MPTV Premieres & Highlights: August 2011

National Parks: America's Best Idea

The Morning of Creation (1946-1980)"

August 1st / 8:00 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

A stubborn biologist fights a lonely battle on behalf of a species; America's "Last Frontier" becomes a testing ground for the future of the park idea; and in unprecedented numbers, American families create unforgettable memories, passing on a love of the parks to the next generation. (6 of 6)
Length: 01:56:46 / Episode: #106H / Source: PBS0

Website: http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/

Live from Lincoln Center

Mostly Mozart Festival Opening Night

August 2nd / 7:00 pm / MPTV HD 10.1 and 36.2

Violinist Christian Tetzlaff and violist Antoine Tamestit under music director Louis Langree lead the gala. American Susanna Phillips is the featured soprano.
Length: 01:56:46 / Episode: #3602H / Source: PBS0

Touching Evil

August 2nd / 8:00 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

The situation with the missing children is made worse when the team begins to question Creegan's approach. He is grateful when a breakthrough comes from an unlikely quarter, but the pressure is on to find the boys before it is too late.
Length: 00:50:30 / Episode: #102 / Source: EPS0

Additional episodes air on Tuesdays, August 9, 16, 23, and 30.

POV

Steam of Life

August 2nd / 9:00 pm / MPTV HD 10.1 and 36.2

A surprising glimpse into the lives of Finnish men, as they sweat out the grime of contemporary life in saunas--sharing their grief, hopes, joys and memories.
Length: 00:56:46 / Episode: #2407H / Source: PBS0

Website: http://www.pbs.org/pov/

Agatha Christie's Poirot

The Theft of the Royal Ruby

August 2nd / 9:00 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

In a London restaurant, a drunken young prince staggers after his female companion who has stolen his priceless ruby. Poirot must spend Christmas at the home of one of the only people who knows about the precious stone--Egyptologist Colonel Lacey.
Length: 00:46:49 / Episode: #308 / Source: APTSY0

Additional episodes air on August 9, 16, 23, and 30.

Antiques Roadshow

Grand Rapids, Mich., Hour 1

August 3rd / 8:00 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

At the Gilmore Car Museum near Grand Rapids, Michigan, a look is taken at its collection of more than 1,500 hood ornaments or "mascots." Appraisal highlights: a letter from Grand Rapids native son, Gerald Ford, written in 1967 to his former kindergarten teacher; a pair of earrings made from cufflinks given to the guest's grandfather by Czar Nicholas of Russia; and an 1881 painting by noted Hudson River School artist Jasper Cropsey, valued at $300,000.
Length: 00:56:46 / Episode: #1313H / Source: PBS0

Additional episodes air August 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31.

Website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/index.html

Above Yellowstone

August 3rd / 9:30 pm / MPTV HD 10.1 and 36.2

This aerial tour of Yellowstone National Park celebrates its natural wonders and provides a brief history of its geology, Native peoples, wildlife and its current status as a tourist destination. Highlights include the Lamar Valley, The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Forest Fire, The Geyser Basins and parts of Yellowstone as seen during the flight of a Bald Eagle.
Length: 00:28:36 / Episode: #0H / Source: APTPS0

Inspector Morse

Second Time Around - Part 1

August 4th / 8:00 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

The mysterious death of a former deputy police commissioner brings Morse (John Thaw) into reluctant contact with an old rival. Morse and Lewis (Kevin Whately), in uneasy tandem with Dawson, spot a link with the unsolved murder of a young girl 18 years earlier.
Length: 00:57:34 / Episode: #205 / Source: EPS0

Additional episodes air: August 11, 18, and 25.

Masterpiece Classic

Emma - Part 1

August 5th / 8:00 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

Emma Woodhouse thinks herself the perfect matchmaker for others. Her friend Mr. Knightley has his doubts. Undeterred, she takes on the matrimonial cause of Harriet Smith (Louise Dylan), with unanticipated results. This lavish adaptation of Jane Austen's popular novel features Romola Garai (Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Endgame,Eli Stone). (1 of 3)
Length: 01:56:45 / Episode: #4003H / Source: PBS0

Additional episodes air August 12 and 19.

