The Middle East is a region that seems defined by its ongoing factional disputes, many of which are difficult to make sense of. This week, NHK's documentary series "The Profiler" (BS Premium, Wed., 9 p.m.) attempts to shed some light on the background of some of those disputes by looking at the life of T.E. Lawrence, more popularly known as Lawrence of Arabia.
Though a British military officer, Lawrence worked hard to help the Arabs of the Middle East obtain independence from the Ottoman Turks during World War I. The program uses scenes from David Lean's famous movie to illustrate how Lawrence became a regional hero, and goes on to explain how his actions led to the way the Middle East was divided up into nations. It also reveals some newly unearthed information about Lawrence, including a "secret" pact between the British government and a certain group of people.
A popular format for variety shows is celebrities competing in karaoke contests with the judge being a computer program that objectively marks mistakes. This format has been expanded for "The Mozart: Ongaku-O Number 1 Ketteisen" ("The Mozart: Music King Number 1 Final Battle"; TV Asahi, Fri., 7 p.m.).