One of the New 7 Wonders of the World...

NOVA joins a new generation of archeologists as they probe areas of Machu Picchu that haven't been touched since the time of the Incas...perched atop a mountain crest in Peru, mysteriously abandoned more than four centuries ago, the site is the most famous archeological ruin in the Western hemisphere and an iconic symbol of the power and engineering prowess of the Inca. NOVA: THE GHOSTS OF MACHU PICCHU...8pm

Isn't the voter...at least a little responsible for his vote?

We hear that big money influences elections. Probably some truth to that, but what's more troubling in the age of the internet is the willingness of people to believe what they see on the tube, and not do a little research. In a special investigation in collaboration with Marketplace, FRONTLINE travels to the remote epicenter of the campaign finance debate for a tale of money, politics, and intrigue. How have campaigns changed in America? Ask Montana, which is playing host to a bitter race that is awash in mysterious money and could decide control of the U.S. Senate. FRONTLINE: BIG SKY, BIG MONEY...at a special time - 8:30pm

Where wizards get their snail mail...

Nature explores the world of the snowy owl, a bird recently made popular by Hedwig, Harry Potter's faithful companion. Turning fantasy into reality, "Magic of the Snowy Owl" takes an intimate look at how these majestic birds survive in one of the most isolated and inhospitable places on the planet. From the same filmmakers that brought us "Jungle Eagle", viewers will discover that these strikingly beautiful Arctic owls - essentially eagles, falcons and owls rolled into one - have a magic of their own...NATURE...7pm

In October 1962, the world held its breath...

While politicians desperately sought a solution to the Cuban Missile stand-off, nobody was aware what was happening beneath the waves but the men on the Russian B-59 submarine, submerged off the coast of Florida and trapped by US destroyers. Unable to contact Moscow and fearing war had begun, they debated launching nuclear torpedoes. As the two sides inched perilously close to nuclear war—far closer than we ever knew before–just one man stood between the Russian Captain's launch order and mutually assured destruction.“The Man Who Saved the World” combines tense drama with eyewitness accounts and expert testimony about some of the most critical events in the Cold War. That's tonight's HISTORY DETECTIVES...immediately following THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS: THREE MEN GO TO WAR...8PM

The art of the pivot...

That's when the moderator asks a question, and you bend the answer to include the points you really want to get across...both candidates are pros at the pivot, and even though tonight's focus is on foreign policy, many pundits believe the real issue to get attention is still the economy. We'll see. President Obama and Mitt Romney face off for the third and final debate tonight...8pm 

Mac Thornberry, Four Price, Marty Rowley on the issues...

Thursday night's League of Women Voters Candidates Forum played to a packed house of mostly seniors, with good questions for the candidates during Q & A session. Interesting exchange between State Board of Education candidates Republican Marty Rowley and Democrat Stephen Schafersman. KACV was there and the full session can be seen on our website at http://kacv.org/lwv_forum

VOCES present a documentary profiling three-time felon, one-time Tony Award-winner Lemon Anderson, an acclaimed Puerto Rican American poet who broke out on Broadway in Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam. Lemon's life personalizes the anguish of men, clinging to the margins of society, but fighting for something more...LEMON...Friday at 9pm

Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples showcase classic R&B, blues and pop on this weeks's AUSTIN CITY LIMITS in a new show featuring Raitt's songs from her latest album Slipstream, while Staples performs songs from You Are Not Alone and Staple Singers classics...a good time to be had by all.
Saturday at 10pm

And it wouldn't be the weekend, apparently, without new episodes of CALL THE MIDWIFE and MASTERPIECE CLASSIC: UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS SERIES 2...Sunday starting at 7pm 

More tales of the Dust Bowl...

How did he get the idea for this book...how did he get folks to open up about their experiences...what separates us from the rest of the country regarding how we deal with adversity...Timothy Egan, author of the The Worst Hard Time sits down with Ellen Roberston Green tonight to discuss how he came upon the Dust Bowl story, and how it influenced Ken Burns' documentary...CONVERSATION WITH TIMOTHY EGAN...8pm

And we're not talking Hugh Jackman here...

