Big-ticket event programming fills TVO’s February lineup all month long. To start, Genius Week, running February 21 to 27, takes smart viewing to new heights with a look at child prodigies, gifted painters, design dynamos and scientific trailblazers.

The Ontario election will be the biggest story in the province this year. What issues should shape this election? To find out what’s on the minds of Ontarians, The Agenda with Steve Paikin embarks on a third edition of its successful “On the Road” tour beginning February 27.

And in celebration of Black History month, TVO offers engaging programs providing wide-ranging perspectives on the black experience.

Genius Week – February 21 to 27, 2011

Child Genius 3 – North American premiere
Monday February 21, 2011 at 10 pm ET
Encore Sunday February 27 at 8 pm ET
50 minutes
Produced by Wall to Wall Media for Channel 4

At eight years old, Kieron Williamson is already one of the U.K.’s most successful living artists. Dubbed a “mini Monet” with a prodigious ability to paint, he sold £150,000 worth of paintings in half an hour at his third commercial art exhibition. How will Kieron’s parents handle his extraordinary talent, and his unprecedented earnings? 

In the third instalment of an ongoing series that looks at the lives of gifted children and their families, Child Genius 3 introduces a new generation of gifted kids like Kieron, and catches up with child prodigies from previous series who are now teenagers. Are they still far ahead of their peers, and do they resent the “genius” tag? The children speak frankly about the mixed blessing of their talents and the opportunities and heartache they can bring. And as for the parents, is having a child labelled as gifted hugely rewarding, or is it a struggle to support their prodigy's talents and their thirst for knowledge?

Genius of Design  – Ontario premiere
Thursdays February 24 to March 24, 2011 at 9 pm ET
5 / 60 minutes
Produced by Wall to Wall Media for BBC

From toothbrushes to cell phones to cars, our lives are filled with objects that have been created for us by a group of specialists we call designers. But is the designer an artist or an engineer? How do designers balance form with function, and quality with affordability?

The five-part series Genius of Design takes viewers on a fascinating journey through the material world to explore the ways in which designers, over the past 250 years, have grappled with the machinery of industrialization and capitalism in order to deliver the products that we need and want. The journey takes us from the first factories created by pioneers of the Industrial Revolution to the studios and production lines of some of today’s most powerful and influential corporations including Apple, IKEA, Ford and Volkswagen. Genius of Design features interviews with some of the world's leading designers, including Philippe Starck, Dieter Rams, Apple's Jonathan Ive and Ford Motor Company's global head of design, J. Mays.

Forgotten Genius – TVO premiere 
Wednesday February 23, 2011 at 9 pm ET
120 minutes
Produced by PBS NOVA

With discoveries that laid the groundwork for glaucoma drugs, cortisone and the birth control pill, Percy Julian had a passion for chemistry that led to huge breakthroughs in medicine and improved the lives of millions. Julian was one of the first African-Americans to earn a doctorate in chemistry and would receive over 130 chemical patents and 18 honorary degrees by the end of his career. But as an African-American in the early 20th century, he had to overcome personal and professional racism at every step along the way. The feature-length documentary Forgotten Genius combines dramatic re-enactments with archival materials and commentary from Julian’s family and colleagues to tell the little-known story of a genius whose determination to succeed opened the door for countless black scientists who followed.

Also for Genius Week:

Allan Gregg in Conversation: Walter Isaacson – Friday February 25, 2011 at 10 pm ET
The author of Einstein reveals new details about the life and genius of the renowned scientist, based on Isaacson’s unprecedented access to Einstein’s recently released personal letters.

Saturday Night at the Movies – Saturday February 26, 2011 beginning at 8 pm ET
SNAM  presents two films that look at the tumultuous life of the artistic genius, beginning with Vincent and Theo (1990), starring Tim Roth as the brilliant but tortured artist Vincent Van Gogh. The trials and passions of painter Frida Kahlo are revealed in Frida (2002), starring Salma Hayek.

Examined Life – Sunday February 27, 2011 at 11 pm ET
TVO’s Genius Week concludes with an encore presentation of the documentary Examined Life. Filmmaker Astra Taylor accompanies some of today’s most influential thinkers as they visit the places and spaces that inspire them to reflect on purpose in life and our place in the world.