Website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/emma/

Movie

The Dirty Dozen (1967)

August 6th / 7:00 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

A band of criminals get a chance to redeem themselves in WWII. Staring: Robert Aldrich, Lee Marvin, and Ernest Borgnine.
Length: 02:29:49 / Episode: #195H / Source: APTSY0

Additional movies on Saturdays at 7 are:
August 13, Love Affair (1939)
August 20, His Girl Friday (1940)
August 27, How I Won the War (1967)

Consider The Conversation: A Documentary on a Taboo Subject

August 7th / 3:00 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

This film sheds light on the 21st century American struggle with communication and preparation for end-of-life care. Multiple perspectives are featured, including information and experiences gathered from interviews with patients, family members, doctors, nurses, clergy, social workers, and national experts on death and dying.
Length: 00:56:46 / Episode: #0 / Source: NETA0

Website: http://www.considertheconversation.org/

Secrets of the Dead

Aztec Massacre

August 7th / 8:00 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

This episode paints a new picture of the violent relations between the Aztecs and the Conquistadors, and rewrites much of what we thought we knew about the Aztec civilization. Forensic and archeological techniques explain how Spanish colonists met their gruesome end.
Length: 00:56:46 / Episode: #701Z / Source: PBS0

Additional episodes:
August 14, 8:00 PM, Japanese Supersubs
August 14, 9:00 PM, Airmen and the Headhunters
August 28, 8:00 PM, Doping for Gold

Website: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/

On The Trail, An In Wisconsin Special

August 8th / 8:00 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

The Great Wisconsin Birding and Nature Trail is explored, with a look at some of the best nature-observation opportunities in each of the state's 72 counties. Highlights include: wildlife at Jefferson County's Rose Lake; turkey vultures congregating in the air above Devil's Lake State Park in Baraboo; the annual crane count at the Zeloski Marsh in Jefferson County, and more stops with stunning footage.
Length: 00:57:46 / Episode: #0 / Source: WHA

Wolves In Wisconsin

August 15th / 8:00 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

The history of the gray wolf in Wisconsin is traced, from an endangered species to the controversy surrounding the animals' return. While some welcome the populations increases across the state, others have concerns.
Length: 00:55:14 / Episode: #0 / Source: WPT

Attenborough Collection

Wolf: Legendary Predator

August 15th / 9:00 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

Persecuted relentlessly by man, they have survived only in the remotest parts of the Northern Hemisphere. David Attenborough follows the trail of the wild wolves who make their living in the rural parts of Canada, America, Europe and India--and whose remarkable intelligence, teamwork and tenacity allows them to kill prey 10 times their size.
Length: 00:49:33 / Episode: #111 / Source: BBC

Over 90 and Loving It

August 20th / 8:33 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

An inspirational group of people in their 90s and 100s who continue to lead full and passionate lives are profiled. The documentary introduces a wide range of engaging characters--from a legendary folk singer to a senior Olympian to a New York City taxi-cab driver. They discuss the benefits of keeping physically active; maintaining a positive attitude; embracing maturity; staying curious about the future but engaged in the present; making a difference in the lives of others; and, ultimately, learning to gracefully accept death as an inevitable part of life.
Length: 00:56:46 / Episode: #0H / Source: APTEX

Hawaii: Roots of Fire

August 21st / 9:30 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

Scientists compile evidence to shed new light on the mysterious inner Earth process that has been producing giant volcanoes in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for more than 75 million years.
Length: 00:26:46 / Episode: #0H / Source: NETA0

Website: http://www.earthimage.org/Home.html

Dinosaur Big City

August 22nd / 9:00 am / MPTV HD 10.1 and 36.2

Monday, August 22, 2011 / 9:00 AM
Buddy and the Pteranodon family ride the Dinosaur Train, picking up theropod friends including King Cryolophosaurus, as they head for a big Theropod Club Convention in Laramidia. Dinosaur Big City also airs at 1:00 PM.

Length: 00:58:46 / Episode: #0H / Source: PBS0

Journey to Palomar

August 22nd / 8:00 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

American astronomer George Ellery Hale's dramatic public and private struggle to build the four largest telescopes in the world is told. His efforts set the stage for astronomy and space exploration throughout the 20th century. From building these great instruments, culminating with the million-pound telescope on Palomar Mountain--the most famous telescope in the world, Hale's lifelong struggle is traced.
Length: 01:26:46 / Episode: #0 / Source: PBS0

