Titanic's 100th anniversary will go on and on -- on TV

The RMS Titanic sank below the icy waters of the north Atlantic in the early-morning hours of April 15, 1912. Now, 100 years later, it's considered one of the greatest disasters of the 20th century, the basis of one of the biggest movies of the 20th century and the cause of everyone's problems on "Downton Abbey."

To commemorate the anniversary, director James Cameron gave a multimillion-dollar 3-D face-lift to his movie epic, "Titanic" and re-released it into theaters. But for those watching the small screen, there are still lots of ways to relive those moments without heading out to the theater.

National Geographic Channel is, quite understandably, all over the anniversary. After all, Cameron is an explorer-in-residence, along with Robert Ballard, the man credited with discovering the wreck of the Titanic in the modern era. Both men are getting new specials on National Geographic Channel, both premiering a week before the anniversary and both re-airing during a nine-hour Titanic marathon on Sunday.

TIMELINE | Titanic: A century in TV and film

"Titanic: The Final Word With James Cameron" features the director and sometime deep-sea diver working with engineers, architects, historians and a 42-foot replica of the ship itself to solve all the remaining mysteries behind how and why the massive vessel sank like it did.

Meanwhile, "Save the Titanic With Bob Ballard," looks at the very real jeopardy the ship is in today, as treasure hunters are slowly but surely looting the wreck. He also travels to Ireland to meet the descendants of Titanic's Guarantee Group, the nine men who helped build the ship and were selected to sail on its maiden voyage.

National Geographic will also air five hours of the "Rebuilding Titanic" series, in which modern-day craftsmen attempt to re-create portions of the mighty ship using the practices that were used to build it in the first place.

On PBS on Tuesday, "Dancing With the Stars" judge Len Goodman goes back to his roots as a welder at Harland & Woolf, the company that built Titanic, and interviews the descendants of the ship's passengers -- both the survivors and the victims. "Titanic With Len Goodman" airs at 8 p.m., so it won't interfere with Goodman's other appearance on the "Dancing With the Stars" results show on ABC.

ABC has its own "Titanic" film on the way on Saturday, with the two-night miniseries, titled "Titanic." What sets this production apart from Cameron's big-screen extravaganza is the name on the scripts: Julian Fellowes. Fellowes is the man behind the PBS hit "Downton Abbey," and this miniseries looks to be taking many of the class issues from the show and bringing them to sea.

Turner Classic Movies will air two Titanic-themed movies on Saturday: the 1958 version of the Titanic's final voyage "A Night to Remember" and the 1964 Debbie Reynolds musical, "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," about the Titanic survivor.

Discovery will air a trio of Titanic-themed documentaries on Saturday: "Last Mysteries of the Titanic," featuring James Cameron's return dives to the wreck, "Titanic: Birth of the Legend," about the construction of the mighty ship, and "What Sank Titanic?" about the ship's final moments.

On Sunday, History will air three Titanic documentaries: "Titanic's Final Moments: Missing Pieces," recounts a 2005 trip to the wreck to attempt to determine exactly how the ship sank. "Titanic's Achilles Heel" follows experts to the wreck of the similarly designed ship, the Brittanic, as they investigate whether the ship had a fatal flaw in its design. And then comes the premiere of "Titanic at 100: Mystery Solved," which presumably will answer every other question left unanswered about the wreck. Which, judging from the number of people on Twitter who weren't even aware it was real, should mean there are still plenty of questions out there.

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-- Patrick Kevin Day

Photo: Titanic leaves Southampton on April 10, 1912. Credit: AFP / Getty Images

MS-13 gangs linked with L.A., Salvador in National Geographic documentary

 

MS-13, shorthand for "Mara Salvatrucha," is one of the world's most lethal gangs, with a power and reach that exceeds that of some national governments. It has ravaged the tiny Central American country of El Salvador, and its influence extends into neighboring Honduras and elsewhere.

But MS-13 isn't a homegrown Salvadoran phenomenon. It's an export from Los Angeles, where many gang members were initiated as adolescents and young adults, before being deported back to El Salvador and taking their violent methods with them. Today, as depicted in the new documentary "Gang Warfare USA," airing at 8 Monday night on the National Geographic Channel, MS-13 members in El Salvador work with their U.S. counterparts to export violence to cities as remote from L.A. as Greensboro, N.C.

Marc Shaffer, the film's director, producer and writer, and his crew detail the disturbing story of how a restaurant murder in Greensboro eventually led investigators to L.A. and El Salvador. Along the way, they uncover how Uncle Sam's deportation of MS-13 members to El Salvador ironically has been making the gang even stronger and more globalized than before.

In interviews with current and former gang members, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, attorneys and others, the documentary exposes that many gang members deported to El Salvador, where economic prospects are bleak, soon turn right around and cross back into the United States.

Meanwhile, the gang's presence in El Salvador continues to undermine the rule of law in that war-torn country: El Salvador, with a population of only 6 million, has a murder rate 10 times that of the United States, and officials estimate that 70 percent of those murders are gang-related. As one assistant U.S. attorney tells the filmmakers, "We set up the conditions by which MS-13 flourished."

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— Reed Johnson 

Photo: A member of Mara Salvatrucha is detained in San Salvador. Credit: Roberto Escobar / European Pressphoto Agency.

