Rabbit to Robot

Well, the digital transition has come and gone without much ado.  Be sure to check out wttwPrime on channel 11.2 over the air, or on Comcast 243.

Tonight, on wttwHD: After Antiques Roadshow at 8 pm, we air an American Experience about Roberto Clemente:

Baseball great Roberto Clemente’s talent and inimitable style drew legions of fans, but as this production reveals, he was more than an exceptional baseball player. He was also a committed humanitarian who challenged racial discrimination and worked for social justice.

On wttwPrime this evening, some interesting stuff:  At 7pm, the Nova presents “The Family that Walks on All Fours”, which is really fascinating:

An intense scientific debate has ignited around a quiet but extraordinary family living in rural Turkey — a family with five adults who walk on all fours. Since bipedality has long been considered one of the defining characteristics of modern humans, such a discovery raises fascinating questions about genetics, society and the evolutionary history of our species. Is this the anthropological find of the millennium or simply a unique medical case? In this moving documentary, NOVA sets out to unravel the controversy and meet the individuals who have captured the imagination of scientists around the world.

At 8pm, Nature chronicles “The Adventures of the Ultimate Spider-Hunter”:

Mild-mannered water treatment engineer by day, tarantula obsessive and arachnid guru by night, Martin Nicholas is the real Spiderman. And he’s out to find the most amazing spiders in the world. Featured in NATURE’s “Deep Jungle,” Nicholas travels the world in pursuit of exotic spiders, including the goliath bird-eater of Venezuela and a small South American spider that creates the biggest web in the world – up to 30 feet long

This week is Explorations Week on wttwPrime.  Tonight, travel to the Andes and Alaska with three programs that take you to the edge.

7pm – Touching the Void – Based on the international best-seller by renowned climber Joe Simpson, this show recounts the extraordinary story of a climb Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, undertook in the Peruvian Andes in 1985. The two ambitious young mountaineers set off to scale the hitherto unclimbed west face of Siula Grande, a remote and treacherous 21,000-foot peak. Starting their descent through a blizzard, Simpson fell and shattered his leg, launching a heroic battle for survival in which both men were faced with life-or-death decisions that tested the human spirit to its limit. Simpson and Yates return to Siula Grande together for the first time to retell their story for the cameras.

8:30pm – Art Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge goes to Alaska’s Gacier Bay.  The beautiful, protected waters in southeast Alaska are filled with islands and bays rich with wildlife. The concentration of diversity in this secluded environment is remarkable. Art goes by boat on a voyage of discovery, encountering dramatic calving glaciers and Sitka forests, breaching orcas and migrating humpbacks, eagles and barnacle-eating bears.

9pm – Gates of the Arctic: Alaska’s Brooks Range -  The mountain chain stretching across northern Alaska and into Canada’s Yukon Territory inspired a national wilderness-protection movement with its pristine vistas and habitats teeming with wildlife. This is one of the most remote and pristine places in North America.   The few travelers fortunate enough to visit the Brooks Range share their experiences, while stunning high-definition photography captures several brief and unexpected encounters some of region’s diverse animal life and a few of its exceptional local characters.