Movies
Often exhilarating, David Sington’s documentary “In the Shadow of the Moon,” about the U.S. Apollo program, is one of the joy rides of the season. Many of the movie’s visual pleasures come from NASA footage of lunar missions that was restored with love and bravado. But the wisdom – and a heck of a lot of wit – comes thanks to the astronauts who really did boldly go and talk about it: Buzz Aldrin, Mike Collins, Alan Bean, Jim Lovell, Gene Cernan, Charlie Duke, John Young, Dave Scott, Harrison Schmitt and Edgar Mitchell. Straight to the moon, Alice? Hah! Had Ralph Kramden seen this documentary, he’d have known what an awesome proposition that was. | Lisa Kennedy
Visual arts
The wait for a touring blockbuster exhibition at the Denver Art Museum is over. “Artisans and Kings: Selected Treasures From the Louvre,” with more than 125 paintings, sculptures, drawings and decorative objects, will go on view Saturday, with a special preview from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday as part of the Denver Arts Week festivities. Although the museum has released no attendance projections, officials clearly expect it to be one of the most popular offerings in the institution’s history. 720-865-5000 or . | Kyle MacMillan
Television
Can’t commit to an ongoing serial drama? HBO introduces “Five Days,” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, a limited-run whodunit produced in association with the BBC. The five-part miniseries starring Hugh Bonneville and Janet McTeer concerns the abduction of a young mother in a British suburb. The family trauma spawns a complex police investigation plus tawdry tabloid headlines. The investigation is observed at five random times: day 1, 3, 28, 33 and 79. Slow at first, but engrossing. | Joanne Ostrow
Stage
In the Denver Center Theatre Company’s “Third,” Wendy Wasserstein’s final play, Caitlin O’Connell brings protagonist Laurie Jameson to life in a comic, driven and brutally honest performance that will be remembered as a lasting tribute to the Pulitzer-winning author of “The Heidi Chronicles.” Laurie was once a pioneering feminist but now it’s 2002, and while war is breaking out in Iraq, her war is over. She is the establishment at this elite New England liberal-arts college. But as she begins to question her place in the outside world, into her classroom walks a charming young man who challenges the very preconceptions she tries so hard to get her students to overcome. 6:30 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 7:30 p.m. Fridays; 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays through Oct. 20 at the Space Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex. $36-$46; 303-893-4100, 866-464-2626, 800-641-1222 outside Denver, all King Soopers or . | John Moore
Night life
NBC’s surprise hit “Last Comic Standing” doesn’t offer the same level of prefab drama as “American Idol,” but still quenches our thirst for reality- TV-style catfighting and competition. Like “Idol,” “Comic” has launched a national theater tour of its finalists, which stops by the Lincoln Center in Fort Collins on Friday. A last-minute change pulled winner John Reep from the lineup, but you can still catch equally funny finalists Doug Benson, Gerry Dee, Amy Schumer, Ralph Harris and Lavell Crawford at the stand-up event. 417 W Magnolia St., $35-$38, 970-221-6730 or . | John Wenzel
Popular music
Let’s take this time to remind you about a great band from the ’90s – and learn you about a brilliant new band while we’re at it. First, let’s recall the Smashing Pumpkins of old. “Siamese Dream”? Please. So lush and real. Yeah, it was glossy – but it never pretended to be punk. Revel in the beautiful Butch Vig production. And then catch their reunion show tonight at Red Rocks (ticketmaster.com or 303-830-8497). Equally fun are the Klaxons, a new British band that some people have dumbly labeled “new rave,” an updated take on new wave. The band is the real thing – and the recipient of this year’s Mercury Prize. It’s always a dance party with the Klaxons, and Thursday’s show at the Fox Theatre in Boulder will be no different. (foxtheatre.com or 303-443-3399. | Ricardo Baca
Multimedia
National Geographic photographs, compelling narratives and specially created music come together in a program evocatively titled “First Person: Stories from the Edge of World.” The presentation, which includes National Public Radio’s Neal Conan and the Celtic and early-music ensemble Ensemble Galilei, pays tribute to the world’s great explorers past and present. The event takes place at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Macky Auditorium under the auspices of the CU Artist Series. It is part of EcoArts, a 3 1/2- week series of multidisciplinary offerings focusing on climate change. Tickets are $12-$52. 303-492-8008 or . | Kyle MacMillan
