Talking dogs and female gladiators up for discussion on PBS

NOVA SPECIAL 'CAN DOGS TALK?' AND 'QUEENS OF COMBAT' ON PBS
   
Dog owners may wish to tune into the one-hour documentary “Can Dogs Talk?” as part of the award-winning PBS science series NOVA, which premieres on Feb. 4.
   
The film explores the viral phenomenon of “button dogs,” who appear to use recorded sound buttons to communicate, and follows scientists as they try to answer the question of whether “talking dogs” are communicating their thoughts and desires with us.
   
To find out, a team of scientists led by Dr. Federico Rossano from University of California San Diego and Dr. Amalia Bastos from Johns Hopkins University are conducting the largest animal communication study in history, analyzing millions of “button” presses from thousands of dogs they’ve recruited.
   
The film captures some astonishing moments that challenge our assumptions about animal intelligence, from dogs that seemingly engage in conversations to those who learn new words with incredible speed, showing just how far their linguistic abilities might stretch.
   
Scientific understanding of canines’ linguistic capabilities is still in its early stages, but the massive amount of data from this study could help expand researchers’ understanding of animal cognition and the nature of the mutual understanding between our species.
   
“Can Dogs Talk?” ponders whether our domestication of dogs and their evolution as our closest companions have uniquely positioned them to learn our language. Perhaps the close bond between humans and dogs could become even closer.
   
According to executive producer Kirstie McLure, “For centuries, we’ve wondered what our dogs are really thinking. With unprecedented access to the world’s largest animal communication study, this film explores whether science is finally giving us a way to cross the communication barrier.”
   
Every pet owner wishes they could talk to their dog. I know that’s how I feel. Our large dog expresses a lot just with her eyes, along with the occasional poke with her paw. 
  
It would be nice to have a conversation with a dog based upon a mutual understanding across the species divide. “Can Dogs Talk?” may provide insights into cognition and language.

   

The PBS popular series “Secret of the Dead” begins the new year exploring evidence for two ancient mysteries. “Queens of Combat” explores whether female gladiators fought in Ancient Roman arenas.
   
What if women were hidden among the ranks of Ancient Rome’s fearsome gladiators? A group of experts searches for evidence to prove women once fought in the arena just like men. 
   
Combining history, archeology, and forensic investigation, they journey across Europe in a quest for answers. If a female gladiator’s existence can be proven definitively, what can we learn about their lives?
   
Going back to the times of tyrannical Roman emperors like Nero and Tiberius 2,000 years ago proves to be a difficult task for this mission. The experts agreed that it is harder to trace the lives of people from two millennia ago. 
   
What they establish is that Ancient Rome’s gladiators were glorified warriors, men of terrifying armor, bulging muscles, and the Roman ideal of masculinity. People came to the amphitheaters to see bloodthirsty gladiatorial fights.
   
“Queens of Combat” recognizes men dominated as fighters, but the program asks what if women were hidden in their ranks, postulating that scholars believe there may also be proof of female gladiators hidden in ancient texts.
   
Women were not frail and meek, and they were not locked away from combat. However, gladiators primarily came from the ranks of the enslaved and convicts. Occasionally, members of the upper class chose to fight in the arena for glory.
   
Roman historians were exclusively men, and any surviving contemporary texts were written by men who fixated on masculinity and reporting male exploits, and women were rarely included in the story.
   
London’s Westminster Abbey hides an obscure text about women in the gladiatorial arena. Kathleen Coleman, expert on Ancient Roman poetry, discovered a poem of the first century with “a couplet of two lines which appear to be about women performing in spectacle.”
   
Professor Edith Hall visited an Italian museum to view a decree from the Roman Senate in a hidden proclamation about laws that did not allow men and women to offer themselves out by contract to become a gladiator. Women were warned not to fight in the arena like men.
   
There’s a lot more to this special that raises even more questions than answers about women in gladiatorial combat. “Queens of Combat” premiers on January 28, 2006. 
   
“The Quest for Camelot,” which was not available for review, premieres on Wednesday, Feb. 4. The premise for this special is whether the stories about King Arthur can be proven true.
   
Was the legendary court of Camelot a real place? Professor Mark Horton journeyed across Britain to prove real events and places inspired the chivalric myths.
   
The professor scours medieval texts and archaeological sites for new understanding of Arthurian legends and what Britain was like after the Romans left in the fifth century. Here at home, we think of Camelot as the romanticized image of John F. Kennedy’s presidency.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.