Tuning In to TV

Age of destruction

The rise and fall of the U.S. record industry soon could be the subject of an HBO film.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, HBO Films is developing a movie based on the book “Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age” by music journalist Steve Knopper.

“Self-Destruction” spans 30 years, beginning with the crash of the disco craze in the late 1970s and continuing through the CD boom in the late 1980s and 1990s, the music industry’s battle with Napster and other free file-sharing online services in the 2000s and the sharp decline in sales of CDs, which have been replaced by digital downloads.

’Mercy’ gets ’Real’

Look out, “Mercy” hospital: Teresa Giudice and Jacqueline Laurita of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” are checking in for a guest appearance on the NBC medical drama.

TVGuide.com has confirmed that Miss Giudice and Miss Laurita will play themselves in an upcoming episode in which the pair meet Chloe (Michelle Trachtenberg) in a New Jersey bar.

Fewer ’Numb3rs’

Are the days for “Numb3rs” numbered?

According to the Hollywood Reporter, CBS has opted to cut back the order for the veteran crime series from 22 to 16 episodes.

Friday nights have taken a big ratings hit this fall, and “Numb3rs,” in its sixth season, has been no exception.

Last week, the drama starring Rob Morrow and David Krumholtz averaged just 7.9 million viewers overall.

Leaving ’Heroes’

Adrian Pasdar has been let go from NBC’s “Heroes,” sources confirm to TVGuide.com. Reports of a major character’s death and departure from the show began circulating last month.

A studio representative for the NBC series would not confirm Mr. Pasdar’s exit, TVGuide.com reports.

This wouldn’t be the first time Mr. Pasdar’s character, Sen. Nathan Petrelli, has been killed off in the series. At the end of the third season, Nathan’s throat was slit by the supervillain Sylar, but Mr. Pasdar remained in the cast because Sylar was forced to take on Nathan’s guise and memories.

The last time we saw the “new” Nathan, he had been shot by a hit man and unceremoniously buried. Because we’re talking about “Heroes,” though, whether that’s truly the end for Mr. Pasdar remains to be seen.

Weekend watch

Friday

• Washington in the ’60s (10 p.m., WETA-Channel 26) — Native Washingtonians will, no doubt, welcome this walk down memory lane. An hour, however, is simply too little time to ponder the city’s numerous shifts, both political and cultural. The documentary offers a cursory look, at best. Yet it’s still chock-full of information on the District’s ongoing transformation from a sleepy, segregated Southern town into the capital of the free world. Narrated by newswoman Connie Chung (whose husband, Maury Povich, is one of the native Washingtonian talking heads along with former D.C. Council member Charlene Drew Jarvis and conservative commentator Patrick J. Buchanan), the program revisits several milestones. Among them: the Kennedy White House and its impact on the city; a successful strike against the city’s public transportation carrier, D.C. Transit (a forerunner of Metro), led by a young Marion Barry; the creation of the Capital Beltway; the continuing quest for home rule; and the attempts to integrate the popular Glen Echo Amusement Park. A passing glance at the old Hot Shoppes restaurant chain conjures up mouth-watering memories, but ultimately disappoints by not mentioning two of the eatery’s most popular items: the Mighty Mo double-decker burger (with its tangy secret sauce) and the Orange Freeze, a chilled milkshake-style beverage that definitely lived up to its name.

Saturday

• The Wanda Sykes Show (11 p.m., Fox) — The stand-up comic actress (and D.C. native) kicks off her eponymous late-night Saturday program by welcoming “24” actress Mary Lynn Rajskub, “The Amazing Race” host Phil Keoghan and actor Daryl “Chill” Mitchell (of Fox TV’s “Brothers).

Sunday

• Unsung ( 8 p.m., TV One) — The life of funk and R&B bassist William “Bootsy” Collins, who found fame as a member of James Brown’s band and Parliament Funkadelic before striking out on his own, is in the spotlight. Now 58, Mr. Collins played on Funkadelic’s 1975 hit LP, “Mothership Connection.” He also played on several of Brown’s biggest hits, including “Super Bad,” “Soul Power” and “Talking Loud and Sayin’ Nothing,” although he remained with the Godfather of Soul for less than a year.

• Written and compiled by Robyn-Denise Yourse from Web and wire reports.