ABC News debuts the multi-part series “1969” (10 p.m.), recalling a time of tumult and change a half-century in our past. Over the coming weeks, it will focus on events and trends that changed history, from the Stonewall Riots that ushered in a public discussion of gay rights to the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, an aide to Sen. Edward Kennedy left to drown in his car after an accident, an event that did much to curtail America’s most powerful political dynasty.
Tonight’s segment, “Moon Shot,” recalls the Apollo mission to put a man on the moon. The hourlong history includes profiles of some of the unsung women who wrote the software essential to the success of the quarter-million-mile journey that culminated with Neil Armstrong’s “one small step” on July 20, 1969.
As I recall noting during a CNN look at 1968 that ran last year, histories of this era are revealing, not just in their discussion of past events, but in demonstrating what a “man’s world” it was a half-century back.
Contemporary coverage of the space race put absolutely no emphasis on female scientists. The only women celebrated were the astronauts’ wives waiting at home. Mary Jo Kopechne may have changed the course of American political history, but only as a victim. Yoko Ono, also a subject of “1969,” was seen as the foreign exotic who broke up the lovable Liverpool lads, and the Manson women, also covered in “1969,” became an object of fascination and fear because they were “brainwashed.”
I suppose we’ll have to wait for ABC News’ take on 1970 to get to the women’s movement.
— “Frontline” (10 p.m., PBS, check local listings) presents “The Abortion Divide.” Using footage from a report broadcast in 1983, it examines changes in attitudes and laws over the decades. As in the initial “Frontline,” it examines the controversy from the point of view of women confronted with unplanned pregnancies, many of them living in states and regions where hostility to abortion is prevalent.
— TV-themed DVDs available today include the sixth and final season of the addictive Australian melodrama “A Place to Call Home,” now streaming on Acorn. “A Place to Call Home: The Complete Collection” is also available.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— “Boss: The Black Experience in Business” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-PG) profiles famous black entrepreneurs, including Madam C.J. Walker, John H. Johnson, Berry Gordy and Reginald F. Lewis.
— A veteran-turned-congressman faces wartime atrocity charges on “The Code” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG).
— Unspeakable acts on “The Kids Are Alright” (8:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
— A gospel brunch brings familiar faces on “The Village” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— A fourth alien poses problems on the season finale of “Roswell, New Mexico” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14).
— Gwen flashes back to early traumas and career breakthroughs on “Fosse/Verdon” (10 p.m., FX, TV-MA).
CULT CHOICE
— Rattled by his war experiences, an amnesiac veteran (Ronald Colman), marries and then forgets his bride (Greer Garson) in the 1942 adaptation of James Hilton’s novel “Random Harvest” (8 p.m., TCM).
SERIES NOTES
Bombers target a reality TV star on “NCIS” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … Eight move forward on “The Voice” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … Gordon Ramsay hosts “MasterChef” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … Under the weather on “American Housewife” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … Icicle returns on “The Flash” (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG).
Rob Lowe hosts “Mental Samurai” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … New perspectives on “blackish” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … Uncooperative weather on “Bless This Mess” (9:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
A homicidal con man covers his tracks on “NCIS: New Orleans” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … A wounded police officer clings to life on “New Amsterdam” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
LATE NIGHT
Vir Das appears on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS, TV-14) … Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Tony Hale are booked on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., CBS, r) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Dr. Phil McGraw, Sophia Bush, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins and Maggie Rogers on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Mahershala Ali, Aaron Sorkin, Julia Michaels and Niall Horan appear on “The Late Late Show With James Corden” (12:35 a.m., r, CBS).
