The TV Column

Amazing Human Body probes 'internal mechanics'

Bryan Hughes, a professional snake catcher in Arizona, appears in the Survive segment of The Amazing Human Body that deals with our fears. The special airs Wednesday on AETN
Bryan Hughes, a professional snake catcher in Arizona, appears in the Survive segment of The Amazing Human Body that deals with our fears. The special airs Wednesday on AETN

You can always count on PBS to let you know just how wonderful you are. Well, not only you, personally, but human beings in general.

The Amazing Human Body, a co-production between PBS and the BBC, airs in three hourlong segments beginning at 7 p.m. Wednesday on PBS and AETN. The engrossing special "explores the internal mechanics of the human body through pioneering graphics and captivating scientific case studies."

For example, Recker Eans, a child prodigy drummer from Arizona, demonstrates the brain's ability to prioritize mental development over physical growth. Also, children plunging into an icy lake in Norway show how shivering saves our lives, and low-level torture in a London laboratory highlights the way our bodies block pain.

The special reveals how the human body is "the most sophisticated organism on earth" through the segments titled (in order) Grow, Survive and Learn.

In Grow, we follow how life begins as a tiny single cell and, over the course of a lifetime, ends up being a person with more than 37 trillion cells. The hour also presents new discoveries that can help us live longer, healthier lives, including how cell regeneration allows octogenarian Lew Hollander to compete in a triathlon at his advanced age.

In Survive, we see how just living through each day is something of a miracle. The hour covers how we fight off infections and repair damage "thanks to our remarkable internal arsenals that defend us against outside threats." Also, fear -- such as the fear of snakes -- is something that has to be learned because for the first four months of life, babies are essentially fearless.

In Learn, we see how different experiences shape the brain and body together, allowing them to adapt to the outside environment and develop new skills. Most fascinating is how the brain forms memories by storing and processing billions of pieces of information every second.

All three segments underscore how the human body is something of a scientific marvel with finely tuned systems that keep us chugging along despite ourselves.

Turtle power! Cowabunga, dude! I remember our son's heartfelt analysis as if it were yesterday. "Dad," he said, a faraway look in his eye, "that was the greatest movie ever made."

It was 1990 and Ben was 8-years-old. We had just emerged from the theater, having watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

That was the first offering of a trilogy of TMNT movies in the '90s. It was live action and the one where reporter April O'Neil (Judith Hoag) is ordered silenced by Shredder (James Saito), the evil leader of the ninja Foot Clan. She gets rescued by the turtles and the hockey stick-wielding vigilante, Casey Jones (Elias Koteas).

Despite Ben's review, Oscar snubbed the film, but it did take home the 1991 Kids' Choice Award for favorite animal star(s).

The turtles have had six feature films over the years -- the original trilogy (1990, 1991, 1993), a computer-animated offering in 2007, a live-action Michael Bay reboot in 2014 and its sequel in 2016.

But before that first martial arts/comedy, there were the TMNT comics and the popular cartoon series that debuted in 1988. They followed the adventures of the four mutated turtles who lived in the sewers, loved pizza and were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei, Splinter, in the art of ninjutsu.

Today, countless millennials fondly remember those earliest years.

And now ... the saga continues.

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is Nickelodeon's latest animated series that follows our "heroes in a half shell" as they discover new powers and encounter a strange world they never knew existed beneath the streets of New York.

This is the fourth animated series since 1987. It premiered at 5:30 p.m. Monday. If you missed it and can't wait until next Monday, never fear. The first five episodes are already posted on Nick.com.

The series stars the voices of Omar Miller (Ballers) as Raphael, Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation) as Leonardo, Josh Brener (Silicon Valley) as Donatello, Brandon Mychal Smith (You're the Worst) as Michelangelo, Kat Graham (The Vampire Diaries) as April, Eric Bauza (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) as Splinter and WWE Superstar John Cena as new villain, Baron Draxum.

The Baron's ambition is to mutate all humans with his insect-like creatures called Oozesquitoes.

If you're inspired by the new series, head up to the attic to see if you can find that box of old Turtles action figures -- the one with the mutants Rocksteady and Bebop.

The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:

mstorey@arkansasonline.com

Style on 09/18/2018

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