Tonight on NATURE...we go after the wolverine. Legend paints it as a solitary, bloodthirsty killer that roams the icy heart of the frozen north, taking down prey as large as moose, crushing bones to powder with its powerful jaws. This film takes viewers into the secretive world of the largest and least known member of the weasel family - hard-wired to endure an environment of scarcity, the wolverine is one of the most efficient and resourceful carnivores on Earth. NATURE...7pm

"I am a man," Standing Bear said at his trial...

"Standing Bear's Footsteps" is the story of an Indian chief who went to court to prove he was a person...and in the process redefined what it means to be an American. The documentary traces one man's journey from his Nebraska homeland to the malaria- infested plains of Indian Territory and finally to a trial that made front page news across America.  The film weaves interviews, re-creations and present day scenes to tell a story about human rights, one that resonates powerfully in the present. "I am a man," Standing Bear said at his trial. "The same God made us both." Independent Lens continues in it's new time...9pm

Frankly my dear...I don't give a...#%*#@?

"Gone with the Wind" created two of the world's greatest lovers, Scarlett and Rhett, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1937 and has sold more than 30 million copies. Born into Atlanta's upper crust in 1900, author Margaret Mitchell struggled with the changing role of women and the liberation of African Americans but also suffered from lifelong bouts of depression, until a tragic accident lead to her death in 1949. This film examines the amazing endurance of "Gone with the Wind" and reveals the seminal events of Mitchell's life...AMERICAN MASTER: MARGARET MITCHELL...Fri at 8pm

As a tropical storm beats down on an island in the Philippines, two sisters leave work and never make it home. Paco Larranaga, a 19-year-old student, is sentenced to death for their rape and murder, despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence. On this weeks POV, "GIVE UP TOMORROW" exposes shocking corruption within the judicial system of the Philippines and one of the most sensational trials in the country's history...Sat at 11pm

Hosted by Lisa Kudrow, ARTS AND THE MIND shares stories of how music, dance, painting, poetry and theater markedly improve well-being at both ends of life, and reveals the cutting-edge science that explains the powerful, positive impact of the arts on our brains...Sun at 2pm

And for your British tastes, don't forget the ongoing series CALL THE MIDWIFE and UPSTAIRS/DOWNSTAIRS continuing Sun beginning at 7pm

VP's are chosen, in part, to be the "attack dog"...

so when you get them together on stage, stand back and watch for fireworks. Tonight's debate, hosted by ABC's Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz promises to deliver...and while some say that historically VP's debating is inconsequential, no one will argue that in politics, context matters. Republican momentum built up since the 1st presidential debate has a chance to gain more strength...or be deflated in a dramatic fashion...depending in part on tonight's outcome.
PBS NEWSHOUR 2012 VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE...8pm 

He dug himself into an underground pit...and waited...

NATURE: SIBERIAN TIGER QUEST features the work of Korean cameraman Sooyong Park who literally hid in the hole for weeks at a time to get the shot...a very unique look at the Siberian Tiger living wild and free in Russia's far eastern forests...7pm

Tonight, as only they can, FRONTLINE goes really deep...

Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to tell their own stories, but in The Choice 2012, FRONTLINE goes far beyond the headlines on a journey deep into their worlds, among their friends and family, critics, and closest colleagues, to understand what drives these men. Based on dozens of new interviews and hundreds of hours of research, FRONTLINE's authoritative profiles that emerge are also a portrait of America in an era of uncertainty and a guide to the choices that lie ahead...THE CHOICE 2012...8pm

But Congressman Ryan didn't make the final edit...