Website: http://www.journeytopalomar.org/

RFK in the Land of Apartheid: A Ripple of Hope

August 22nd / 9:00 pm / MPTV HD 10.1 and 36.2

Robert Kennedy's 1966 visit to South Africa during the worst years of Apartheid is captured-with never before seen archival footage and interviews. Senator Kennedy is followed to the site of his famous "Ripple of Hope" speech at the University of Cape Town and his encounter with Afrikaans students at Stellenbosch, the pro-Apartheid university. With an original sound track by American musician Jason Moran and voices from the University of Cape Town Africa Choir, the film evokes the connections between the American Civil Rights Movement and the Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa.
Length: 00:56:46 / Episode: #0 / Source: PBS0

Website: http://www.rfksafilm.org/

Historic Railway Lodges of the West

August 22nd / 9:30 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

The history and accommodations of four historic railway lodges are explored, the Belton Chalet, Izaak Walton Inn, Glacier Park Lodge and La Posada Hotel. Archival photos, maps, interviews with lodge owners and managers detail their past and present relationship to passenger trains. These four lodges (built between 1910 & 1939) have the distinction of still having direct Amtrak passenger train service to within 500 yards of their front door.
Length: 00:29:04 / Episode: #0 / Source: NETA0

Website: http://www.outwestmedia-online.com/

POV

Short Cuts

August 23rd / 9:00 pm / MPTV HD 10.1 and 36.2

A collection of documentary short films are presented, including a glimpse into the world of competitive bird watching; an artist's story of her long-distance relationship with a plastic surgeon; and, one woman's struggle to hold onto the most contested object in her divorce-- the Tiffany lamp.
Length: 00:56:46 / Episode: #2408H / Source: PBS0

Website: http://www.pbs.org/pov/

Masterpiece Mystery!

Wallander - Series I: Sidetracked

August 25th / 8:00 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

Kenneth Branagh stars as "the Norse Morse," Inspector Kurt Wallander, the scruffy Swedish sleuth created by best-selling author Henning Mankell. Wallander must save Sweden from anarchy and bizarre crimes. (15 of 24)
Length: 01:26:06 / Episode: #3915H / Source: PBS0

Website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/mystery/index.html

Growing Up On Tilghman

August 25th / 9:30 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

Residents fondly recall the history and challenges of living on the Chesapeake Bay. The community valued hard work, ingenuity, good humor, and the beauty and power of the natural world.
Length: 00:28:33 / Episode: #0H / Source: WMPT0

Website: http://www.mpt.org/bayweek/

Masterpiece Classic

South Riding - Part 1

August 26th / 8:00 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

Ambitious teacher Sarah Burton (Anna Maxwell Martin) returns to her Yorkshire origins to apply for the job of headmistress at the local girl's school. Landowner Robert Carne (David Morrissey) mistrusts all she stands for. Penelope Wilton also stars. Bsed on Winifred Holtby's 1936 novel of social consciousness and secret romance. (1 of 3)
Length: 00:56:46 / Episode: #4111H / Source: PBS0

Website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/southriding/index.html

Episodes continue in September.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Rob on the Road

August 27th / 9:00 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

Rob Stewart visits some of California's best museums highlighting the state's rich transportation history. Stops include the world-renowned California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento's historic Old Town; the Aerospace Museum of California, located inside a U.S. Air Force base dating back to WWII; and the California Automobile Museum, home of hundreds of vintage cars and trucks representing every era of American motoring.
Length: 00:26:46 / Episode: #0H / Source: NETA0

Website: http://www.kvie.org/programs/kvie/viewfinder/default.htm

Mark Twain

Part One

August 29th / 8:00 pm / MPTV Digital 36.1

Ken Burns profiles Mark Twain in this two-part special. It is a story of humble beginnings, a meteoric rise to fame and the burden and tragedy of personal hardships. Twain's story is really that of two men: Sam Clemens, a devoted family man who lost nearly everything to tragedy, and Mark Twain, the astonishingly successful writer who became the enduring voice of a nation, nearly single-handedly inventing American literature.
Length: 01:52:54 / Episode: #101 / Source: PBS0

Website: http://www.pbs.org/marktwain/

POV

Armadillo

August 30th / 9:00 pm / MPTV HD 10.1 and 36.2

Janus Metz and cameraman Lars Skree accompany a platoon of Danish soldiers to Armadillo, a combat operations base in southern Afghanistan. Their film captures the lives of young soldiers fighting the Taliban in a hostile and confusing environment.
Length: 01:26:46 / Episode: #2409H / Source: PBS0

Website: http://www.pbs.org/pov/