TV Episodes
NOVA
Season 38, Episode 12
"Making Stuff: Smarter" looks at materials that respond to their environments and even learn, such as an airplane wing that changes shape as it flies. Scientists are turning to nature in developing such "smart" stuff. Sharkskin, for instance, has inspired a substance that, when sprayed in hospitals, could eliminate antibiotic-resistant bacteria. David Pogue visits a scientist who has even created a material that can render objects invisible. "Smarter" concludes with a vision of the ultimate in "life-like" stuff: programmable matter that could create a duplicate of a human being.
NOVA
Season 38, Episode 18
Would you care to match wits with a dog, an octopus, a dolphin, or a parrot? You may think twice after watching the segments in this NOVA scienceNOW episode. While we may not be ready to send pets to Harvard, the remarkable footage and findings presented here demonstrate that many animal species are much smarter than we assume and in ways we had never imagined.
NOVA
Season 38, Episode 13
Augmenting human intelligence is a lot tougher than it looks, and the promise of "Hal" from 2001: A Space Odyssey is still just a fantasy. But scientists are edging closer with machines like "Watson," an IBM computing system that is gearing up for a first-of-its-kind challenge: taking on human contestants on the game show Jeopardy! With a brain the size of 2,400 home computers and a database of about 10 million documents, will Watson be able to compute its way to victory? Given the complexity of human language, could any computer truly understand it? It remains to be seen if this amalgam of circuits and silicon can really take us closer to the dream of a fully developed artificial intelligence, a truly "conscious" machine. Win or lose, the difficulty of mimicking the human thought process with software is showing artificial-intelligence researchers that there's more than one way to be "intelligent."
Storage Wars
Season 1, Episode 12
Secret locker; sign from the 40s; rare bonus in a hidden compartment.
American Idol
Season 10, Episode 7
The auditions continue from San Francisco, CA on the new season of American Idol as the judges continue their quest to find the next singing superstar.
Waterloo Road
Season 6, Episode 12
Year ten pupil Billie Taylor is convinced that her own mother is trying to steal her newborn daughter from her. The staff are shocked by Grantly's dishevelled appearance, and decide he needs more assistance at home. Cesca begins tutoring Jonah in one-on-one Spanish lessons.
Top Chef
Season 8, Episode 9
An American reality competition show in which chefs compete against each other in culinary challenges and are judged by a panel of professional chefs and other notables from the food and wine industry with one or more contestants eliminated in each episode.
My Strange Addiction
Season 1, Episode 11
Maureen is obsessed with her make-up; Barbara prefers the company of those who have passed on.
My Strange Addiction
Season 1, Episode 10
Over the past four years, Josh has consumed more than 100 glasses and 250 light bulbs. As if ingesting glass wasn't dangerous enough, Josh also swallows live bullets. Candice struggles with her addiction to skin bleach to lighten her skin. Discrimination at school and teasing from friends has her convinced she is ugly.
Parenthood
Season 2, Episode 15
Sarah and Adam discuss a situation with Haddie. Meanwhile, Haddie, Amber and Max run into Alex. Crosby and Jasmine meet with her reverend for pre-marital counseling. Elsewhere, Drew meets his father, Seth, for breakfast.
NCIS
Season 8, Episode 14
The NCIS team undergoes mandatory psych evaluations while investigating the death of a Naval Commander.
Raising Hope
Season 1, Episode 12
Jimmy hasn't had any time to socialize or make friends since Hope was born, so when he meets another single dad at the grocery store, he immediately sets up a play date. But when Jimmy finds out that Virginia is his new friend's housekeeper, Virginia insists that Jimmy cancel the outing. In an effort to keep the peace, Jimmy and his friend arrange a dinner at the Chance house.
The Almighty Johnsons
Season 1, Episode 1
It is Axl Johnson's 21st birthday - which explains the fire in the sky; the Waitemata Harbour being the colour of blood; the various women who seem to want to kill him; and the sudden need for a family ceremony in a forest.
One Tree Hill
Season 8, Episode 14
Brooke, Quinn and Haley decide to use their talents for the greater good. Meanwhile, Julian takes on a directing job and helps out a friend, and Chase mentors Chuck.
Blackstone
Season 1, Episode 3
Tensions rise as Leona discovers missing funds from the Band's account while dealing with the complications of hiring a white substitute teacher.
No Ordinary Family
Season 1, Episode 14
After a friend is attacked, Stephanie tells Jim that she wants to join forces with him to help catch the perp. But when Jim informs Stephanie that he's built for crime fighting - and she's not - the competition is on to see which one of them can solve the case first. Meanwhile, Daphne feels like Jim is invoking a double standard when he allows JJ to date a senior but won't let her do the same, and Katie learns some disturbing news about Joshua - aka The Watcher.
Hellcats
Season 1, Episode 14
The Hellcats kidnap Marti for her initiation into the group. They flashback on how Savannah, Alice, Lewis and Vanessa became Hellcats. After the party, Marti realizes that her interest in Travis and his legal case could bring her friends harm and possibly even cause Bill Marsh to disband the Hellcats altogether.
NCIS: Los Angeles
Season 2, Episode 15
After Callen catches a man breaking into his house, a former KGB operative leads the NCIS team to a shipment of counterfeit computer chips entering the United States.
