Underground poker, financial literacy for kids, and Remembrance programming part of TVO's November 2011 highlights

To view the Enriched Media Release, click here: http://smr.newswire.ca/en/tvo/november-highlights-2011

TORONTO, Oct. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - TVO's November 2011 programming highlights feature premieres of new point-of-view, science, arts and historical documentaries, TVO-produced kids programming teaching financial literacy, and Remembrance documentary, drama and current affairs programs. Highlights include:

• Grinders goes behind the scenes of underground poker. More new documentaries including Fake or Fortune, Coast (series 3) and Into the Mind
• TVOKids programs and online games that teach kids the basics of money
• TVOKids takes part in the 25th Anniversary Rick Hansen Relay
• Remembrance programming includes The Sinking of the Laconia, The First World War From Above, War in the Mind, and Paris 1919

NEW DOCUMENTARIES

Grinders - World Broadcast Premiere
Wednesday November 2, 2011 at 9 pm ET
75 minutes
Produced by Border City Pictures in Association with TVO

With a new baby and wife to support, out-of-work filmmaker Matt Gallagher (The Rise and Fall of Grumpy Burger) tries his hand - and some would say "luck" - at playing poker for a living. Grinders is the director's inside journey into the unconventional, often bizarre, underground world of illegal poker clubs. It's a world populated by colourful characters, straight out of central casting. A world where the workday starts at midnight, runs strictly on cash, and can change forever with the simple flip of a card.

Playing poker to pay the bills means living side by side with risk. But, as Matt soon discovers, the real meaning of risk lies far outside the poker room - and can strike in the most personal way. Matt's intimate, first-person narrative is joined by the voices of other grinders with stories that range from tales of ultimate success to personal disaster.

Grinders will have a special pre-broadcast premiere for Apple iPad users with TVO's new Doc Studio app beginning October 19.

Coast (Series 3) - North American Premiere
Tuesdays at 7 pm ET beginning November 1, 2011
8 / 60 minutes
Produced by Open University for BBC

Host Neil Oliver and a team of experts including historians, archaeologists and geologists set out to uncover the stories of British coastline communities. This time they are headed to Britain's Northern Isles, some 170 islands from the tip of Shetland to the tip of Orkney. From tourism and fishing to military defence and archeology, the coastline is embedded with forgotten social, cultural and natural history.

Fake or Fortune - North American Premiere
Thursdays at 9pm ET November 3, 10, 17 & 24, 2011
4 / 60 minutes
Produced by BBC

Every picture tells a story, but none quite like this as paintings are about to be treated as crime scenes! Beyond the genteel galleries and up-market auction houses of the art world lies a dimension rarely seen - a darker side of incalculable wealth, social ambition, sometimes subterfuge. Journalist Fiona Bruce and art expert Philip Mould investigate the remarkable stories lying beneath the surface of paintings - bringing art to a whole new audience. From Paris and Amsterdam to Cape Town, the banks of the Nile, and New York, the team employ old-fashioned detective skills and the latest forensic testing to reveal compelling tales of lost masterpieces, forgers and Nazi-looted art.

Into the Mind - TVO Premiere
Tuesdays at 9 pm ET November 15, 22 and 29, 2011
3 / 60 minutes
Produced by BBC

Over the last century scientists have devised many ingenious methods to unlock the secrets of the mind. In this series Michael Mosley (The Story of Science) goes in search of these bizarre, brilliant and the unorthodox experiments that have led to scientific discovery.

Alexandria: The Greatest City - North American Premiere
Monday November 21, 2011 at 10 pm ET
60 minutes
Produced by Lion Television

Alexandria was once the biggest and most influential city on the planet, founded by Alexander the Great and home to Cleopatra, Archimedes and the largest library in the world. How did this shining beacon of civilization and knowledge meet its classical demise? Acclaimed historian Bettany Hughes (When the Moors Ruled in Europe) looks at Alexandria past and present, unearthing archaeological gems and following in the footsteps of Hypatia, the city's last great female philosopher and guardian of great Library of Alexandria - whose murder would bring down the curtain not just on an era but on the ancient world as a whole.

TVOKIDS FINANCIAL LITERACY

TVOKids presents a fun way for parents to help their kids learn more about financial literacy. This November, take a look at two TVOKids programs specifically focused on math concepts: Carney the Coin Counting Cat and Tumbletown Tale$, launching November 1.

