TV Best Bets

NOVA "Car of the Future"

Tuesday, April 21 at 8 p.m.

How will the car of the future be powered? Will it run on hydrogen, batteries, ethanol or some as-yet-undiscovered technology? Find out as Tom and Ray Magliozzi of NPR's Car Talk hit the road to take a light-hearted but knowledgeable look at the serious issue of what's to come for transportation in America.

Call of the Killer Whales

Wednesday, April 22 at 9 p.m.

Orcas, also called killer whales, number fewer than 100,000 worldwide, and learning more about them is a global endeavor for Jean-Michel Cousteau. In this new episode of the Ocean Adventures series, Cousteau and his team take a closer look at the connections between the health of the world's killer whales and the health of our planet.

Secrets of the Dead "Blackbeard's Lost Ship"

Thursday, April 23 at 9 p.m.

Off the coast of North Carolina, a group of marine archaeologists has discovered the remains of the Queen Anne's Revenge, the notorious pirate Blackbeard's flagship. This new program follows their efforts to salvage the artifacts found in the wreck while piecing together clues that will separate fact from fiction in this centuries-old story.

Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai

Friday, April 24 at 10 p.m.

This inspirational Independent Lens film tells the story of Kenya's Wangari Maathai, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who founded a grassroots organization encouraging rural women and families to plant trees in community groups. The film demonstrates how Maathai's activism helped her people reclaim their land and culture and, in the process, change the course of Kenya's history.

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Saturday, April 25 at 9 p.m.

Don Cheadle stars in the powerful true-life story of Paul Rusesabagina, a heroic hotel manager who saved more than 1,200 Tutsi refugees from certain death during the violent 1994 Rwandan genocide. Sophie Okonedo, Joaquin Phoenix and Nick Nolte also star in this Academy Award-nominated film.