Learning Channel

The Discovery Channel, a Bethesda-based cable network company, has agreed to buy the Learning Channel for an undisclosed amount, the two companies said yesterday.The purchase would combine two of the largest educational cable television networks in the country, bringing together such diverse programming as "The Incredibly Strange Film Show" and "Quarks: A Christmas Lecture" under a single owner."As the Discovery Channel enlightens viewers, the Learning Channel has the potential to empower viewers to better their lives," John Hendricks, chairman and chief executive of Discovery, said in a statement.

For more than 40 years, the American family held center stage in prime-time network television. From the Cleavers of Leave it to Beaver to the Huxtables of The Cosby Show, family life formed the backbone of the sitcom genre. And there was no shortage of family dramas either with such memorable series as Family, The Waltons and Eight is Enough. With the arrival of the new millennium, however, families seemed to have all but disappeared from the network TV landscape. Typical of TV today, CBS' sophomoric sex romp Two and a Half Men is what has come to pass as a family sitcom.

Love baseball? You don't have to play to make a living at the game, but you do have to be committed to education and willing to follow your own abilities, counsels a new cable television program with strong Baltimore ties."

Late one night, a small boy sits alone on his bed and describes in a soft, shaky voice the Baltimore neighborhood in which he lives. "I'd like to not have to be worried all the time that somebody's murdering somebody else outside -- and that the murderer might come in the house and get me, too," he says. On TV My Life as a Child airs at 7 p.m. Mondays for the next six weeks on The Learning Channel (TLC).

Given the case as put forth in "Tobacco Wars," it's amazing this country's jails aren't teeming with tobacco company executives. But even if they aren't, the show suggests, the road to hell will be.A devastating, one-sided indictment of the tobacco industry, "Tobacco Wars" posits that the only reason people continue to smoke is the underhanded tactics it says are used by cigarette manufacturers.Of course, that's not exactly true. Some people smoke because it calms their nerves (which is one of the reasons early cigarettes were so popular during World War I)

The 8-foot-tall cave bear skeleton looks like it belongs in the Smithsonian Institution instead of glaring at passers-by from a store window.But for a mere $75,000 you can take the prehistoric remains home from the new Discovery Channel Store at the MCI Center in Northwest Washington. Forgot your credit card? Perhaps quartz crystals for $6 or a life-size model of a dinosaur claw for $20 would better fit your budget.Part natural history museum, part interactive video arcade, part theme park, the experimental megastore opening Saturday marks Bethesda-based Discovery Communications Inc.'s expansion into retail in a big way.Prices are as varied as the choices of bomber jackets, telescopes, puzzles, books, gems and fossils -- all centered around themes such as the ocean and space.

Bethesda-based Discovery Communications Inc. said yesterday that it has purchased CBS Corp.'s Eye on People, a fledgling cable channel focusing on people and personalities that has 11 million cable and satellite subscribers.Discovery, which also operates the Discovery Channel, the Learning Channel and Animal Planet, had agreed in July to purchase a 50 percent stake in the CBS channel, which was launched in March 1997."Given the realities of the dynamic, ever-evolving cable programming marketplace, we did not think it made sense to co-manage a network," Discovery Networks U.S. President Jonathan Rodgers said in a statement.

Late one night, a small boy sits alone on his bed and describes in a soft, shaky voice the Baltimore neighborhood in which he lives. "I'd like to not have to be worried all the time that somebody's murdering somebody else outside -- and that the murderer might come in the house and get me, too," he says. On TV My Life as a Child airs at 7 p.m. Mondays for the next six weeks on The Learning Channel (TLC).

Glenn R. Jones, chairman and chief executive officer of Jones Intercable and creator of Mind Extension University, wants to "make all America a school." Ruth Otte, who runs the Learning Channel, offers "the greatest bookstore you've ever been in."School and bookstore should be the perfect combination in a nation that has, in three decades, seen the virtual collapse of parts of its public school system. Yet Mr. Jones and Ms. Otte, who contend that they are not in competition, find themselves vying in many markets for ever-dwindling channel space.

Planning a trip? Dig out the guide books, the maps, the airline and train schedules. Oh, and don't forget to watch some television.Excuse me?Surprise! The medium that spawned the term "couch potato" in fitting tribute to its usual effect on viewers has increasingly become a portal to a variety of travel experiences."Finally, a TV series that will ensure you watch less TV," promises the advertising for "Trailside: Make Your Own Adventure." The summer public television series from the publishers of Backpacker magazine urges viewers to watch first, but then get out there and do some mountain biking, kayaking, backpacking, rock climbing or family camping.

