In a month's time we'll have enough new and returning series that our DVRs will risk burning out. One of the unfortunate side effects of each busy new fall season is that some worthy offerings get short shrift.
For those who don't know, shrift is an archaic term for the penance imposed by a priest after confession. A short one is "the brief time for confession given to a condemned prisoner before execution."
Yikes. That said, the parallel might be that a deserving new show might be condemned and executed by the stampede of new fall programming.
Example: Fun and educational documentaries on the PBS series Nature might be overlooked in the excitement of all the shiny new shows that will roll out starting next month.
Nature is one of the best and most family-friendly series around. And it has been around a long time. There will be six new documentaries this fall on Season 36 of Nature. It all kicks off on Oct. 4 -- after the broadcast network dust has settled. Here's a quick overview. Mark your calendars now. All will air at 7 p.m. Wednesdays on AETN.
Naledi: One Little Elephant, Oct. 4. Born inside a rescue camp in the wilderness of Botswana, Naledi the baby elephant loses her mother and faces the world alone. Nature cameras follow along as a team of guardians save Naledi and help find her place in the herd.
PBS calls this "a heartwarming journey from tragedy to triumph."
Fox Tales, Oct. 11. On a high ridge in Canada, nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and the borders of an old grove forest, a red fox gives birth to a litter. We follow the pups as they grow and learn to hunt, adapt and survive.
Sadly, mama fox knows she will have to banish some of her offspring for the good of the family.
Animal Reunions, Oct. 18. This encore from Season 34 shows the magic that happens when former caregivers are reunited with the (now) wild animals with which they forged a deep bond years ago.
Charlie and the Curious Otters, Oct. 25. Back in my youth, I had an Air Force buddy who kept a friendly river otter as an indoor pet. What was he thinking? Otters are like ferrets on steroids. This was why he could never have anything nice.
Although otters can be found across the globe, they are endangered from being hunted and for declining habitat due to industrial development.
Still, they survive, and conservationist and wildlife filmmaker Charlie Hamilton James follows the story of three inquisitive river otter orphans in Florida. He films their behavior and uncovers the secrets to their survival using some groundbreaking experiments.
H Is for Hawk: A New Chapter, Nov. 1. English writer Helen Macdonald's 2014 best-selling memoir H Is for Hawk told the story of how she found healing after her father's 2007 death by training a goshawk named Mabel. For the first time since Mabel's death, Macdonald tries again to train one of these raptors.
The Cheetah Children, Nov. 8. PBS labels this as "an inspiring tale about motherhood and family" as we follow a cheetah mother struggling to raise her two newborn cubs on the harsh African plains.
The cute factor will be in full swing as the cubs explore their world and discover their place on the savanna.
Nature's Miniature Miracles, Nov. 22. This special looks at the good things that come in small packages. They include a shrew, hummingbirds, a small shark that walks on land, and baby turtles racing for the safety of the ocean.
The documentary travels the world to show that "for these animals, size doesn't matter."
• Tony Romo debut. Love him or hate him, 37-year-old former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo makes his broadcast booth debut beside veteran Jim Nantz at 7 p.m. Friday on CBS in a preseason game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks.
Romo will be the network's lead analyst, replacing Phil Simms, who will join the studio crew of The NFL Today.
There is bound to be some break-in time, but hopefully, Romo will be up to speed by Nov. 5 when he works his first Cowboys game at AT&T Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs.
• Whitney. "Can I Be Me," 8 p.m. Saturday on Showtime. The intimate, sometimes painful documentary contains new video and candid interviews to produce a "raw portrait" of the late Grammy winner Whitney Houston.
The troubled Houston drowned (officially) in her bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Feb. 11, 2012. Her system was full of cocaine and several other drugs.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Weekend on 08/24/2017