From comedies to social commentary: 10 best things to watch, read or listen to this week

'Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project'

No matter how much TV you've been consuming these days, you're an amateur couch potato compared with Stokes, a Philadelphia activist and public access TV producer who spent 30 years recording shows around the clock. Was she a visionary or a little nuts? This "Independent Lens" film offers plenty of support for both theories, but one thing is clear: Stokes was more fascinating — and complicated — than 96% of the personalities she captured on videotape. 10 p.m. Monday, TPT, Ch. 2

'Dating Around'

In this second season, eligible singles continue to engage in carbon-copy dates with five prospective mates. At the end of each 30-minute installment, it's revealed which one he or she called up for a second outing. The production budget is higher than most shows in the genre, which will help viewers overlook the somewhat sleazy premise. But producers get high marks for embracing diversity. Too bad they didn't also capture the diverse offerings of New Orleans, the setting in six new episodes. The couples might as well be meeting up in Burnsville. Netflix

'The Government Inspector'

When Twin Cities playwright Jeffrey Hatcher's adaptation of the Nikolai Gogol play was produced off-Broadway a few summers ago, folks who saw it used words like "sidesplitting." Which was frustrating for those who weren't able to make it to New York for the limited run in Red Bull Theater's small playhouse. Now we can all catch up with it, as the cast — featuring Michael Urie ("Ugly Betty") — reunites for a live reading to benefit the theater. Free, with donations encouraged. 7:30 p.m. Monday, RedBullTheater.com

'Dave' and 'The American President'

'Zooming in With David Zucker and Pat Proft'

Wayzata's own Proft, a prolific screenwriter whose credits include the "Police Academy" movies, will join frequent collaborator Zucker for a program of jokes and stories about their work, which includes "Airplane!," the "Naked Gun" movies and "Police Squad!" TV series. The Zoom sesh is at 9 p.m. Monday, and the $20 ticket includes entry in a raffle to receive DVDs of some of those titles, which have become popular again as housebound comedy fans search for timeless laughs. flapperscomedy.com

'Ringside'

Filmmaker Andre Hormann displayed the patience and determination of Muhammad Ali by spending years with two promising teen boxers hoping to go pro, capturing the challenges of growing up on Chicago's South Side and the importance of dedicated fathers in the process. Not all goes well. One gets sidetracked by a stint in a correctional center; the other blows a big chance to go to the Olympics. But in the end, there's plenty to cheer for. "Ringside" isn't as powerful as the stellar 1994 documentary "Hoop Dreams," but it still packs a punch. 7:30 p.m. Friday, Showtime

'What's Going On'

'Segal Talks'

The name may be bland (it's hosted by New York City's Segal Theatre Center) but the conversations are deep and often moving. Streaming at 11 a.m. on weekdays, curator Frank Hentschker hosts theater artists who give "updates" on their worlds from where they sit in a world wracked by COVID-19 and post-George Floyd upwelling. On Tuesday, the guests were Tamilla Woodard, the associate director of Broadway's "Hadestown" and co-artistic director of the Working Theater, and multitalented writer/performer James Scruggs. Both are brilliant and black, and both spoke to and of the current historic moment, often breaking into tears with their heartbreaking truth-telling. howlround.com/series/segal-talks

'John Peel Sessions A-Z'

Give a music nerd some downtime, and they'll come up with something like blogger Dave Strickson's master list alphabetizing and linking to a thousand live recording sessions by legendary BBC alt-rock jock John Peel. His core U.K. acts like New Order, the Cure and the Smiths rub heart-adorned sleeves with Peel's favorite American kids, including Nirvana, Bikini Kill and Minneapolis' own Babes in Toyland, who have a whopping five sets on the list. The reverence for Peel's cool appeal is obvious from both sides of the pond as all the bands audibly rose to the occasion. davestrickson.blogspot.com

'Mission: Impossible'