Carney the Coin Counting Cat
Carney the Coing Counting Cat introduces the basics of money to preschoolers and is accompanied by This and That: Coin Spot, a new online game at tvokids.com. Early learners will be able to tag along with Carney the Coin Counting Cat, who works at the This and That Shop, the corner store in Gisèle's Big Backyard. Your little ones will focus on concepts such as: Canadian coin identification, currency amounts and learning that money is used to buy things. Look for it in Gisele's Big Backyard, TVOKids' morning programming block for preschool kids.

Tumbletown Tale$
In the Tumbletown Tale$ series, TVOKids will help school-aged kids put the spotlight on learning how to think critically about money, develop a realistic understanding of how to use it, and appreciate its value. Last year, Tumbleweed (the main character) got a job as a newspaper reporter, and this year Tumbleweed learns how to manage his money in Tumbletown Tale$. Still working in the newsroom, Tumbleweed struggles to live on a budget and stay out of debt. Look for it Mondays and Wednesday at 3:55 pm in The Space, TVOKids' afterschool programming block.

TVOKIDS AND THE 25th ANNIVERSARY RICK HANSEN RELAY

As Rick Hansen travels across Canada on the 25th Anniversary Rick Hansen Relay commemorating his Man in Motion World Tour, TVOKids will have a part to play when the tour reaches Toronto on November 6. Rick Hansen is a hero to tvokids.com kid reporter Hisham Mohammad and Hansen has agreed to have Hisham be one of the Medal Bearers. Hisham will also conduct a one-on-one interview with Hansen.

Visit tvokids.com to see Hisham on the relay and his interview with Rick Hansen, available November 7.

REMEMBRANCE

TVO's Remembrance programming includes documentaries, dramas and current affairs programs airing throughout November that offer stories of heroism, rare historical footage, and contemporary perspectives on war.

The Sinking of the Laconia - North American Premiere
Sundays at 9 pm ET
November 6 and 13, 2011
2 / 85 minutes
Produced by TalkbackThames in association with Teamworx and ARD

In September 1942, a German U-boat fired on and sank a British troop carrier, the Laconia. As the U-boat Captain, Werner Hartenstein, listened to the cries of the drowning passengers, he realized the ship had been carrying Italian prisoners of war, Polish guards and British women and children. Having sunk the ship, Hartenstein could have left them to their uncertain fate in the water, but instead he made the incredible decision to save as many lives as he could. This beautifully produced two-part drama tells the true story of unexpected humanity in the fog of war.

The First World War From Above - North American Premiere
Monday, November 28, 2011 at 10 pm ET
60 minutes
Produced by BBC

The scale of the First World War is brought to life by a collection of rarely-seen historical footage and photographs. Aerial footage, shot from an airship in the summer of 1919, reveals the destruction inflicted on European towns and countryside, from the coast of Belgium to the border of Switzerland. Present-day footage retraces that journey, rediscovering the scars, gashes and fault lines still clearly visible on the landscape, and reveals the heroic but tragic story of the pilot who helped make the original film.

Allan Gregg in Conversation - Dan Bjarnason and Lynne Olson
Friday, November 4, 2011 at 10 pm ET
30 minutes
Produced by TVO

Dan Bjarnason, author of Triumph at Kapyong, tells the story of Canada's pivotal battle in the Korean War. Historian and author of Citizens of London, Lynne Olson, describes how some well-known Americans stationed in London, including iconic journalist Edward R. Murrow and diplomat Averell Harriman, helped Winston Churchill persuade America to enter World War Two. 

Also visit tvo.org for an online Allan Gregg in Conversation miniseries on war, featuring interviews with authors Margaret MacMillan, Pierre Berton, Romeo Dallaire and others.

War in the Mind - Encore
Friday November 11, 2011 at 10 pm ET
War in the Mind gives voice to Canadian soldiers living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), exploring their thoughts and the therapeutic treatment they undergo to help erase the stigma surrounding PTSD.

Paris 1919 - Encore
Friday November 11, 2011 at midnight ET
Inspired by Margaret MacMillan's acclaimed book, Paris 1919 captures the atmosphere, characters and the dramatic cut-and-thrust of diplomacy and territorial ambition as political leaders redraw the map of the world, attempting to broker a lasting peace after World War One.