TV This Week for August 28th - September 3rd

Click here to download TV listings for the week of Aug. 28 - Sept. 3 in PDF format

TV listings for the week of Aug. 28 - Sept. 3 in PDF format (from latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv)

Weekly TV Listings and more can be found at: www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv

This week's TV Movies

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SUNDAY

In the special “George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview,” the 43rd president shares his moment-by-moment recollections – illustrated with previously unreleased archival footage – of that darkest of days in 2001. (National Geographic, 7 and 10 p.m.)

Adore Adele? Gaga over Lady Gaga? Like a little Lil Wayne? The soulful British songstress, the fashion-forward dance-pop diva and the tatted-up rapper are just some of the many performers slated for the “2011 MTV Video Music Awards.” (MTV, VH1, 9 p.m.)

MONDAY

Serious foodies will journey far and wide for the tastes they “Crave,” and host Troy Johnson does likewise, visiting New York, Chicago and San Francisco in search of that perfect slice of pizza in the debut installment of this culinary travelogue. (Food, 8:30 p.m.)

TUESDAY

Ahead of the curves: The new reality series “Big Sexy” follows Nikki, Heather, Audrey, Leslie and Tiffany (above, from left), five shapely young women looking to reshape society's notions of beauty while pursuing their own fashion-biz dreams. (TLC, 10 p.m.)

WEDNESDAY

Hit movies like “The Hangover” often provide fresh plotlines that sitcom writers can then steal … um, borrow, rather… for their own shows, like when Elka (Betty White) goes MIA after her bachelorette party on a new “Hot in Cleveland.” (TV Land, 10 p.m.)

THURSDAY

With the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 bringing a flood of disturbing images back to televisions in the coming weeks, “Nick News With Linda Ellerbee” seeks to explain that national tragedy to its audience of young children, many of whom were not yet born on that fateful day. (Nickelodeon, 9 p.m.)

FRIDAY

Legend has it that Joseph of Arimathea brought the Holy Grail to ancient Britain and hid it in a mystical place, near the spot where some of today's legendary pop-music acts – including U2, Coldplay and Beyoncé – can be seen performing in the new concert special “Glastonbury 2011.” (11 p.m. VH1)

SATURDAY

Look at that big brain on “Megamind.” Will Ferrell provides the voice of the blue-hued super-villain (below), with Brad Pitt as his superhero archrival, Metro Man, and Tina Fey as a plucky girl reporter in this computer-animated 2010 send-up. (HBO, 8 p.m.)

Photo: "Big Sexy"; credit: James Hercule / TLC

September 11, remembered on TV

The 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks has inspired a host of TV tributes, reminiscences and investigations. Here is a guide to some of the 9/11-related programs airing between now and Sept. 11, 2011:

“On a Wing and a Prayer: An American Muslim Learns to Fly” 2:30 a.m., Sunday Aug. 21, KVCR; An American Muslim man pursues a pilot's license in post-9/11 America.

“The 700 Club” 10 a.m., Monday Aug. 22, ABC Family: Billy Wilson; Mark Detrick: Cry Out America 9/11 nationwide prayer gatherings; a man overcomes a pornography problem. (N)  

“CIA Confidential” 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., Monday Aug. 22, Nat Geo: Hunt for Bin Laden: Days after 9/11, a group of CIA agents infiltrates Afghanistan in an effort to decimate al Qaeda and hunt down Osama bin Laden. Replays Sept. 11, 9 a.m.

“Real Orange” 5:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., Monday Aug. 22, KOCE: Orange County Fire Authority 9/11 Memorial project.

“Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero” 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., Thursday Aug. 25, Discovery: Reclaiming the Skyline Part 1: The vision behind the reconstruction of the new World Trade Center. (N)

“Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero” 9 p.m., Thursday Aug. 25, Discovery: Reclaiming the Skyline Part 2: Tower One construction rises to a height of 1,000 feet and effectively reclaims the skyline. (N)

“Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero” 10 p.m., Thursday Aug. 25, Discovery: Stories From the Pile: The National September 11 Memorial & Museum tells the story of one of America's darkest days. (N)

TCA 2011: Former President George W. Bush to relate his side of 9/11 in National Geographic Special

Former President George W. Bush will reveal his exclusive first-person insight into the terrorist attacks of 9/11 on the National Geographic Channel's "George W. Bush: the 9/11 interview," a documentary that will highlight a week of programming dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the cable network. The special will premiere Aug. 28.

In an interview taped over two days, Bush gives his personal account of the events leading to and after the attacks on the World Trade Center, starting with his morning jog before a school visit when he first learned that the country was under attack. He discusses his reaction when it was whispered in his ear during his appearance in a classroom that a plane had crashed into the center.

Peter Schnall, executive producer and director of the special, said the interview was conducted without advance questions being provided and that Bush did not use any notes during the sessions. He will be the only person heard during the special, and he will be the only person on camera.

"He takes us hour by hour, day by day, what he was going through and what he was really thinking," Schnall said. "What's so surprising is how personal he is."

The interviews were conducted soon after he learned that Osama bin Laden had been killed.

Schnall added that Bush became emotional when he spoke about the loss of lives during the attacks, including people leaping to their deaths from the towers.

Other specials that will air on the channel during that week include "Inside 9/11," a four-hour look at the events that precipitated the terrorist attacks.

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— Greg Braxton

Photo: Peter Schnall speaks about his National Geographic Channel documentary at the Summer Television Critics Association Press Tour. Credit: Fred Prouser / Reuters