By Steve Kabelowsky Contributing Columnist Published Oct 24, 2014 at 3:02 PM

The opening of shows can be memorable, especially for the successful ones that stick around for a while. When prompted, most people can sing the theme song to "The Flintstones" or "The Love Boat."

We remember all of the cast members of "Gilligan’s Island" or all of them dancing during the credits of "The Cosby Show."

If you dig a little deeper, there are other ones that were remembered by the generations before us, including the opening of "You Bet Your Life," "The Fugitive," "The Shadow" and "Little Orphan Annie" on the radio. Some of us can hum the rumbles of "Rawhide" – even the "Blues Brothers" version  or "Bonanza."

When astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson saw the opening to "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central, he was quick to point out something wrong with the graphics and let host John Stewart know it on air. The Earth was spinning the wrong direction. The next time he was on the show, the crew made a new opening just for his appearance, spinning a globe in the correct direction. The scientist said he was happy with the change, but if the Earth rotated as fast as the speed of the globe, we’d all go flying off the planet.

Tyson will make a pair of appearances at The Riverside in December. His "Science as a Way of Knowing" set for Dec. 11 is already sold out. However, tickets are still available for "This Just in: Latest Discoveries in the Universe" on Dec. 10. The long-time executive editor of "Nova ScienceNow" will host a discussion of current discoveries in the universe.

Because of Tyson’s delivery and personality which shown through on "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report," he was tapped by "The Family Guy" creator and producer Seth Macfarlane and others to host "Cosmos: A Space Time Odyssey." The successful 13-episode season of the documentary series won four primetime Emmy Awards.

Tyson is also in Milwaukee this week for the 58th Council of Great City Schools conference. You can read more about it here.

COUNTERTERRORISM: At 9 p.m. on Monday, Al Jazeera will present "Al Jazeera Investigates: Informants," a new hour-long documentary that delves into the secret world of FBI informants’ counterterrorism activities.

Al Jazeera investigative reporter Trevor Aaronson brings the story of informants, posing as Muslims, who encouraged Americans to join plots created by the FBI. The program asks if, "these professional informants provide truthful information to the government, or were they working for pay days?  And did they violate Americans’ Constitutional rights?"

Since the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. recruited thousands of informants, many from Muslim communities. In one case, Al Jazeera tracks the case of an alleged Al Qaeda cell – the Liberty City 7 in Miami – where seven men from a low-income Haitian and African-American community were charged with conspiring with Al Qaeda to wage war against the United States.

"My first response was laughter," said Rory McMahon, a legal investigator in South Florida who worked on the case. "After this massive FBI raid [on Liberty City 7], the total take on what they recovered was a ceremonial sword … These people weren’t much of a threat."

The program will also look into other similar cases in the U.S.

ELECTIONS: Fox News Channel will present a one-hour special "Fox News Reporting: American Dream on the Ballot," at 9 p.m. tonight. Hosted by FNC’s Bret Baier, the program will report from Colorado on the U.S. Senate race between democratic candidate Mark Udall and republican candidate Cory Gardner.

Throughout the special, Fox News will interview Coloradans on who they want to win the race, and ultimately, who they believe will help them achieve the American dream.

WORLD ECONOMY: Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo will interview former Israeli president Shimon Peres at 8 a.m. on Monday. The interview will focus on Israel’s business and the current state of the country.

Steve Kabelowsky Contributing Columnist

Media is bombarding us everywhere.

Instead of sheltering his brain from the onslaught, Steve embraces the news stories, entertainment, billboards, blogs, talk shows and everything in between.

The former writer, editor and producer in TV, radio, Web and newspapers, will be talking about what media does in our community and how it shapes who we are and what we do.