TVOKids Remembers

TVOKids helps children participate in Remembrance Day with its annual "Thank A Soldier" campaign. From October 11 to November 11, kids are invited to visit tvokids.com to submit personal shout-outs and thanks which will be delivered to Canadian troops stationed overseas. Kids can tune into TVOKids' The Space after school to hear some of these messages read on the air.

Also for Remembrance:

The Last Day of World War One - Sunday, November 6, 2011 at 8 pm ET
Michael Palin visits battlefields in France and Belgium to find out what happened on the day the First World War ended.

The Great Escape: The Reckoning - Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 8 pm ET
A drama-documentary about of the RAF Special Investigation Branch's hunt for the Gestapo suspects who murdered 50 Allied airmen after their escape from a POW camp.

Rape of Europa - Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 9 pm ET
During the Third Reich and World War Two, millions of Western art treasures were looted and destroyed by the Nazis on a scale unprecedented in history. Rape of Europa charts the systematic theft, deliberate destruction and miraculous survival of Europe's art treasures.

Shooters - Sunday, November 20, 2011 at 8 pm ET
The Canadian Army Film and Photo Unit (CFPU) scooped the world on the major events of the Second World War in Europe: the invasion of Sicily, the D-Day landing and the liberation of Paris. The CFPU shot the first feature documentary while under fire, and captured the only footage shot of an action leading to a Victoria Cross.

10 Days to War - Sunday, November 20, 2011 at 9 pm ET The clock ticks in the countdown to the Iraq War as eight gripping storylines reveal backroom negotiations and political maneuvering at all levels of power in Britain. Starring Stephen Rea, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Conti and Art Malik.

About TVO
TVO is Ontario's public educational media organization and a trusted source of interactive educational content that informs, inspires and stimulates curiosity and thought. TVO's vision is to empower people to be engaged citizens of Ontario through educational media. TVO is funded primarily by the Province of Ontario and supported by sponsors and thousands of donors. For more information, visit tvo.org. 

Where to Find TVO

SOURCE TVO

Image with caption: "Grinders (CNW Group/TVO)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20111013_C3849_PHOTO_EN_4467.jpg

Image with caption: "Coast (series 3) (CNW Group/TVO)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20111013_C3849_PHOTO_EN_4469.jpg

Image with caption: "Fake or Fortune (CNW Group/TVO)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20111013_C3849_PHOTO_EN_4468.jpg

Image with caption: "Into the Mind (CNW Group/TVO)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20111013_C3849_PHOTO_EN_4465.jpg

Image with caption: "Alexandria: The Greatest City (CNW Group/TVO)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20111013_C3849_PHOTO_EN_4471.jpg

Image with caption: "Tumbletown Tale$ (CNW Group/TVO)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20111013_C3849_PHOTO_EN_4462.jpg

Image with caption: "This and That: Coin Spot (CNW Group/TVO)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20111013_C3849_PHOTO_EN_4470.jpg

Image with caption: "Hisham Mohammad (CNW Group/TVO)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20111013_C3849_PHOTO_EN_4466.jpg

Image with caption: "Sinking of the Laconia (CNW Group/TVO)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20111013_C3849_PHOTO_EN_4463.jpg

Image with caption: "War in the Mind (CNW Group/TVO)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20111013_C3849_PHOTO_EN_4461.jpg

Image with caption: "Paris 1919 (CNW Group/TVO)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20111013_C3849_PHOTO_EN_4464.jpg

Video with caption: "Video: Grinders". Video available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1NZOzphwiyQ

Video with caption: "Video: Coast (series 3)". Video available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aisTffCwN6o&feature=player_embedded

Video with caption: "Video: Fake or Fortune". Video available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz5k9a4Xxhs&feature=player_embedded

Video with caption: "Video: Into the Mind". Video available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k1bkMIh4Ao&feature=player_embedded

Video with caption: "Video: Alexandria: The Greatest City". Video available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGiVV81yLBs&feature=player_embedded

Video with caption: "Video: Tumbletown Tale$". Video available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg45_t0TC20&feature=player_embedded

Video with caption: "Video: The Sinking of the Laconia". Video available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj6NjPtOhuI&feature=player_embedded

Video with caption: "Video: The First World War from Above". Video available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TOcq376-1Q&feature=player_embedded

Video with caption: "Video: War in the Mind". Video available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPY_Gpu0oCI&feature=player_embedded

Video with caption: "Video: Paris 1919 ". Video available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzVrHa347JQ&feature=player_embedded