posted by Greg Petersen on 06/22 at 03:47 PM

What’s “worth watching” this week.

HISTORY DETECTIVES – Monday, 9pm – Explore a machine that may have been intended to record messages from the dead; dogs trained for war; and a watch fob commemorating Pancho Villa’s raid on Columbus, New Mexico.

Make ‘EM LAUGH: THE FUNNY BUSINESS OF AMERICA – Monday, 10pm – Interviews with more than 90 comedians accent this history of American comedy, which is broken down by genre (domestic, parody and satire, physical, etc.) and features clips and profiles of notable performers.

NOVA/National Geographic Special - “Ape Genius”  – Tuesday, 8pm – A reassessment of the intellectual abilities of the great apes, which include bonobos, chimps, gorillas and orangutans; and a possible explanation for why ape culture hasn’t evolved. Included: an experiment that compares chimps to toddlers.

FRONTLINE/WORLD – “Digital Dumping Ground” – Tuesday, 9pm – FRONTLINE/World presents a global investigation into the dirty secret of the digital age – the dumping of hundreds of millionsof pounds of electronic waste around the world each year.

POV – Tuesday, 10pm – Season 22 opens with “New Muslim Cool,” which chronicles the life of likable Hamza Pérez, a Puerto Rican Islam convert and talented rap artist (he teams with his brother Sulíman in M-Team) who moves to Pittsburgh to help form a Muslim community.

INSIDE THE BUDGET BATTLE – Wednesday, 9pm – Gov. Ed Rendell and Sen. Joseph Scarnati – who is also serving as the Lt. Governor – are interviewed about the PA budget.

THE MOON – Thursday, 9pm – Humans’ fascination with the moon is examined, with segments on Apollo missions; the space race in the 1960s; and various beliefs and myths about the celestial body. Also: a look at an educational group called the Moon Society; and a company that offers trips to the moon.