Be careful what you wish for...

On Saturday we travel again from Lawrence Welk to iconic singer/songwriter Aimee Mann as she debuts on the ACL stage with tunes from her latest album...7pm and 10pm.

This week's POV features an exploration of how massive international efforts to alleviate poverty in Africa may be undermining the very communities they aim to benefit.
"Good Fortune" tells the stories of two Kenyans battling to save their homes from large-scale development present a unique opportunity see foreign aid through eyes of the people it is intended to help...11pm

And on Sunday you get a sneak preview of PBS' upcoming series "Circus," a sample of the series and a behind-the-scenes look at how the producers documented the dramatic lives of those working under the big tent to put on the traveling Big Apple Circus...9:30pm

I get by with a little help from my friends...

Tonight we have music from Ben Harper, one of music's most innovative modern bluesmen and an internationally recognized concert draw...and of course, Ringo is Ringo.
In the Egyptian wing of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Artists Den hosted a once-in-a-lifetime concert pairing music legend Ringo Starr with modern folk-funk master Ben Harper and Relentless7, along with singer-songwriter Joan Osborne...THE ARTISTS DEN...8pm

Two eggs, over easy, sausage and wheat...

For something completely different, PBS is offering BREAKFAST SPECIAL tonight at 7pm...a look at how we start the day in various parts of the country...I can smell the bacon from here...

And in Ken Burns' BASEBALL, rare newsreel film and interviews celebrate the glorious heyday of New York City baseball with some of its most memorable moments: the "shot heard round the world," Willie Mays' incredible catch in the 1954 World Series; and Don Larsen's perfect game. The highlight of the episode is 1955, when the Brooklyn Dodgers, sparked by Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella, finally win their first World Series, only to be moved by their owner to a new city 3,000 miles away: Los Angeles...8pm

Real controlled chaos...

Tonight's tv fare includes a fascinating dissection of what happens when two Boeing 747's airliners collide on the runway...NOVA: THE DEADLIEST PLANE CRASH...7PM

The DAYTRIPPER travels to Bastrop on his latest foray into "inner" Texas...8pm

The men and women of the USS Nimitz live beneath the runway of a major airport. They sleep on the roof of a nuclear power plant. It's a perilous environment. Their only bulwark against danger and chaos is to bond with their units on board the ship. The "Shooters," who launch the jets, have a "Circle of Trust"; the Ordies (ordnance personnel) pride themselves on being a "mafia"; the F-18 squadrons - the Black Aces, the Hoboes and the Marine Red Devils - are tight fraternities...this series will have you glued to the set...CARRIER...9PM

Finally back from vacation...

Tonight we begin a series dedicated to President Reagan's Secretary of State...
The first episode introduces George Shultz through the details of his early life: his service as a U.S. Marine, his academic career as a free-market economist at MIT and as dean of the business school at the University of Chicago and his early cabinet posts as secretary of labor and secretary of the treasury under President Nixon. As he's sworn in as secretary of state under President Reagan, the war in Lebanon presents a dangerous diplomatic challenge. A second crisis boils over when it's discovered that the CIA is secretly aiding Nicaraguan Contra rebels. Through it all, Shultz clings to one goal: to bring Ronald Reagan and the Soviet leaders together for the first time. TURMOIL & TRIUMPH: THE GEORGE SHULTZ YEARS...9pm

Music and movies...

This weekend offers some very interesting television viewing...from Lawrence Welk to Gnarls Barkley on Saturday...the annual Capitol Fourth concert on Sunday...and the first talking picture is investigated on History Detectives on Monday.

Of particular interest has got to be Saturday's POV...In this memoir, award-winning French filmmaker Agnes Varda (Vagabond, Cleo From 5 to 7) employs all the magic of cinema to juxtapose the real and the imagined, the past and the present, pain and joy. For this 81-year-old artist, memories live through her films. In "The Beaches of Agnes," she uses film clips, old photos and reenactments to revisit her Belgian youth, association with the French New Wave, marriage to director Jacques Demy (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) and the making of her movies...11pm

And he's married to Faith Hill...

In a record-shattering career, Tim McGraw has sold over 40 million albums, dominated the charts with 30 Number One singles and received three Grammys, among other countless awards. The 2009 release of his tenth studio album, Southern Voice, represents a new level of depth and intensity for the seasoned country artist, showcased on this episode of Soundstage. With a commanding stage presence, McGraw croons out his reflective and haunting new songs "If I Died Today" and "I'm Only Jesus." Other show highlights include "Live Like You Were Dying," "Good Girls" and "Still." SOUNDSTAGE in High Definition...8PM