TV HIGHLIGHTS

Movie 13

Saturdays at S p.m. on J 3

Hollywood’s best comes to your house every weekend this month. On February 3, The Grapes of Wrath (pictured) brings the unforgettable poignance of John Steinbeck’s story about the Depression. Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell and John Carradine star in this drama directed by John Ford, Twelve O’clock High on February 10, is the taut World War II story of U.S. pilots fighting in England, with stellar performances by Gregory Peck, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe and Dean Jagger. Then, Alfred Hitchcock directs one of his most notable films in Lifeboat on February 17, Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak and Hume Cronyn star as shipwreck survivors adrift in a lonely vessel. Finally, on February 24, Desk Set features Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Joan Blondell and Gig Young. Playing an efficiency expert and a researcher, Tracy and Hepburn lock horns and hearts in this fast-paced comedy.

Frontline: The Noriega Connection

Tuesday, February 27, at 9p.m. on 13

General Manuel Noriega was indicted for drug smuggling. His country has suffered from U.S. economic sanctions. This episode of Frontline examines this former dictator, the confusion in American policy toward Panama and Noriega, and this country’s recent intervention in Panama.



Great Performances: The Margot Fonteyn Story

Sunday. February 18. at 1 p.m. on 13



Bob Fosse: Steam Heal

Sunday. February 25. at 1 p.m. on 13

On the threshold of her 70th birthday, Dame Margot Fonteyn recalls her life from her very first dancing lessons through a ballet career of international acclaim. Rudolf Nureyev, Fonteyn’s longtime partner, Ninette de Valois, founder of the Royal Ballet, and other distinguished members of the dance world comment on Fonteyn’s life and accomplishments. In another area of the dance world, Bob Fosse called himself “just a hoofer” – but audiences and colleagues alike knew him as an extraordinary artist and choreographer. In Bob Fosse: Steam Heat. Great Performances pays tribute to the man whose work won an unprecedented Oscar, Tony and Emmy for Cabaret, Pippin and Liza With a Z, respectively, in 1973.



Nova: The Big Spill

Tuesday, February 27, at 7p.m. on 13

Months after the Exxon tanker Valdez’s tragic accident, the Alaskan coast is still devastated by the oil spill. Nova focuses on a new angle to this environmental disaster, looking at how technology failed in preventing, containing and cleaning up the Alaskan spill.

Black History Month

Join Channel 13 and Channel 2 for a dazzling range of February programs marking Black History Month! Eyes on the Prize II, the acclaimed series on the American civil rights movement, continues Mondays at 9 p.m. on 13, with repeat broadcasts the following Fridays at 1 p.m. On Channel 2, Sunday, February 4, at 8 p.m., A Singing Stream traces 20th-century black history through the traditions of a Southern black family; and, at 9 p.m., Flyers in Search of a Dream tells the stories of early black aviators. On Sunday, February 11, at 9 p.m. on 2, a new documentary, No Father, No Mother, No Uncle Sam, tells the story of World War II babies born to British women and black American soldiers – and their abandonment by their parents and the U.S. Army, which refused to accept responsibility for them. Another new documentary, Black Stars in Orbit, profiles seven black astronauts, including Mae C. Jemison (pictured), whose perseverance and courage contributed to America’s efforts to conquer worlds beyond our own. Broadcast Friday, February 16, at 8 p.m. on 13, the documentary also celebrates other black professionals who worked behind the scenes of the space race. Following it, at 9 p.m. on 13, Zora Is My Name! is a joyous, often poignant celebration in stories and song of the life and works of writer and historian Zora Neale Hurston. Ruby Dee stars in this American Playhouse presentation, with special guest appearances by Flip Wilson and Louis Gossett Jr. In presentations from American Masters, one of this country’s most treasured musical talents is profiled in A Duke Named Ellington (Sunday, February 18, at 9 p.m. on 2), and a black performance group is celebrated in The Negro Ensemble Company (Sunday, February 18, at 8 p.m. on 2). Then, on Channel 2 on Sunday, February 25, colleagues such as Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, William Styron and others recall the author of Go Tell It on the Mountain in American Masters: James Baldwin: The Price of a Ticket at 8 p.m. Then, at 9:30 p.m., the work of a contemporary black writer is illuminated in Trey Ellis, which explores the regional roots of the author of the sparkling debut novel Platitudes. Finally, at 11 p.m., All Day and All Night: Memories From Beale Street Musicians captures the lifestyles of the musicians who lived on Memphis’ Beale Street in the 1920s through 1950s, when the music lasted “all day and all night.” Blues greats B.B. King, Rufus Thomas, Evelyn Young and many more appear.

Smithsonian World: A Moveable Feast

Wednesday, February 21, at & p.m. on 13

From Plymouth Rock to the Hard Rock, Americans have adapted their cuisine to meet changing demands. Veteran newsman Lloyd Dobyns hosts this fascinating look at our country’s ingenuity and innovation in kitchens and restaurants.



Drugs and the Frustrated American

Thursdays at 9 p.m. beginning February 8 on 2

Is “Just Say No” answer enough? This four-part series, produced by the Columbia University seminars on Media and Society, explores the complex dilemmas that confront police, legislators, judges, educators, parents and children on the devastation wreaked by drugs. Arthur Miller, Charles Nesson and Charles Ogletree serve as moderators for this series of discussions.

American Playhouse: Women and Wallace

Friday, February 2, at 9 p.m. on 13

This fresh, insightful comedy follows a young man as he tries to understand the women in his life and resolve the pain of his mother’s suicide. “She was sort of like Sylvia Plath, without the talent,” he says, describing his mother to one young woman. Jonathan Marc Sherman, winner of 1989s Young Playwright Festival, is the author of this moving comedy.



Decision ’90

Monday-Friday. February 26-Marck2, at 6:30p.m. on 13

Do you know who’s competing to represent you in the U.S. Congress and the Texas House of Representatives and Senate? Find out who the candidates are and what they stand for on Channel 13’s local election specials. On five consecutive evenings, moderators will interview the candidates and explore the issues that will affect our future.