Worth Watching in August

	©2008 Jupiterimages Corporation

Television & Internet

PBS offers the only gavel-to-gavel broadcast of the DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION in Denver. Jim Lehrer anchors uninterrupted coverage of podium activities and speeches, plus reporting from the convention floor and newsmaker interviews. He’s joined by correspondents Gwen Ifill, Ray Suarez, Judy Woodruff, and Margaret Warner, and commentators David Brooks and Mark Shields. Presidential historians Michael Beschloss and Richard Norton Smith add their perspective, while Andy Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center, updates viewers with the latest polling information (August 25-28).

NBC and its sister networks showcase two weeks of international athletic competition when the OLYMPIC SUMMER GAMES commence in Beijing, China. Along with the Opening Ceremony and 3,600 hours of coverage -- highlighted by primetime broadcasts of swimming, gymnastics and beach volleyball -- more than 2,200 hours of live streaming video are accessible on the web site NBCOlympics.com (August 8-24).

OUT OF LEFT FIELD: THE MAKING OF THE CHINESE OLYMPIC BASEBALL TEAM chronicles how a former Major League Baseball manager Jim Lefebvre, and Hall of Fame pitcher Bruce Hurst worked to transform China’s fledgling national baseball team into a contender (PBS; August 14).

BBC AMERICA premieres the sci-fi series PRIMEVAL starring Douglas Henshall as an evolutionary zoologist who discovers prehistoric creatures – in essence, time-traveling dinosaurs – alive and well in the present day (August 9).

AARP TV has launched two new shows aimed at viewers over the age of 50. The half-hour lifestyle magazine MY GENERATION features experts on a range of personal issues, as well as profiles of inspiring individuals who make a difference. The consumer affairs program INSIDE E STREET explores topics such as Medicare and Medicaid, new designs for independent living, and advice on launching a successful second or third career. The programs are available at aarp.org/aarp/broadcast and on the cable network Retirement Living TV.

Julian Bond narrates a film entitled DOCUMENTING THE FACE OF AMERICA: ROY STRYKER AND THE FSA/OWI PHOTOGRAPHERS. It tells the stories behind the group of New Deal-sponsored photographers brought together by government bureaucrat Roy Stryker, including Gordon Parks, Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans, who traversed the country in the 1930s and early 1940s capturing the face of Depression-era America (PBS; August 18).

Film

Based on Ann Brashares' best-selling series of novels for young women, the sequel SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2 follows four lifelong friends as they continue the journey toward adulthood, discovering their individual talents and fears and coming to value more than ever the bond they share (August 6).

The documentary AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL examines the nation’s obsession with cosmetic surgery, delving into the culture of consumption and exposing the origins and risks surrounding the quest for physical perfection (August 1).

The 3-D animated adventure FLY ME TO THE MOON tracks three young flies as they stow away on the Apollo 11 space flight and become the first insects on the moon. Based on actual NASA transcripts of the 1969 mission, the movie features the voices of Kelly Ripa, Tim Curry, Ed Begley, Jr., and astronaut Buzz Aldrin (playing himself) and serves as an entertaining introduction to the space program (August 8).

In 1957, a barefooted, rag-tag team of boys from poverty-stricken Monterrey, Mexico, defied extraordinary odds to become the first foreign team to win the Little League World Series – doing so in a perfect game, the only one in championship history. THE PERFECT GAME tells the true story of how their miracle changed their lives and an entire city’s destiny (August 8).

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS is an animated spin-off of the Star Wars adventures and the prelude to a Cartoon Network series. Taking place in the period between “Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith,” the film introduces a female Jedi, Asoka, on the front lines of an intergalactic struggle between good and evil (August 15).

Immigration is the theme of the ensemble drama CROSSING OVER starring Harrison Ford, Sean Penn, Ray Liotta, and Ashley Judd. Set in Los Angeles, Wayne Kramer’s film explores the allure of the American dream and the reality faced by immigrants from around the world (August 22).

Video & DVD

ANTHONY WARRIOR OF GOD, an inspiring movie based on the life of St. Anthony of Padua stars Jordi Molla as the remarkable man whose deeply rooted faith enabled him to challenge society in support of his people. The family-friendly DVD has both historical and doctrinal resonance and is available at major retail and online stores.

POPE DREAMS is a heartfelt, music-filled coming-of-age story about a young man who wants his ailing mother to realize her dream of meeting the pope before she dies (August 26).

THE COUNTERFEITERS is the gripping Oscar-winning movie about detainees in a Nazi concentration camp who were compelled to forge Allied currencies near the end of WWII (August 5). Family audiences can enjoy NIM’S ISLAND, based on the beloved children’s novel by Wendy Orr, and starring Abigail Breslin and Jodie Foster (August 5).