It’s probably not on President Bush’s must-see-TV list. The History Channel explores, not intelligent design, but good ol’ science in “Ape to Man” Sunday night.
The two-hour program, which begins at 7 p.m., makes no bones (sorry) about which side it’s on, using re-creations, paleanthropology and the ever-elusive “missing link” to chart man’s course from 40,000 years ago as evolution, not creationism.
The program unabashedly admits research mistakes were made along the way as it attempts to pin down the origins of present-day humans. Believe it or don’t, survival of the fittest came down to tool-making abilities, not brain size.
Other weekend highlights:
Today
Given the troubles aboard the space shuttle Discovery this week, it’s a good time to take another look at the 1995 true-life space thriller “Apollo 13,” starring Tom Hanks, Ed Harris, Gary Sinise and Kevin Bacon (5 p.m., Bravo).
The second of three reruns of “Veronica Mars,” borrowed from sister station UPN, finds our heroine framed and arrested for selling false IDs (7 p.m., KCNC-Channel 4).
Saturday
Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves and Abdul Duke Fakir walk us through the golden age of Motown in the 2 1/2-hour “My Music No.202: The Motown Sound: The ’80s” (7 p.m., KRMA-Channel 6).
For the “tween-agers” in the house, “Naturally, Sadie” is a new comedy series that should appeal to the not-quite-high-schooler crowd. Clever writing surrounds 14-year-old Sadie Hawthorne as she navigates her way around family and friends. For once, a non-offensive but interesting show for kids (7 p.m., Disney Channel).
Sunday
Mary-Louise Parker is a suburban housewife supporting her family by peddling marijuana-laced baked goods to the town’s prominent citizens in the debut of “Weeds” (9 p.m., Showtime).
“Man, Moment and Machine” looks further at people who created milestone events with new technologies (9 p.m., History Channel).
Around the dial
KUSA-Channel 9 wraps up its “Stuff for Students” drive from 7 a.m. to noon Saturday at the station, Speer and Logan. They’re looking for musical instruments, school supplies … Reader Steven Vigil points out that, contrary to what I wrote, there is a third Spanish-language FMer in Denver, KMGG 95.7 … This should be fun: Wealthy celebrity kids shed their cushy lifestyles to take on ranch life near Steamboat Springs in a new series, “Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive” (8 p.m. Sunday, E!) … Quotable: “To mistrust science and deny the validity of the scientific method is to resign your job as a human. You’d better go look for work as a plant or wild animal.” P.J. O’Rourke.
Dick Kreck’s column appears Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. He may be reached at 303-820-1456 or dkreck@denverpost.com.