Current Affairs

The Agenda with Steve Paikin: On the Road  
New tour begins February 27, 2011

Ontario Election 2011
Ottawa: February 27 and 28
Hamilton: March 27 and 28
Niagara Falls: April 17 and 18
Sudbury: May 15 and 16
GTA area: September (location and dates TBC)

Over the last two years, The Agenda with Steve Paikin: On the Road tour has travelled to communities across Ontario to get first-hand, local perspectives on big economic issues. What began as an experiment in civic engagement turned into a community-building success story, with citizens, policy makers and leaders coming together to exchange ideas on how to strengthen Ontario in the 21st century.

Starting February 2011, The Agenda takes its road show back out into the province, this time with the Ontario election as its theme. The Agenda will visit five towns in the lead-up to the election to take the pulse of Ontarians. Healthcare, child care, green energy, public transit, education… What issues will be top-of-mind for citizens when they head to the polls next fall?

Three of the tour stops will be in the hometowns of our provincial party leaders: Ottawa (Liberal leader and Premier Dalton McGuinty); Hamilton (NDP leader Andrea Horwath); and Niagara Falls (PC leader Tim Hudak). Each two-day, interactive event features the AgendaCamp, a day-long, participant-led workshop which will inform the live, on-location broadcast of The Agenda with Steve Paikin the following night at 8 pm.

The tour kicks off in Ottawa (venue to be announced). To participate in or propose a session idea for AgendaCamp, or for free tickets to be part of the live broadcast audience, please register at tvo.org/agendacamp beginning mid-January.

Allan Gregg in Conversation: Salman Rushdie
Friday February 4, 2011 at 10 pm ET
Produced by TVO

The renowned author, whose novel The Satanic Verses led to a fatwa calling for his death, talks about his new novel for young adults, Luka and the Fire of Life, as well as other topics in a wide-ranging interview.

Documentaries

Victorian Pharmacy – North American Premiere
Mondays February 28 to March 21, 2011 at 10 pm ET
4 / 60 minutes
Produced by Lion Television

A social revolution in consumer medicine brought healthcare within everyone’s reach and brought medical science, family remedies and traditional folklore to every main street.  This four-part series reveals how the pharmacy emerged in just 50 years and how from humble beginnings the profession spawned a new medical industry. An English Victorian pharmacy was stocked with an enormous range of general household products, patent medicines, potions and skin preparations, optical and electrical equipment and over-the-counter remedies. The Victorian Farm’s historian Ruth Goodman, along with chemist Nick Barber and PhD student Tom Quick immerse themselves in 19th-century main street medicine in this intriguing historical experiment.

Drama

Five Daughters – North American Premiere
Sundays February 13 to 27, 2011 at 10 pm ET
3 / 60 minutes
Produced by BBC

Based on a tragic, true story and made with the full co-operation of Suffolk police and other agencies involved in the case, this gripping drama follows the events surrounding the murder of five young women in December 2006, after drugs pulled them into the sex industry. Tania, Gemma, Anneli, Paula and Annette were ordinary young women - friends, daughters, sisters and mothers - full of potential, until one wrong turn, one chance meeting, led them into the world of heroin and crack. Their dependency on these drugs facilitated their easy exploitation and led them to prostitution.

Black History Month

TVO offers documentaries, current affairs, lectures and children’s programs that celebrate Black History Month. On Saturday February 5 at 5 pm, TVO’s lecture series Big Ideas features University of Toronto professor Christian Campbell in a remarkable conversation with Nobel poet laureate, Derek Walcott.

On Friday February 11 at 10 pm, Allan Gregg in Conversation welcomes economist Paul Collier who discusses how Africa’s natural resources are exploited, and Dambisa Moyn reveals how foreign aid has affected the contintent. Also, be sure to visit Allan Gregg online at tvo.org/allangregg for the Africa series featuring interviews with authors and experts such as Romeo Dallaire, Ken Wiwa, Florence Wambugu and Ishmael Beah. Their discussions address African issues including culture, economics, child soldiers and agriculture.

Documentaries during Black History Month include an encore of the four-part series The Lost Kingdoms of Africa Sundays at 7 pm beginning February 20, and The Little Black School House on Monday February 14 at 10 pm.

And TVOKids relaunches Time Trackers series with the story of Harriet Tubman.