TV Lookout: What to watch this week
digg it!
Facebook
del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit
By FRAZIER MOORE / The Associated Press
Humans may not be exactly kissing cousins with fruit flies. But we have more in common with them than we might expect.
We and fruit flies, too, have eight “master” genes that call the shots for what the tens of thousands of other genes should do in building a body.
“All animals, including humans, have a very similar set of basic genes, and yet we’re so different,” says geneticist Michael Levine in the documentary “How to Build a Better Being.”
This surprisingly cozy relationship has profound implications for how creatures — and their body parts — have evolved. The fin of a certain fish from nearly 400 million years ago evolved into a handlike appendage that humans have subsequently found, well, very handy as part of their own physical inventory.
In short, there’s always something new in evolution. And likewise, video games. For instance, the brand-new game Spore. It enables players to design a creature that will face the same life-or-death evolutionary challenges that animals in the real world must confront.
In “How to Build a Better Being,” Spore mastermind Will Wright meets with top scientists who are researching in the lab some of the creature-making principles Wright has replicated for the virtual arena of gaming.
Wright proves a worthy program host, and a fascinated student. Then, after time spent on the scientists’ turf, he invites them to take a break and, just for fun, apply their hard-earned knowledge of evolutionary creature-making in a round of gamesmanship by playing Spore.
“How to Build a Better Being” premieres on National Geographic Channel at 10 p.m. EDT Tuesday.
Other shows to look out for:
— When last spotted, the happy-go-lucky lads of “Entourage” weren’t feeling quite so happy or lucky. At the Cannes Film Festival, Vince’s new film, “Medellin” (his supposed dream project), had a disastrous screening. Now the dismal reviews continue to pile up. Vince hides out in a Mexican retreat with his chum Turtle and wonders if his career as a hot young marquee idol has vanished in a puff of smoke. Meanwhile, Vince’s best friend and manager, Eric, is struggling to hatch a plan for putting Vince back on top. Vince’s half brother, Drama, who in the past has lurked in Vince’s shadow as a would-be star, is doing well on TV — but turned into a prima donna. The fifth season of the Boyz-in-Hollywood comedy “Entourage” premieres on HBO at 10 p.m. EDT Sunday. Adrian Grenier stars as Vince, with Kevin Connolly as Eric, Kevin Dillon as Drama, Jerry Ferrara as Turtle and Jeremy Piven as Vince’s excitable agent, Ari.
— Go underground for the newest tough-guys-working reality series. It’s not about spies, and the only thing covert is that after more than 150 years toiling deep beneath New York, these urban miners remain a secret to most city dwellers. “Sandhogs” gets down with these subterranean builders of water and sewage tunnels, subway systems and bridge footings as they labor in holes that reach as far into the ground as Manhattan skyscrapers go up. The sandhogs work in conditions so dangerous they lose an average of one man per mile, but exciting and essential projects will take them far into the future. Projects include Water Tunnel No. 3, the largest public works construction project in the city’s history. The project, which began in 1970, is scheduled for completion by 2013. Meanwhile, the so-called East Side Access project will provide Long Island Rail Road service daily to Grand Central Terminal for 160,000 customers who currently depend on Pennsylvania Station, on the opposite side of the city. If there’s light at the end of the tunnel, it’s thanks to the sandhogs. A new “American Originals” series, the 11-episode “Sandhogs” premieres on History on Sunday at 10 p.m. EDT.
— You can observe the seventh anniversary of 9/11 with “Objects and Memory,” a meditation on how seemingly ordinary objects can serve as a link to past events and absent loved ones in the wake of catastrophic events. The documentary hears from survivors of some of those who lost their lives on Sept. 11. Following the massive cleanup at ground zero in Manhattan, simple everyday objects left behind by those victims — an ID card, a $2 bill — were returned to their survivors, who found a connection and a measure of comfort. “Objects and Memory” also visits the memorial site of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington to elaborate on the power of objects — from teddy bears to work boots — left at those sites. The film points out that the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the first public space in America where multitudes have expressed their feelings through an offering of personal objects — some 100,000 collected by the National Park Service since 1982. The film concludes that without such objects, the stories they represent would lack vibrancy, and that without the stories, the objects would lack significance. “Objects and Memory” is a moving exploration of how the two conjoin. It airs at 10 p.m. EDT Monday on PBS (check local listings).
— Shirley MacLaine brings high style to the title role of “Coco Chanel,” a three-hour portrait of the haute couture goddess whose name remains almost synonymous with fashion a generation after her death. Beginning in 1954, the film finds Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel failing with an all-important comeback collection. As told in flashbacks, the film recounts how she developed sewing skills as an orphan in a French convent school in the late 1800s. Then it moves forward as Coco, in adulthood, makes a splash with menswearlike suits, the iconic “little black dress” and her signature perfume, Chanel No. 5 — and even bounces back from her post-World II slump. Co-starring in the film is Malcolm McDowell as Marc Bouchier, her confidant and business associate. “Coco Chanel” premieres Saturday at 8 p.m. EDT on Lifetime.
Post Your Comment
Standards and RulesYour posted comment will appear after it has been approved.
Frequently asked questions about story commenting.