Sunday, October 3 at 8:00 p.m.
Nature
Black Mamba
The black mamba is one of Africa’s most dangerous and feared snakes, known for being aggressive when disturbed. Rearing up with its head four feet above the ground, it strikes with deadly precision, delivering venom that is packed with three different kinds of toxins 10 times more deadly than needed to kill an adult human. But in the tiny country of Swaziland in southern Africa, a team of herpetologists has an entirely different “take” on these creatures and hopes their six-week study will change public perception of what they feel is the world’s most misunderstood snake.

Sunday, October 3 at 9:00 p.m.
Masterpiece Mystery!
Wallander: Faceless Killers
Kenneth Branagh returns to his remarkable Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated role as the soul-searching Swedish cop, created by best selling novelist Henning Mankell, on Wallander II. Tonight he investigates the brutal slaying of an elderly couple at an isolated farmhouse.

Monday, October 4 at 9:00 p.m.
American Masters
A Letter to Elia
This film, by Martin Scorsese, recounts the life of legendary and controversial filmmaker Elia Kazan, who, during the McCarthy era, committed the "sin" of giving names to the House Committee on Un-American Activities. For this he ostracized and never again fully allowed back into Hollywood's inner circle.

Tuesday, October 5 at 8:00 p.m.
NOVA
AstroSpies
Investigative author Jim Bamford probes the untold story of the elite corps of clandestine astronauts who were never told of the true purpose of their training program. Bamford travels to Russia to reveal the secrets of the Soviet space program — the prototypes of the “Almaz” military space stations that, if deployed, might have led to a Cold War showdown in outer space.

Tuesday, October 8 at 9:00 p.m.
P.O.V.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
The program is a comprehensive look at the release of the Pentagon Papers in 1971 and the resultant political firestorm that may have sealed Americans' disenchantment with the war, and which certainly sealed the fate of the Nixon administration.

Wednesday, October 6 at 8:00 p.m.
Michael Feinstein's American Songbook
This program chronicles Feinstein's ongoing quest to preserve, perpetuate and celebrate one of America's greatest treasures - the American popular songbook -created by some of the nation's finest composers and lyricists such as the Gershwins, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin.

Wednesday, October 6 at 9:00 p.m.
Great Performances
Macbeth
Director Rupert Goold adapts his gripping stage production of Macbeth - with Sir Patrick Stewart and Kate Fleetwood reprising their Tony-nominated performances - into this edgy film adaptation, which relocates the bloody action to a nameless 20th-century netherworld.

Monday, October 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Issues 2010 Election Coverage
Join us as WPBT2's ISSUES covers the 2010 elections. This month, we will feature interviews with candidates and key figures from the primary races up until the November general election. Learn more about the statewide amendments you will see on the ballot and other local races.

Monday, October 11 at 9:00 p.m.
God in America
Exploring the archeology of the site, the forensics of the bones and beautiful but grotesque codices that document the events, this 3-part program paints a new picture of the violent relations between the Aztecs and the conquistadors and rewrites much of what we thought we knew about the Aztec civilization. The documentary airs through Wednesday, October 13th.

Sunday, October 17 at 8:00 p.m.
Nature
Echo: An Elephant to Remember
Echo, the elephant matriarch, was the subject of many films and the leader of a carefully studied herd of elephants in Africa. This past fall, she died of natural causes. This film is a look back at this remarkable animal through extraordinary footage and interviews with the researchers that cared for and studied this amazing herd.

Monday, October 18 at 9:00 p.m.
American Experience
We Shall Remain: After the Mayflower
In March of 1621, in what is now southeastern Massachusetts, Massasoit (actor Marcos Akiaten, Chiricauha Apache), the leading sachem of the Wampanoag, sat down to negotiate with a ragged group of English colonists. Hungry, dirty and sick, the pale-skinned foreigners were struggling to stay alive; they were in desperate need of Native help. A half-century later, as a brutal war flared between the English colonists and a confederation of New England Indians, the wisdom of Massasoit’s diplomatic gamble seemed less clear.

