TV program notes -- week of Feb. 17

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Here are some television program notes for the week of Feb. 17 with their TV Parental Guidelines ratings if available. They have not all been reviewed and therefore are not necessarily recommended by the Office for Film & Broadcasting.

Sunday, Feb. 17, 1:30-3 p.m. EST (EWTN) "Monteverdi's Vespers of the Blessed Virgin." Jacqueline Leary-Warsaw hosts a performance of Monteverdi's Vespers of the Blessed Virgin, performed by the Gachinger Kantorei and the Bach-Collegium, and conducted by Helmuth Rilling.

Monday, Feb. 18, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. EST (Animal Planet) "President's Day Marathon." The day's theme of saluting "All American Animals" includes such programs as "Leave It to the Real Beavers," "The Secret Life of Otters," separate "Profiles of Nature" installments on "Badgers: Dishing the Dirt," "Coyotes," "Black Bears: Trouble Bruin" and "Moose: The Moody Monarch," plus "Natural World: Big Sky Bears," and "Natural World: Caribou and Wolves."

Monday, Feb. 18, 9-10:30 p.m. EST (PBS) "Kit Carson." Combining archival materials of the period with re-creations, this program profiles the legendary trapper, scout and soldier. Stephen Ives' "American Experience" documentary shows a life that embodied the contradictions in the building of the American West. An illiterate mountain man, Carson was fluent in Spanish and five Indian languages; he twice married Native-American women, yet led a brutal war against the Navajo. When the West was a mystery to most Americans, Carson mastered it, and his expertise made him not only famous but also sought after. One particularly poignant episode concerns his failed attempt to rescue a widow, captured by Indians, whose still-warm body was found near one of the fictitious Kit Carson novels describing just such a rescue. Featuring interviews with knowledgeable historians and even Carson's great-grandson, this program illuminates a pivotal time in our history and a legendary hero whose life remains a paradox. It's an absorbing story and well told (TV-PG -- parental guidance suggested).

Monday, Feb. 18, 9-11 p.m. EST (History) "The Greatest Joke Ever Told, With Lewis Black." The comedian's diverting and provocative quest for the secret ingredients of a great joke. Black looks to history for the greatest joke, and discovers living history among America's greatest joke tellers, including George Carlin, Shelley Berman, Robin Williams, Robert Klein, Kathleen Madigan, Penn & Teller, Kathy Griffin and Dave Attell; he also looks to the future of joke-telling, with jokes and interviews from more than 50 stand-up comedians working today.

Tuesday, Feb. 19, various times (check local listings) (PBS) "Cyberchase." The math mystery cartoon launches a new initiative called "Builders' Math" that calls on the CyberSquad to build their way out of jams, rectify their mistakes in calculation and master math ideas. The initiative features five programs, including three new episodes. In the first, "Unhappily Ever After," as Hacker schemes to turn Happily-Ever-Afterville into Unhappily-Ever-Afterville, the CyberSquad must stop him by making precisely fitted lids for three nesting boxes, teaching measurement, cutting, and geometry in the process. A live-action follow-up segment cleverly mirrors the lessons taught in the animated story to show real-life application.

Tuesday, Feb. 19, 9-10 p.m. EST (History) "Constellations." This episode of "The Universe" explores some of the 88 official constellations, pointing out some of the highlights of each -- like the star that's due to go supernova in the constellation Orion, and the pulsating star in the constellation Cepheus that unlocked the secret to calculating our distance from the stars. This episode also examines the 13th zodiac sign that no one talks about, and explains why Polaris, the North Star, will one day have to surrender its title.

Wednesday, Feb. 20, 9-11:30 p.m. EST (PBS) "Company." Handsome filming of Stephen Sondheim's 1970 Broadway musical (book by George Furth), as seen in its acclaimed 2006-07 Tony Award-winning revival. Raul Esparza stars in the role of Bobby, a confirmed bachelor celebrating his 35th birthday with his 10 closest friends (who also happen to be five couples), the production was directed by John Doyle, whose unconventional approach includes the versatile actors doubling as orchestra musicians for such songs as "Another Hundred People," "The Ladies Who Lunch" and "Being Alive." Best for adults and older teens. A "Great Performances" presentation (TV-PG -- parental guidance suggested).

Thursday, Feb. 21, 6:30-8 p.m. EST (Cinemax) "The One Percent." Documentary on the growing "wealth gap" in America, as seen through the eyes of 27-year-old filmmaker Jamie Johnson, is an heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune.

Friday, Feb. 22, various times (check local listings) (PBS) "Tony Brown's Journal." Host Brown sits down for a candid chat with Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas (the only African-American justice) -- who came to national prominence during his controversial 1991 confirmation hearings -- to discuss affirmative action, judicial temperament and his autobiography, "My Grandfather's Son." During the interview, Brown likens Thomas -- who studied at Holy Cross, a Jesuit college in Massachusetts -- to a "frustrated Catholic priest," a vocation Thomas confirms he had initially intended to pursue. Brief excerpts from an early 1983 interview provide an interesting contrast.

Saturday, Feb. 23, 8-9 p.m. EST (EWTN) "Edge of Europe." A documentary look at some of the earliest monks of Ireland and the monasteries they founded.

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