Amazing what they can do these days with computer graphics, digital photography, high- definition TV and mediocre re-enactors.
Discovery Channel is better on the science than the acting end, naturally, so the clunky dramatizations shouldn’t detract from the overall beauty of “Human Body: Pushing the Limits,” a four-part documentary special premiering at 7 tonight.
Brief sequences like the one imagining the day a man was lifted by a tornado and dropped from the sky a quarter-mile from his trailer home, unscathed after a 30-mph fall, are informative even while they’re distracting.
Stunning animation takes over for the actor’s body, letting us see the human form inside out. The actual survivor appears, too, talking about the experience. Do we really need the actors as a third source to convey the situation?
The point is, “pound for pound, bone is stronger than concrete.”
From the people who gave us “Planet Earth” in all its photographic splendor, “Human Body” offers a similar look at the bones, muscles, nerves and organs of the body as a well-crafted machine. Actual CT and MRI scans were layered with special effects to render the computer-generated human with remarkable accuracy.
The first hour feels a bit like an upscale, more respectable “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” as it considers instances of super-strength and uncanny reactions when the body is pushed to the limit.
Whether reacting to the threat of imminent death or getting on with the game despite injuries, the body is stronger and more resilient than you might think. This is illustrated by a rock climber who heaved a 1,200-pound boulder off his chest to save his life, a man who swam the English Channel, a ballerina who, like everyone in the troupe, dances despite constant injuries, and others.
Remember this next time you negotiate a black-diamond slope: The small space of watery cartilage in your knees is twice as strong as nylon rope.
The narration is a bit hokey — “a superhero lives inside every one of us” — but the information is surprising. If this is a successful way to get non- science majors interested in anatomy and physiology, then bring on the hokum.
The second hour, “Sight,” follows tonight at 8, including a lesson on bionic eyes.
On March 9 the third hour, “Sensation,” is slated for 9 p.m., with a rundown on how fear works and how lie detectors measure physiological reactions. The concluding hour, at 10 p.m. March 9, is “Power to the People,” a study of the human brain with special attention to sleep and comas.
“Wire” finale
The series finale of “The Wire” is scheduled for March 9 on HBO. Unlike previous episodes of this season, the final episode will not be available the previous Monday on HBO On Demand. March 9 will be your first chance to see it.
Debate TV
The Democratic candidates’ debate on MSNBC last week drew 7.8 million viewers, including those who watched it simulcast on Ohio affiliates. That made the debate the most-watched broadcast in the network’s 11-year history. It was the second-most- watched debate on cable this season.
Clearly, the political debates are a highlight of the winter- spring television schedule, even without a writers strike.
“Sarah Connor” finale
“Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” signs off for the season with a two- hour finale, 7 to 9 p.m. Monday on KDVR-Channel 31. Fox is mum on whether the series will be renewed for a second season. Rather than worry about that, fans are better off spending their time working out the mind-boggling timeline involved in the story.
To refresh fan memories, “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” is scheduled to air Wednesday on AMC.
“quarterlife” bombs
Transplanted from Internet to NBC, “quarterlife,” the 20-something navel-gazing drama from the creators of “thirtysomething,” last week drew the network’s worst time-period rating in 17 years — say, one-seventh the audience of that MSNBC debate. It likely will be yanked before tonight’s second episode. One and out.
Joanne Ostrow’s column appears Tuesday, Friday and Sunday: 303-954-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com
