PBS Primetime Programming for The Week of January 20

So, we're still questing for me to be in the next Bond movie (or the one after). Remember, I'm not asking for a speaking role, just the chance to stand in the background and to try not to be overly giddy with excitement. That last little bit will be incredibly difficult, but I think it's the sort of thing that I can manage, if I have time to practice. So, let's get cracking and let's get me onto the set of the newest James Bond movie.

Sunday, January 20:

8:00 - 9:00PM

Nature - “Dogs That Changed the World: Dogs by Design”. How’s this for awesome — as more breeds of dogs are created and mixed and transformed and changed and what-not, our relationship to dogs change. As do theirs to us. What’s up with that?

9:00 – 10:30PM

Masterpiece Theatre – "The Complete Jane Austen". Holy macaroni! They're going to show, pretty much every Jane Austen work they can get their hands on. That's actually why they call it "The Complete Jane Austen" — they're going to show all of it. Up this week, "Northanger Abbey."

10:30 – 11:00PM

Encore! With James Conlon – "Tradition or Innovation?” Which God is more your speed? It’s music making explored through mythological paradigm. Because it all wasn’t confusing enough.

Monday, January 21:

8:00 - 9:00PM

Antiques Roadshow – "Baltimore (Hour Three)". I used to live in Baltimore. I know about antiques in Baltimore. The city mentality is antique. The city's actions are antique. The city's persona is antique. And, none of that is antique in a good way, it's all, frankly, just old and outdated.

9:00 – 10:00PM

American Experience – "The Lobotomist". The New York Times - yes, that New York Times - hailed the lobotomy as a "surgery of the soul." Turn out that they may have made a mistake. A mistake was also made by Walter J. Freeman, who helped make the surgery popular (albeit for a short period of time). Learn more about Dr. Freeman and his surgery here.

10:00 – 11:30PM

American Idealist: The Story of Sargent Shriver. While I am an American, I am certainly in no way an idealist. I travel much more down the "realist" track. Robert Sargent Shriver did not. He founded the Peace Corps, VISTA, Community Action, Head Start, Legal Services for the Poor, Youth Corps, Job Corps, and apparently some other things, too. Maybe I should be an idealist, then I could have my own documentary.

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. …

Visit Josh Lasser's author page — Josh Lasser's Blog