TVO presents its November 2010 Highlights. As part of World of Wonder, our science, math and technology literacy campaign, TVO presents a new series showcasing the contributions of Britain’s greatest scientists, a three-hanky documentary series that goes behind the scenes of a children’s hospital that offers hope where none existed before, and a mind-bending interview on Allan Gregg in Conversation.

Also in November, TVO’s Remembrance programming features a lineup of documentaries and dramas throughout the month providing multiple perspectives on war. And there are some globe-trotting Documentaries in TVO’s lineup that explore Russia’s artistic history, show you sides of the Caribbean you never knew existed, and expose you to the realities of land ownership in Nicaragua.

WORLD OF WONDER

Genius – North American Premiere
Tuesdays, November 2 to 30, 2010 at 9 pm ET
5 / 60 minutes
Produced by IWC Media

From the invention of the steam engine, computers and the World Wide Web to the discovery of the theory of evolution and the atom, British scientists have made world-changing contributions to humankind. In this five-part series Professor Stephen Hawking and some of Britain's current top thinkers, including Richard Dawkins, James Dyson, David Attenborough and Jim Al-Khalili, tell the stories of the people behind some of Britain’s greatest scientific innovations. From Isaac Newton to Frank Whittle, James Watt to Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and Joseph Banks to Rosalind Franklin, the series profiles Britain’s scientific titans.

Great Ormond Street – North American Premiere
Sundays, November 14 to 28, 2010 at 8 pm ET
3 / 60 minutes
Produced by Films of Record

Children only come to London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children with complex medical challenges that other hospitals have failed to solve. The doctors and staff at this life-saving institution work at the frontiers of medical knowledge, often developing treatments that have never been tried before. But there are never any guarantees. This three-part series covers painfully honest exchanges between medical experts and the children’s families, as they weigh the balance between the pain of their patients, and the likely quality of life if the interventions succeed. 

Allan Gregg in Conversation – Martin Samuels
Friday, November 5, 2010 at 10 pm ET
30 minutes
Produced by TVO

Dr. Martin Samuels is a world-renowned Harvard neurologist and expert on the aging brain. He talks about the latest research on how to keep our minds sharp and delay the onset of diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Visit Allan Gregg in Conversation’s online archive at tvo.org/allangregg to view more interviews with experts in brain research including Dr. Norman Doidge (brain plasticity), Dr. William Molloy (Alzheimer’s), Dr. Gabor Mate (addiction), and Steven Pinker (language).

REMEMBRANCE

The Agenda with Steve Paikin: A Decade of War
Monday to Friday, November 8 to 12, 2010 at 8 and 11 pm ET
60 minutes
Produced by TVO

Throughout the week, TVO’s flagship current affairs program will welcome guest experts to discuss and debate the impact of Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan.

Mendelssohn, The Nazis and Me – North American Premiere
Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 9 pm ET
60 minutes
Directed by Sheila Hayman; produced by Renegade Pictures

Filmmaker Sheila Hayman is the great-great-great-great niece of the great German composer, Felix Mendelssohn. Mendelssohn was a passionate Christian, but he was also born a Jew. This film tells the extraordinary story of what happened, generations later, both to Mendelssohn's family and to his music, when the Nazis remembered the Jewish roots of Germany's most celebrated composer.

Allan Gregg in Conversation - Lynne Olson
Friday, November 12, 2010 at 10 pm ET
30 minutes
Produced by TVO

In her book Citizens of London, historian Lynne Olson tells the dramatic story of how three Americans who were posted to London early in World War 2 - Edward R. Murrow among them - helped Churchill to persuade American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt and America to enter the war. 

Also for Remembrance:

- Paris 1919 – Wednesday, November 10 at 9 pm ET
With a blend of dramatic re-enactments and archival images, filmmaker Paul Cowan reveals the behind-the-scenes machinations of the Paris 1919 peace talks that redrew the map of Europe and arguably set the world on a course to the Second World War.

- Saturday Night at the Movies – The Bridge (1959) – November 13 at 8 pm ET
One the great anti-war films from Germany tells the story of a group of teenaged boys who are conscripted into the German army to defend a bridge in their home town in the last days of World War 2.

- The Last Nazis – Mondays, November 15 to 29 at 10 pm ET
This documentary trilogy tells three compelling stories: the hunt for the most wanted Nazi criminal, the lives of the last surviving Nazis and how the offspring of Nazi war criminals remain irrevocably touched by their past.

 - Walter’s War – Sunday, November 28, 2010 at 9 pm ET
O.T. Fagbenle stars in the true story of Walter Tull, the first black officer to be commissioned by the British army during the First World War.

DOCUMENTARIES

Land - World Premiere
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 9 pm ET
60 minutes
Written and directed by Julian Pinder; produced by Deliberate Films in association with TVO

Canadian filmmaker Julian Pinder captures the shifting political winds in Nicaragua that bring on a clash between foreign developers who view the Central American country as the next Cancun and locals who feel they are being exploited. Pinder talks to five Americans who all have different plans for their own piece of paradise. With cheap land and cheaper labour Nicaragua is a developer's dream come true. But when former revolutionary leader Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas sweep back to power with talk of land reform, dreams of the good life begin to vanish.

The Art of Russia - North American Premiere
Thursdays, November 18 to December 2, 2010 at 9 pm ET
3 / 60 minutes
Produced by BBC

Art historian Andrew Graham Dixon unlocks the mystery, variety and history of Russia's unique art in this engrossing three-part series. He begins with a celebration of the great age of the icon, when Russia was at its most intense and inward looking. Andrew then discovers Peter the Great's artistic revolution; relives the glory days of the Russian high baroque; and assesses the influence of "the Wanderers," an extraordinary group of artists comparable to the Impressionists. The series concludes with a look at the tumultuous period of 20th-century Russia, from the Revolution of 1917 to the present day.

The Secret Caribbean - North American Premiere
Fridays, November 5 to 19, 2010 at 7 pm ET
3 / 60 minutes
Produced by Plum Pictures

Caribbean-born Trevor McDonald travels the 2000 miles across the Caribbean experiencing the incredible extremes that make this region so unique. From the private island of a billionaire to communist Cuba, rare sightings of giant turtles in Grenada to violent volcanic eruptions in Montserrat, this intrepid three-part series is a rich and beautiful voyage of discovery.

GreenHeroes – World Premiere 
Tuesdays, November 2 to December 6, 2010 at 7 pm ET
6 / 30 minutes
Produced by CineFocus Canada in association with TVO 

GreenHeroes features the stories of actors, musicians, sports stars, CEOs and everyday people who took action to save the planet. Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip used his status as the front man for one of Canada’s most popular rock bands to fight pollution in the Great Lakes. Ric O’Barry from the Oscar winning film, The Cove, campaigns against dolphin captivity. Andrew Ference of the Boston Bruins promotes bicycles as a way to reduce our carbon footprint and is spearheading the NHLPA’s Carbon Neutral Challenge. And NASCAR driver Leilani Munter is working to reduce the carbon footprint her profession creates and is spreading the green message to a whole new demographic. These inspirational stories and many more provide motivation for all of us to do what we can to preserve the natural world for future generations.

Visit www.greenheroes.tv for more information on these and other green heroes featured in the series.