Some local TV and radio stations did very well when the Edward R. Murrow Awards were announced today.

WNCN, also known as NBC-17, won the award for Best Newscast in our region for their program featuring the tracking of Hurricane Sandy and a special investigation on dangerous groundwater contamination in Wake Forest, and the failure of local officials to notify residents of the dangers. That report was by Charlotte Huffman, Penn Holderness and Dave Hattman.

WRAL won an award for Hard News reporting for their story on the recovery of Roanoke Rapids police officer John Taylor, who was shot five times during a traffic stop in 2010. The Taylor report was by Stacy Davis, who left WRAL last summer to become the public information officer for the town of Clayton. WRAL also won a Sports award for Jeff Gravley's interview with ousted UNC football coach Butch Davis.

In the radio category, WUNC-FM won four awards, including one for Overall Excellence. The other awards were a News Series award for their American Graduate series, a Sports award for a report on UNC's JV Basketball squad, and one for best Use of Sound/Video for covering a fracking hearing.

The region with North Carolina stations also includes Tennessee, South Carolina, Kentucky and West Virginia. Winners from each region will go on to compete for national honors. The awards have been given out by the Radio Television Digital News Association since 1971.

Unless you're a veteran, your sense of war, and perhaps your attitude toward it, are shaped by the images captured by those committed souls known as combat journalists.

Standing tall (in both ways) among that group was British-born Tim Hetherington, the subject of "Which Way Is the Front Line From Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington" (8 tonight, HBO), directed by his friend, author Sebastian Junger.

At 40, Hetherington was killed, along with N.C. raised photographer Chris Hondros, on April 20, 2011 by mortar fire in Libya, while covering that country's civil war.

The film is straight forward, using video and still images from Hetherington's powerful body of work to tell his story, along with interviews with his parents, his girlfriend and his colleagues, as well as Hetherington's voice. We learn the journey Hetherington took to become a combat journalist and his work philosophy. He wasn't really shooting war, but the emotions, the themes embedded in that hostile environment. It was always about the humanity.

The exploration of the fatal trip to Libya -- which includes video of the moments just before both Hondros and Hetherington were killed -- tells you much about how combat journalists work, the risks they knowingly take, the nature of war and the unrecoverable mistakes that can occur.

Hetherington's work is beautiful; it's always amazing to see how spirit can be captured in a single image, how a photographer can see the moments we can't, even if they are often right in front of us. Hetherington's work overseas reinforced our universal humanity.

In that sense, although "Which Way Is The Front Line From Here?" celebrates Hetherington, it also celebrates Hondros and other photographers who do this courageous, powerful work.

The Vampire Diaries (8pm, CW) - Damon and Stefan try helping Elena by going to the prom, but she has an outburst no one anticipated.

Which Way Is the Front Line From Here? (8pm, HBO) - Two days before the anniversary of the deaths of war photographers Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros, an N.C. State grad from Fayetteville, HBO debuts a documentary about Hetherington's final hours in Libya. The film is from Sebastian Junger, who co-directed the war documentary "Restrepo" with Hetherington. (Hetherington and Junger are pictured here, Hetherington on the right.) Adrienne reviews.

Parks and Recreation (9pm, NBC) - Two new episodes tonight. First, Leslie tries to get rid of laws that no longer make sense, while April and Ron get management training from Chris. At 9:30, Leslie wants to do something special to celebrate Jerry's retirement.

Project Runway (9pm, Lifetime) - In the first part of a two-part season finale, the final four designers go home to work on their collections, then get visits from mentor Tim Gunn before returning to New York to preview their lines to judges.

Hannibal (10pm, NBC) - Jack thinks Abigail might have helped her father -- a serial killer -- with his crimes. Hannibal encourages Abigail to return to Minnesota. Remember, "Scandal" is a rerun tonight, so ...

The Moment (10pm, USA) - A race car driver on the verge of giving up his dream trains with pro Brendan Gaughan for a chance to earn a spot as a NASCAR driver.

Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines (2am, UNC-TV) - DVR Alert: An Independent Lens documentary examining the evolution of Wonder Woman and other female superheroes, whose depictions through the decades have often mirrored societal anxieties about strong women. The film features interviews with Lynda Carter ("Wonder Woman"), Lindsay Wagner ("The Bionic Woman"), Gloria Steinem and many others.

North Carolina is getting plenty of exposure on "American Idol" this season.

2011 winner Scotty McCreery performed on "Idol" last week, and the show welcomes back 2003 runner-up Clay Aiken (left) and 2004 winner Fantasia Barrino tomorrow night.

Both Barrino and Aiken are scheduled to perform. Barrino has a new single out called "Lose to Win."

"American Idol" airs on Fox at 8 p.m. on Thursday.

Our "Dancing with the Stars" correspondent Lenni G has thoughts on the latest dancer sent home from the show.

Lenni G: Really fantastic opening to the show last night featuring pros and the troupe in an "outer space" routine choreographed by Mark and Derek. The staging was amazing as was the dancing.

We also had entertainment from The Band Perry, Selena Gomez and Kerli. Yep, that Kerli! And Kerli's hit song also got the benefit of some great choreo from one of the best choreo people around, the incomparable Stacy Tookey who we first met on "So You Think You Can Dance."

On to the results - Kellie and Derek, Zendaya and Val, Jacoby and Karina, Aly and Mark, Sean and Peta, and Andy and Sharna were declared safe, leaving Ingo and Kym, Victor and Lindsay, and D. L. and Cheryl in jeopardy.

