TV: Five shows worth watching tonight: Sept. 13
FILM Trekkies Space, 9:05 p.m. Fans of Star Trek are everywhere in the universe. In this 1997 documentary, the actress Denise Crosby, who played security chief Tasha Yar on the spinoff series Star Trek: The Next Generation, introduces viewers to Trek devotees for whom the show has become a way of life. The highlights include a visit with members of a fan club devoted wholly to the worship of Brent Spiner (who played the android Data on Next Generation) and an interview with Barbara Adams, who, while serving in 1996 as an alternate juror in the Whitewater trial, repeatedly showed up for court in full Starfleet uniform. Live long and prosper.
DRAMA Parenthood NBC, Global, 10 p.m. Beginning its third season tonight, this series, based on a 1989 feature film, focuses on the members of the indomitable Braverman clan, all of whom are in various stages of parenthood. In the opener, Sarah Braverman (Lauren Graham) struggles with her looming 40th-birthday bash, while her brother Adam (Peter Krause) feels pressure to increase his income to support his growing family. In other news, youngest child Julia (Erika Christensen) dreams up a bizarre scheme to bypass the frustrating adoption process. Life goes on.
COMEDY The Rick Mercer Report CBC, 8 p.m. Is there a braver man on Canadian television than Rick Mercer? In tonight¹s ninth-season opener, our lad teams with singer Jann Arden for a hands-free ³Edgewalk² outside the top of Toronto¹s 533-metre high CN Tower. In the same show, Mercer travels to Campbell River, B.C., to go snorkeling with salmon. In other news, recent events in Canadian politics should supply Mercer with more than enough material for one of his trademark ³Rick¹s Rants.² Welcome back.
NEWS Jacqueline Kennedy: In Her Own Words ABC, CTV Two, 9 p.m. Expect this show to raise the hackles of some U.S. viewers. Timed to coincide with this week’s publication of Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy, the program will feature recorded interviews of conversations between the former first lady and historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. that took place shortly after JFK’s assassination in November, 1963. Among other revelations, the program is expected to feature Jackie discussing her belief that gunman Lee Harvey Oswald was a patsy for Texas tycoons in a plot to murder her husband. Diane Sawyer hosts.
REALITY My House, Your Money W, 7:30 p.m. It’s a situation that arises every day across the country. Some starry-eyed kid wants to buy a house, but doesn’t have the necessary funds. Family members have the cash, but they also want a say in the deal. What to do? This new series goes behind the scenes as prospective home-buyers turn to their families for financial aid in order to buy their dream domicile. In the opener, medical student Thomas wants to buy a trendy downtown condo. His doting parents Izabela and Ludwig have the down payment and are down with the plan, but they’ve already rejected all of their son’s housing choices. Buckle up for the family feud.Getty Images/Stockdisc