Waches Tonight's TV highlights

Tonight's TV highlights
Midsomer Murders | Wonderland: Boy Cheerleaders | Michael Wood's Story Of England | The Boys Of H Company | Mad Men | Film 2010 With Claudia Winkleman

'You can't have an unhappy cheerleader' ... (left to right) Scott, Elliott, Josh, Joe, Mackenzie, Harvey and Camoye in Wonderland: Boy Cheerleaders. Photograph: BBC/Quark Films/Quark Films
Midsomer Murders
8pm, ITV1

A guilty Wednesday evening diversion or subtle deconstruction of a rural bourgeois idyll? Either way, John Nettles as DCI Tom Barnaby is remarkable in that he doesn't seem to do anything – it's perhaps the easiest job in TV, or maybe he's the Charles Bronson of prime time, where a fixed expression and narrow eyes act as a cover for manifold emotions. This week the bodies start dropping round a boxing champ, his dodgy manager, a justice of the peace with familial complications, the village solicitor and an artist who shares a workshop with a moody blacksmith. MS
Wonderland: Boy Cheerleaders
9pm, BBC2

This latest dispatch from the enlightening documentary series follows a group of boys from south Leeds as they compete in their first cheerleading competition. What is really striking about this film is not the fact that they are breaking gender stereotypes in suburban Yorkshire, but the strain that the commitment of practice and performance puts on the boys and their families. As their charismatic trainer so aptly puts it, "you can't have an unhappy cheerleader – it just doesn't work". WC
Michael Wood's Story Of England
9pm, BBC4

England's history, Michael Wood's latest visit to Kibworth reminds us, is not a smooth progression towards democracy and freedom in which the great and good graciously give ground when confronted with reasonable arguments. Rather, it's a tale punctuated with moments of dissent and violence, a compelling narrative that runs alongside the efforts of ordinary people to gain access to education. Accordingly, tonight's episode encompasses Wat Tyler, the ascent of Kibworth residents to a new mercantile class, and the free-thinking Lollards. JW
The Boys Of H Company
9pm, More4

Britain has more than enough second world war mythology of its own to consider, but this two-hour documentary persuasively urges the sparing of a thought for the US marines who stormed the Japanese island fortress of Iwo Jima in February 1945. The 33-day battle killed 7,000 American soldiers – and won the marines more than a quarter of the medals of honour awarded in the entire war. The film focuses on H Company of the marines' 5th Division, a unit comprised largely of teenagers who had never seen combat. AM
Coppied by http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2010/oct/13/midsomer-murders-wonderland-boy-cheerleaders

Watch Too much TV psychologically harms children: study

Too much TV psychologically harms children: study


AFP/File – School children play arcade games during the opening of the "Game On" exhibition at The Science
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Hiding the TV remote and games console controller is a good thing to do to kids if it's the only way to limit the time they spend in front of a screen, according to a study published Monday.
The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Bristol, found that youngsters who spend hours each day in front of the TV or games console have more psychological difficulties like problems relating to peers, emotional issues, hyperactivity or conduct challenges, than those who don't.
And contrary to what earlier studies have indicated, the negative impact of screen time was not remedied by increasing a child's physical activity levels, says the study, published in the US journal Pediatrics.
The researchers got 1,013 children between the ages of 10 and 11 to self-report average daily hours spent watching television or playing -- not doing homework -- on a computer. Responses ranged from zero to around five hours per day.
The children also completed a 25-point questionnaire to assess their psychological state, and the time they spent in moderate to vigorous activity was measured using a device called an accelerometer, which was worn around the waist for seven days.
The researchers found that children who spent two hours or more a day watching television or playing on a computer were more likely to get high scores on the questionnaire, indicating they had more psychological difficulties than kids who did not spend a lot of time in front of a screen.
Even children who were physically active but spent more than two hours a day in front of a screen were at increased risk of psychological difficulties, indicating that screen time might be the chief culprit.
Earlier studies have found that while more time spent in front of a screen led to lower well-being, physical activity improved one's state of mind. That led researchers to believe that upping physical activity levels could counteract the negative impact of watching TV or playing on the computer.
And many parents and children think that spending a lot of time on the computer or in front of the television is OK if it's part of a "balanced lifestyle", the study in Pediatrics says.
"Excessive use of electronic media is not a concern if children are physically active," the study says.
But its findings indicate that might not be the case, and the researchers advise parents to limit their children's computer use and TV viewing time to ensure their "optimal well-being."
Coppied by http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101011/wl_uk_afp/healthmindchildrentelevisioncomputer;_ylt=Apec7zbcbj1JVSaAiT9BnDCs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFpZWljODZuBHBvcwMzNgRzZWMDYWNjb3JkaW9uX21vc3RfcG9wdWxhcgRzbGsDdG9vbXVjaHR2cHN5

Watch Too much TV psychologically harms children: study

Too much TV psychologically harms children: study


AFP/File – School children play arcade games during the opening of the "Game On" exhibition at The Scienc
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Hiding the TV remote and games console controller is a good thing to do to kids if it's the only way to limit the time they spend in front of a screen, according to a study published Monday.
The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Bristol, found that youngsters who spend hours each day in front of the TV or games console have more psychological difficulties like problems relating to peers, emotional issues, hyperactivity or conduct challenges, than those who don't.
And contrary to what earlier studies have indicated, the negative impact of screen time was not remedied by increasing a child's physical activity levels, says the study, published in the US journal Pediatrics.
The researchers got 1,013 children between the ages of 10 and 11 to self-report average daily hours spent watching television or playing -- not doing homework -- on a computer. Responses ranged from zero to around five hours per day.
The children also completed a 25-point questionnaire to assess their psychological state, and the time they spent in moderate to vigorous activity was measured using a device called an accelerometer, which was worn around the waist for seven days.
The researchers found that children who spent two hours or more a day watching television or playing on a computer were more likely to get high scores on the questionnaire, indicating they had more psychological difficulties than kids who did not spend a lot of time in front of a screen.
Even children who were physically active but spent more than two hours a day in front of a screen were at increased risk of psychological difficulties, indicating that screen time might be the chief culprit.
Earlier studies have found that while more time spent in front of a screen led to lower well-being, physical activity improved one's state of mind. That led researchers to believe that upping physical activity levels could counteract the negative impact of watching TV or playing on the computer.
And many parents and children think that spending a lot of time on the computer or in front of the television is OK if it's part of a "balanced lifestyle", the study in Pediatrics says.
"Excessive use of electronic media is not a concern if children are physically active," the study says.
But its findings indicate that might not be the case, and the researchers advise parents to limit their children's computer use and TV viewing time to ensure their "optimal well-being."
coppied by http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101011/wl_uk_afp/healthmindchildrentelevisioncomputer;_ylt=Apec7zbcbj1JVSaAiT9BnDCs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFpZWljODZuBHBvcwMzNgRzZWMDYWNjb3JkaW9uX21vc3RfcG9wdWxhcgRzbGsDdG9vbXVjaHR2cHN5