TV: Five shows worth watching tonight: April 25
Your select viewing guide for Wednesday, April 25
SCIENCE Nature PBS, 8 p.m. ET/PT Right around this time in 1986, the eyes of the world were on the Chernobyl power plant in the Ukraine as the worst nuclear accident in history unfolded. After the disaster, the government relocated all the people living in the area to non-toxic areas and the plant was abandoned. Tonight's episode of this venerable science series revisits the site and discovers that, in the absence of humans, the dead zone has returned to its natural state and is now populated with bison, horses and birds and ruled in vicious fashion by wolves. The program documents the efforts of Ukrainian wolf expert Maryna Shkvyrya to learn why the lupine population just keeps growing and growing.
COMEDY Best Friends Forever NBC, CTV Two, 8:30 p.m. ET/PT Critics have not been kind to this new sitcom, but the ratings are solid. Launched two weeks ago, the show's premise casts the engaging Jessica St. Clair, best known for her standout role in Bridesmaids, as Jessica, a young woman recently divorced from her stuffy husband and once again sharing an apartment with her wacky best friend Lennon (Lennon Parnham). The premise may be a tad threadbare, but the show's writers certainly know how to work social media into the stories. In tonight's show, Jessica dives back into the dating game when she receives a Facebook message from a former crush. Her lesson: Always check your new friend's relationship status.
FOOD World's Weirdest Restaurants Food Network, 9 p.m. ET/PT Is it possible Bob Blumer's entire motive for making this show was to collect air miles? The new series takes him all over the globe in search of extreme eateries promising a unique dining experience. In tonight's first episode alone, the big guy stops in San Francisco to visit the strange establishment called Straw, where customers can play midway games while scarfing down burgers. Next destination: Tokyo, where he meets the Mad Hatter at an Alice in Wonderland-themed restaurant, which he follows with quick stops in Amsterdam and the Czech Republic, where he visits a restaurant where you can sample the local beer while bathing in it.
MOVIE Whale Music Bravo!, 9 p.m. ET; 6 p.m. PT The must-see movie of the 1994 Toronto International Film Festival, this Canadian feature stars Maury Chaykin in one of his most memorable screen performances. The late actor channels the former Beach Boy Brian Wilson for his haunting portrayal of Desmond Howl, a retired rock star who went into seclusion in his palatial seaside mansion following the death of his younger brother years before. While composing a symphony for the whales that gather in the ocean near his estate, Desmond is startled to wake up one day to find a young woman named Claire (Cyndy Preston) in his living room, and even more surprised when the intruder becomes his muse. The movie is based on the book by the late Paul Quarrington, who can be seen in a cameo role as a bartender.