PBS Primetime Programming for the Week of December 6

Last year, for the holidays, I made a pretty swell gingerbread house. I had never made one before, but in my desire to impart new traditions to my small but growing family I decided that a gingerbread house could be great. It was. It was truly excellent. Of course the first one didn't quite work out as I had hoped.

Sunday, December 6:

8:00 - 9:00PM

Nature – "The Dragon Chronicles." See, I find this a little amusing. A show entitled "Nature" is going to be looking for dragons, and I don't mean little komodo dragons, I mean the fire-breathing, flying kind. You know, the kind of dragon that goes after unsuspecting little hobbits.

9:00 – 11:00PM

Great Performances - “Barenboim on Beethoven”. He’s not actually on Beethoven, it’s more like he does Beethoven. Wait, that’s not quite right either. He’s not doing Beethoven as much as he’s performing Beethoven. Or, better still, Beethoven’s music, he’s doing Beethoven’s music. Oh forget it, I give up.

Monday, December 7:

8:00 - 9:00PM

Antiques Roadshow - “Mobile (Hour Three)”. I know what you’re thinking and you’re wrong (and, not funny, but who am I to throw stones) — this week’s episode is not literally on the road moving around, it’s in Alabama. But, I do want you to know that I appreciate the notion that you’d try and tell a joke, no matter how badly you failed at it. Good on you.

9:00 – 11:00PM

Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil and the Presidency. Andrew Jackson did some great things. Andrew Jackson did some terrible things. Andrew Jackson also did some presidential things. One must wonder whether he did more good, more evil, or more presidential. See, if you did the documentary on George W. Bush you couldn't really discuss two of those three areas.

Tuesday, December 8:

8:00 – 9:00PM

Nova - “Volcano Above the Clouds”. Back in 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted. It was a bad thing. Could Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro suffer the same fate, destroying lands for hundreds of square miles around it? I think it should be circular miles, but maybe not.

9:00 – 10:00PM

Frontline – "The Madoff Affair." Law & Order has already done their episode on Madoff, so why not Frontline too? I assume that the Frontline version will be far more factual than L&O’s, and while that’s good it doesn’t return the money he stole, some of which, we all know, will be kept by his family for years on end.

Article Author: Josh Lasser

Josh Lasser, formerly known as "TV and Film Guy," and complete with a Masters Degree in Critical Studies in said areas, gives his opinions on TV, Film, and Entertainment in general. All of which he does in a shameless attempt to try to get paid to do the exact same thing. …

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