Tuning in: On TV this week.
Sunday Jan. 9
Masterpiece Theatre: He Knew He Was Right (PBS, 9-10:30 p.m.; Part Two, Jan. 16): Louis Trevelyan, a young newlywed, allows jealousy to hypnotize him, marring his happy marriage. Everyone in this 19th-century tale seems willing to throw kerosene on the flames of his obsession. The lessons of love are profoundly and gracefully illustrated here.
Unscripted (HBO, 10-11 p.m.): George Clooney's and Steven Soderbergh's new series tracks three struggling actors as they interact with their tough acting teacher (played by Frank Langella) and with the Hollywood elite on the movie sets where they get small roles. It's a blend of improvisation and script that feels real. And it's fun to see Noah Wyle and Bonnie Hunt in cameos. Mature subjects and language.
A Touch of Greatness (PBS, 10 p.m., check local listings): Pioneer educator Albert Cullum exposed his fifth-grade students to great art and big ideas (including the works of Shakespeare and Sophocles) during the '60s and '70s. As a result of his methods, Mr. Cullum's students were far better at spelling, history, and math than his colleagues' traditionally taught classes. The film joyfully reveals that children all have a "touch of greatness" waiting to be tapped.
Battlestar Galactica (Sci Fi Channel, 9-11 p.m.): The première of the 10-part series opens with back-to-back episodes taking up where last year's miniseries left off. With only 50,000 human survivors on board and a race of robots out to destroy them, a spaceship fleet must find a distant planet called "Earth" to colonize. The very first hour includes a theological debate and the philosophical questions are fascinating.
