A four-part mini-series, “Frontier: Legends of the Old Northwest,” will tell about the people and conflicts in the area that is now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan during the second half of the 18th Century.
The mini-series, airing at 8 p.m. Aug. 17-20 on The History Channel, will use re-enactments shot at many of the sites where the action originally took place, including Naperville.
Episodes include “Rogers’ Rangers,” which tells of Robert Rogers, the unorthodox leader of America’s first military special forces unit, and “The Long Knives,” the story of George Rogers Clark, the Revolutionary War general and brother of William Clark of Lewis and Clark fame.
– “Diana: In Her Own Words,” a collection of statements and public appearances by Princess Diana, will be released on video Aug. 18. It begins after her honeymoon in 1981.
– Improved versions of the original “Star Trek” series begin an exclusive run on the Sci-Fi Channel starting Sept. 1. Each of the series’ 80 episodes has been digitally remastered with original footage, which was edited during syndication in the ’70s, restored. Episodes will air chronologically in a 90-minute format and will be hosted by William Shatner. When the 80 are done in late December, they will start over again in early January, this time hosted by Leonard Nimoy.
The show will air from 6:30 to 8 p.m. weekdays and will include interviews with cast members, special guest stars and the crew.
– “Should people keep a gun in their homes?” “Have claims of sexual harassment gone too far?” “Should police conduct high-speed chases?”
Both sides of these three arguments will be presented in “You Be The Judge,” a one-hour NBC special airing at 6 p.m. Aug. 16, on WMAQ-Ch. 5. Six directors were asked to do anything but lie when presenting a compelling argument for one side of each issue. Jerry Orbach of “Law & Order” will host.
– “Welcome to Paradox,” a new science-fiction anthology series, debuts at 9 p.m. Aug. 17 on The Sci-Fi Channel. It will cull its stories from current and classic science-fiction literature, featuring screenplays from Scott Frost (“The X-Files”), William Neal Harrison (“Mountains of the Moon”), Miguel Tejada Flores (“Deceptions”) and Jeremy Lipp (“The Hitchhiker”). Guest stars will include Ice-T (“Players”) and Nicholle Tom (“The Nanny”).
– A national talent search begins Thursday in California for actors to play Sonny Bono and Cher in a two-hour movie scheduled for next year on ABC. “And the Beat Goes On: The Sonny and Cher Story” will be told from the perspective of Bono and based on the late entertainer-politician’s book, “And the Beat Goes On.”
– “Don’t Take My Daddy” will tell the real story of three American women facing the choice between raising their children alone in the United States. or staying with their husbands, natives of Northern Ireland threatened with deportation because of ties to the Irish Republican Army. The one-hour show, the fifth in the CBS News series “Before Your Eyes,” will air at 9 p.m. Aug. 24.
– “Monday Night Blast,” the first prime-time pre-game show in NFL history, will broadcast live from the new ESPN Zone in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. “Monday Night Football’s” 29th season kicks off Sept. 7 when the New England Patriots visit the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos.
– “Upright Citizens Brigade,” a new sketch comedy series starring improvisers who trained at Chicago’s Annoyance Theatre and Improv Olympic, premieres at 9:30 p.m. Aug. 19 on Comedy Central. It follows a new episode of “South Park.”