Tuesday, October 19 at 8:00 p.m.
NOVA
Building the Great Cathedrals
Gothic cathedrals are marvels of human achievement and artistry. But how did medieval builders reach such spectacular heights? Consuming the labor of entire towns, sometimes taking a hundred years to build, these architectural marvels were crafted from just hand tools and stone. Many now teeter on the brink of collapse. To save them, a team of engineers, architects, art historians and computer scientists searches the naves, bays and bell-towers for clues to how the dream of these heavenly temples on earth came true.

Tuesday, October 19 at 9:00 p.m.
Dragons Alive
This three-part series reveals the amazing science behind some of the world’s most mysterious reptiles. What makes them so intelligent? Which ones are the most dominant. How did that alligator make it onto the golf course? These are just some of questions that will be answered in this 3-part series.

Tuesday, October 19 at 10:00 p.m.
Frontline
Death by Fire
Several controversial death penalty cases are currently under examination in Texas and in other states, but it’s the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham — convicted for the arson deaths of his three young children — that’s now at the center of the national debate. With unique access to those closest to the case, FRONTLINE examines the Willingham conviction in light of new science that raises doubts about whether the fire at the center of the case was really arson at all.

Wednesday, October 20 at 9:00 p.m.
In Performance at the White House
A Broadway Celebration
The special features a series of performances by major Broadway artists and new talent, presenting selections from American musicals that reflect the spirit, energy and ambition of America. It is also emceed by Nathan Lane and includes performances from Idina Menzel, Brian d’Arcy James, Audra McDonald.

Thursday, October 21
Life on Mars
While in pursuit of a suspect, Detective Sam Tyler is hit by a car. The event jets him back thirty years to 1973 where he learns the "old school" way of solving crime. As he works to find his way back to the present, Sam begins to wonder if his former life was real. Is 1973 real? Did the accident put him in a coma? There is only one way to find out.

Sunday, October 24 at 9:00 p.m.
Masterpiece Mystery!
Sherlock: A Study in Pink
Sherlock Holmes stalks again in a thrilling contemporary version of the Arthur Conan Doyle classic, starring Benedict Cumberbatch (The Last Enemy) as the go-to consulting detective in modern-day London, with Martin Freeman (The Office UK) as his loyal friend, Dr. John Watson. In this episode the duo tackles a case of serial suicides and corner a killer who has mysterious powers over his victims.

Monday, October 25 at 9:00 p.m.
American Experience
We Shall Remain: Tecumseh's Vision
Shawnee warrior Tecumseh and his brother, the prophet Tenskwatawa, organized an ambitious pan-Indian resistance movement. This is a story of strength, pride and pronounced courage.

Monday, October 25 at 10:30 p.m.
American Masters
Bob Dylan: No Direction Home
Roughly chronological, using archival footage inter cut with recent interviews, a story takes shape of Bob Dylan's (b. 1941) coming of age from 1961 to 1966 as a singer, songwriter, performer, and star.

Tuesday, October 26 at 8:00 p.m.
NOVA
Crash of Flight 447
On June 1, 2009, Flight AF447, flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean, taking with it all 228 lives on board. How could a state-of-the-art airliner with elaborate electronic safety and navigation features and a faultless safety record simply vanish?

Tuesday, October 26 at 10:00 p.m.
Frontline
The Spill
Long before the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf, BP was widely viewed as a company that valued deal-making and savvy marketing over safety, a “serial environmental criminal” that left behind a long trail of problems — deadly accidents, disastrous spills, countless safety violations — which many now believe should have triggered action by federal regulators. Could the spill have been prevented?

Sunday, October 31 at 9:00 p.m.
Masterpiece Mystery!
Sherlock: The Blind Banker
Holmes and Watson pursue the case of a banker and a journalist shot dead by a ghostly assailant while uncovering a secret antiquities-smuggling empire.