I admit I did not greet the arrival of preview cassettes from The Learning Channel for a four-hour series on the human face with the same enthusiasm as I did, say, an episode of The Sopranos or Six Feet Under from HBO. But what a pleasant surprise The Human Face - a provocative and amusing exploration of physiology as culture and possibly even destiny - turned out to be. Maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised given the huge visage of the fabulous John...

The singles ponder what might have been had they taken different paths tonight on "Friends" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11). For example, a hefty Monica frets about losing her virginity, while Chandler is a struggling writer working as an assistant to Joey, who's now a successful soap star. Kristian Alfonso and Kevin Spirtas of the daytime drama "Days of Our Lives" are guest stars. At a glance "Independence Day" (8 p.m.-10 p.m., WBFF, Channel 45) -- Humans must defend themselves from aliens with really big spaceships.

Given the case as put forth in "Tobacco Wars," it's amazing this country's jails aren't teeming with tobacco company executives. But even if they aren't, the show suggests, the road to hell will be.A devastating, one-sided indictment of the tobacco industry, "Tobacco Wars" posits that the only reason people continue to smoke is the underhanded tactics it says are used by cigarette manufacturers.Of course, that's not exactly true. Some people smoke because it calms their nerves (which is one of the reasons early cigarettes were so popular during World War I)

The glory that was Rome is clearly portrayed in the riveting "Rome: Power & Glory," a six-hour miniseries debuting Sunday on The Learning Channel.Modern minds may have trouble comprehending just how powerful and pervasive Rome was in its day. At its height, the Roman Empire stretched from Syria to Scotland and was guarded by a citizens' army -- later made professional -- that is still seen as a model of strength and efficiency.Rome itself counted 1 million inhabitants at its peak, around 100 A.D.; more than 17 centuries would pass before another urban area (London)

Bethesda-based Discovery Communications Inc. said yesterday that it has purchased CBS Corp.'s Eye on People, a fledgling cable channel focusing on people and personalities that has 11 million cable and satellite subscribers.Discovery, which also operates the Discovery Channel, the Learning Channel and Animal Planet, had agreed in July to purchase a 50 percent stake in the CBS channel, which was launched in March 1997."Given the realities of the dynamic, ever-evolving cable programming marketplace, we did not think it made sense to co-manage a network," Discovery Networks U.S. President Jonathan Rodgers said in a statement.

The 8-foot-tall cave bear skeleton looks like it belongs in the Smithsonian Institution instead of glaring at passers-by from a store window.But for a mere $75,000 you can take the prehistoric remains home from the new Discovery Channel Store at the MCI Center in Northwest Washington. Forgot your credit card? Perhaps quartz crystals for $6 or a life-size model of a dinosaur claw for $20 would better fit your budget.Part natural history museum, part interactive video arcade, part theme park, the experimental megastore opening Saturday marks Bethesda-based Discovery Communications Inc.'s expansion into retail in a big way.Prices are as varied as the choices of bomber jackets, telescopes, puzzles, books, gems and fossils -- all centered around themes such as the ocean and space.

Prestige Cablevision legalized several hundred customers during its recent amnesty program, company officials said last week.The seven-week "education and confession" period, which allowed cable pirates to come clean about their illegal television service, ended March 7.It also garnered at least 200 tips about other residents who are thought to be stealing cable service, said Lou Rosenberg, Prestige's sales and marketing manager."

How often does one night of television offer two visits to the majestic Andes Mountains of South America? Documentaries on PBS and the Learning Channel accomplish the vicarious travel feat.* "The New Explorers: Expedition Inspiration" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., MPT, Channels 22, 67) -- The expedition was to Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, at 22,834 feet the tallest peak in the Southern Hemisphere. The inspiration was provided by survivors of breast cancer, such as expedition leader Laura Evans and the other members of her party.

Drop in front of the television, thumb the remote control through the blizzard of images and odds are pretty good you'll find lots of biting sharks, enigmatic mummies, churning tornadoes or star-slurping black holes.Never, it seems, have there been more science shows. And never have more people watched them.Sure, American students score miserably in science and math tests, compared to the rest of the world. (In one recent comparison, eighth-graders in the United States ranked behind all but four of 41 nations: Lithuania, Cyprus, Portugal and Iran.

The Learning Channel highlights a handful of the world's greatest books today. TLC's "Great Books Festival" (9 a.m.-3 a.m.) includes the premiere of an hour devoted to one-time Baltimore resident F. Scott Fitzgerald's jazz-age chronicle, "The Great Gatsby" (10 p.m.-11 p.m., repeats 2 a.m.-3 a.m.). Narrator Donald Sutherland and a host of writers and academics (including Jackson Bryer from the University of Maryland, College Park) bring Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan and the gang to life -- not by acting out the story but by relating the plot; putting the story in the context of when it was written; providing details of the turbulent life of Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda; explaining the novel's effect, on its time and on history; and subjecting the novel to both literary and cultural criticism.