By Dean Robbins
‘This Emotional Life’ brings science to bear
“This Emotional Life” (Monday, 8 p.m., PBS) explores the nature of happiness. Why is it often an elusive goal? The subject itself may sound elusive, but host Daniel Gilbert, a Harvard psychologist, brings the latest scientific research to bear. We learn that nature wired us to be bummed out when relationships go badly and that new therapies can substantially improve people’s lives.
Gilbert cites a sickening though important study from the 1950s. A University of Wisconsin researcher removed young monkeys from their mothers and substituted two fakes: one made of terrycloth, which offered comfort but no food; and another made of wire, which offered food but no comfort. The young monkeys gravitated to comfort over food, suggesting that love is more important.
Fast forward to the present, where we meet people with trouble forming connections — those who have Asperger Syndrome, for example, or who languished in orphanages too long as children. Up-to-date therapy offers them hope, though anyone with a wire mother is still seriously screwed.
‘Frank the Entertainer… in a Basement Affair’
Sunday, 7 p.m. (VH1)
VH1 dating series tend to favor grotesques. And once the network gets hold of an especially icky star, it encourages even ickier behavior in sequel after sequel. Frank Moresco appeared as a supporting player in a couple of these shows, “I Love Money” and “I Love New York,” and now gets his own dating showcase.
“Frank the Entertainer…in a Basement Affair” makes hay out of Frank’s living situation — stuck at home with his overbearing Italian parents. He turns out to be more appealing than other VH1 reality stars, and most of the 15 women who come to live in his parents’ house are charmingly — rather than creepily — eccentric. So far, this is the rare dating series that doesn’t make you sick. (Feel free to use that quote in your ads, VH1.) CV
