Northern exposure

The awe-inspiring nature series "Wild Alaska Live" comes to an end with an episode featuring the climax of Alaska's summer feast as millions of salmon journey upriver, facing long odds and hungry predators. Also: a trek deep into the wilds for Kodiak bears, elusive wolves and nesting eagles.

7 p.m. Sun., TPT, Ch. 2, and streaming via PBS

That's the way it was

The Smithsonian Channel has again made creative use of recycling news footage for "The Lost Tapes: Son of Sam," a you-are-there documentary that relies almost entirely on newscasts from 1976 and '77, a period in which David Berkowitz held nearly all of New York City hostage with his random murder spree. If this approach continues to be effective, narrators may become an endangered species.

8 p.m. Sun., Smithsonian

Girls just wanna have fun

Sketch comedy has long been a man's world, with male players often slipping into dresses and falsetto voices to embody the few female characters that pop up. "Baroness von Sketch Show" does its part to level the playing field with fast, short vignettes written and performed by an all-female cast. The show is a hit in Canada and deserves a chance to cross the cultural border, as "The Kids in the Hall" did.

9 p.m. Wed., IFC

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