INDEPENDENT LENS begins playing to a bigger audience by moving to Monday night following ANTIQUES ROADSHOW and MARKET WARRIORS...and it begins tonight with a powerful story most can relate to. "As Goes Janesville" traces the impact of the economic crisis on a little town in Wisconsin...which also happens to be VP Candidate Paul Ryan's home town. The film records two years in the lives of laid-off workers, business leaders and elected officials all trying to reinvent their lives and their midwestern town amid the closure of their GM plant, and America's worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. INDEPENDENT LENS...9pm

It bears repeating...they ride SIDE SADDLE!

SOUND TRACKS reporters bring you behind-the-scenes stories about the power of music to touch our hearts and shake things up. Explore the world. Embrace new artists. Connect through music. Segments include music by Wynton Marsalis, Youssou N'dour, and the outrageous group Of Monsters and Men. Four exceptional artists in live performances and revealing interviews show how music is changing the world...SOUND TRACKS... Friday at 8pm

Voces on PBS features a documentary about Mexican rodeo women competing in the National Charro Championships in Mexico...and they ride side saddle. ESCARAMUZA: RIDING FROM THE HEART...Friday at 9pm

Sunday's line-up includes the next episode of CALL THE MIDWIFE, life in WWII England amid the hardships of nurses and their patients...
UPSTAIRS/DOWNSTAIRS SERIES 2 begins anew, picking up the story of life at the estate on both ends of the dinner table...
and BROADWAY: THE AMERICAN MUSICAL chronicles the early history of the Great White Way, when the intersection of Broadway and 42nd was nobody's idea of "the crossroads of the world." But then came Ziegfeld, Irving Berlin, and George M. Cohan...all starting Sunday at 7pm

Each year, inaugurating a new season...since 1842!

Violin legend Itzhak Perlman joins the New York Philharmonic and music director Alan Gilbert for this season opening concert gala featuring works by Rimsky-Korsakoff, Massenet, Tchaikovsky, Sarasate, and music from John Williams' Schindler's List film score. At intermission taped segments with Perlman and family at home in Easthampton, New York and at the special music camp for gifted young musicians he and his wife, Toby, started nearly two decades ago...LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER: THE PHILHARMONIC OPENING GALA WITH ITZHAK PERLMAN...7pm

Cataclysmic meetings come in all sizes...

Kilauea, on Hawaii's Big Island is the world's most active volcano, erupting in 1983...and it hasn't stopped since...creating 544 acres of new land and consuming 200 homes. The most spectacular moment of creation is when lava pours into the ocean creating new land, the cataclysmic meeting of 2000 degree lava and 75 degree ocean water...NATURE: KILAUEA, MOUNTAIN OF FIRE...7pm

Speaking of cataclysmic meetings...the first presidential debate takes place in Denver tonight. President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney discuss the issues and differences in their campaigns with PBS's Jim Lehrer...must see TV. PBS NEWSHOUR DEBATES: SPECIAL REPORT...8pm 

I thought I had the first transistor radio...

HISTORY DETECTIVES delves into what could be a hand-drawn map of Valley Forge that George Washington used during the American Revolution...and talks to a Tucson man who has what could be one of the first transistor radios ever made. 7pm

And PBS continues with part 2 of HALF THE SKY: TURNING OPPRESSION INTO OPPORTUNITY FOR WOMEN WORLDWIDE...as Diane Lane and America Ferrera travel the world to shed light on the plight, as well as accomplishments of women fighting discrimination.
8pm

By survivng, these women can change the world...

In a typically brilliant move, PBS once again identifies a problem and then attacks it head on.
HALF THE SKY presents women and girls who are living under some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable -- and fighting bravely to change them. Their intimate, dramatic and immediate stories of struggle reflect viable and sustainable options for empowerment and offer an actionable blueprint for transformation. The series was filmed in 10 countries, from  Cambodia and Vietnam, to Kenya, India, and Pakistan. And even the United States.The 2 part film uses the star power of celebrities such as George Clooney, Meg Ryan and Olivia Wilde to shine a light on the issue. HALF THE SKY: TURNING OPPRESSION INTO OPPORTUNITY FOR WOMEN WORLDWIDE...8pm