Latest televiewing discoveries

“ROOTS.” Powerful and persuasive dramatization.

OUR LATEST televiewing discoveries on TV this week are paced by the new version of “Roots” on History channel. The original drama series was hailed as one of the most important and significant productions decades ago, because it was the first TV series to dramatize the history of slavery in the United States.

The new version is similarly powerful and persuasive, retelling protagonist Kunta Kinte’s story with even more striking visuals and empathetically natural portrayals. Also impressively evident is its greater attention to contextual details, which help explain why slavery exists to this day, despite many efforts to expose it and its craven perpetrators.

Also viewable is the special CNN show, “New Explorers,” on a new breed venturing into pioneering fields of research and scientific investigation, like a volcanologist, an underwater explorer and a “space anthropologist.”

In the field of arts and culture, a telecast of “Inside Africa” late last month showcased a new museum and gallery in Cape Town, South Africa, that showcases contemporary African artists’ best works.

The show detailed some of the artists’ output, which includes video and film art, enriching the viewer’s appreciation of African art movements beyond traditional exotic, ethnic and tribal expectations.

We also had a good time watching “May the Best House Win,” a show that focuses on residential architecture and interior decor. There are many TV programs about lifestyles as exemplified by people’s homes, but this particular show is different, because it’s a weekly competition that pits four unique homes against each other.

The winner is the home deemed by the four homeowners themselves to deserve the best cumulative scores on point of livability, creativity and “signature” touches.

Expectedly, each of the home owners feels that his or her house is the best, so their critiques on the other homes are scathing and bitchy. Their occasionally savage comments are pungently diverting, but the viewer is still able to get a lot of decor and lifestyle tips from visiting four “signature” houses each week!