“Shark Week”
Tuesday-Saturday 9pm, Discovery Channel
Sometimes I feel like it’s always “Shark Week” on Discovery Channel. But that’s not a bad thing—once you start watching these oddly graceful killing machines it’s tough to stop. The programming for this 20th edition of “Shark Week” includes “Perfect Predators” (Wednesday), which examines how sharks evolved into 400 very different species; “Shark Tribe” (Thursday) about a New Guinea tribe of “shark whisperers” that attracts sharks without using any bait; and “Sharkman” (Saturday) in which hypnotist Michael Rutzen attempts to put a great white shark into a sleeplike state to reveal its softer side. I kind of hope the shark eats him. (I doubt that will happen.)
“Who Wants to Be a Superhero?”
Thursday 9pm, Sci-Fi Network
Last year I was uneasy about this reality show in which comic legend Stan Lee put a group of oddballs through a series of tests to determine who would be America’s Next Top Superhero (i.e., having the character immortalized in a comic book). But it turned out to be a genuinely heart-warming affair with lots of fun twists. Cheesy as hell, but that comes with the territory. The second series includes 10 new heroes competing in caps and tights, including clean freak homemaker Hygena, gadget-equipped super cop The Defuser and a chubby cashier named Mindset who I expect will go to the dark side by Episode 6.
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Saturday 8pm, TCM
I’ve been on a classics kick lately, and TCM and AMC have become must-flick channels. If you’re in a contemplative mood you couldn’t do much better than this 1957 epic directed by David Lean and featuring Alec Guinness as a WWII POW who leads his fellow Brits in building a bridge for an enemy railroad. Although the Brits’ initial thought is to sabotage the project, Guinness convinces them that the bridge is a symbol of British excellence. That’s…not quite how it works out, especially once the Allies enter the picture.