After Ingo and Kym went to safety, Victor and Lindsay (again) and D. L. and Cheryl (first time) were in the bottom two. And then, somewhat surprisingly, D. L. and Cheryl were eliminated from the competition. Have to say that, though his "dancing" never really improved from the first week, his attitude certainly did. Super turnaround, my friend, and, glad "you had a ball."

I'm really looking forward to next week when we have the first team dances. Team captains, Kellie and Zendaya, will each choose three other couples and then each team will dance together to either a paso doble or a samba. And, since it's Stevie Wonder week, the music for the paso will be "Higher Ground," and the music for the samba will be "Superstition."

Clearly, next week's show is appointment television!

-Lenni G

Locked Up Abroad (9pm, National Geographic Channel) - The seventh season opens with a profile of two American soldiers who were kept as POWs during the Vietnam War: Ernie Brace and John McCain. A new episode at 10 focuses on a reptile smuggler.

Suburgatory (8pm, ABC) - Season 2 ends with two new episodes. At 8, George breaks the news to Tessa that he has sold their house. At 8:30, Shelia pushes a chastity campaign in Chatswin, and Tessa moves out when George buys Dallas her dream home.

Southland (10pm, TNT) - In the Season 5 finale, John (Michael Cudlitz, right) deals with fallout from his kidnapping. Also, Lydia tracks John's kidnappers while becoming more intimate with an old friend and Sammy draws closer to robbers. Nothing is official, but it's looking like this could be the final season for "Southland" (several stars have signed up for new series). If it's really over, I'll miss it like crazy -- it's one of the absolute best shows on television -- but I'm also so grateful TNT picked it up after it was dumped by NBC.

Psych (10pm, USA) - Shawn revisits a case involving a mysterious Swedish woman and imagines how he'd do things differently at the start of his investigation.

The Americans (10pm, FX) - Elizabeth requires Philip's help to complete a dangerous mission.

Off Pitch (10pm, VH1) - The highs and lows of a Wisconsin-based show choir called the Grand River Singers are charted in this new reality show.

Time Warner Cable has announced that starting tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., they will begin offering out-of-home live streaming and Video On Demand to customers with the TWC TV apps for iPhone and iPad.

The streaming apps for Android and computers are coming soon.

Local shows available for live viewing include News 14 Carolina, TWC's local 24-hour cable news channel. The live national channels available for now are Aspire, BBC America, beIN Sports (English/Spanish), FearNet, GMC, Pac-12 and TVGuide Network.

TWC TV's On Demand options include 1,100 hours of programming from a long list of cable channels, including Comedy Central, Food Network, BBC America, Univision and Nickelodeon.

The TWC TV app has offered in-home live viewing for the past two years, and began offering in-home Video On-Demand viewing in December.

The apps are free from iTunes but you'll need your Time Warner "My Services" ID and password to log in. And if you already have the app but haven't updated in awhile, you'll need to do that.

Our "Dancing with the Stars" correspondent Lenni G has a recap of last night's show.

Lenni G:

As I said last week, this week's format was "side-by-side" which I was a bit confused about. Well, last night we learned that a star and his/her pro partner would be dancing "side-by-side" with a pro and his/her pro partner. Credit for this unique idea, which I thought worked well for some, not so much for others, goes to Coach Len.

Our homie, Kellie Pickler, was one of the stars who benefited from having a female pro on her team. She and Derek did a fox trot which was Kellie's first strictly "ballroom dance" of the season. She was obviously nervous and Derek was not happy with her in rehearsal. Pro Anna, dancing with Pro Henry, stepped in with some fabulous advice that resulted in a terrific performance.

Carrie Ann called Kellie a "million dollar dancer." Len said she turned the fox trot into the "hot" trot and put the "oo" in smooth. Bruno thought she had all the glamour and humor of Jean Harlow. I have to think that only 60-somethings and above -- and Bruno -- would know what a comparison to Jean Harlow meant but, as a 70-something myself, I can assure you that it was very good comparison. Judges scores - 9's from all three for a total of 27.

Hart of Dixie (8pm, CW) - The townsfolk perform scenes from Shakespeare, and George and Zoe reluctantly agree to portray Romeo and Juliet.

In Performance at the White House: Memphis Soul (8pm, UNC-TV) - A celebration of the Memphis soul music of the mid- to late-1960s. Performers include Alabama Shakes, William Bell, Steve Cropper, Ben Harper, Queen Latifah, Mavis Staples and Justin Timberlake. Sam Moore and Joshua Ledet are shown here performing "Soul Man" for the President and First Lady.

The Central Park Five (9pm, UNC-TV) - This acclaimed documentary by Sarah Burns examines a 1989 case in which five black and Latino teens were convicted of raping a Central Park jogger before the true perpetrator admitted to the crime.

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (10pm, HBO) - Segments include a look at the role of soccer fans in Egypt's revolution and a chat with Miami Marlins president David Samson. Also, an interview with Christmas Abbott, the first woman to work on a NASCAR pit crew.

Golden Boy (10pm, CBS) - The team search for the killer of a priest, an investigation that leads them to suspect a criminal informant from a previous case is responsible for this murder. Elsewhere, Agnes is determined to find her missing mom.

Body of Proof (10pm, ABC) - A fund manager on trial for defrauding a billion dollars is kidnapped as he is leaving court, despite being surrounded by security, and during the escape, a protester is killed by the getaway vehicle. Later, video surfaces of the captive being murdered, but there are questions about whether he is really dead.

The hidden camera prank show has changed much since the days of "Candid Camera" and that's mostly because of "Punk'd". Now, Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg, the minds behind "Punk'd" have created "Who Gets the Last Laugh" (10 tonight, TBS). This time, instead of pranking celebrities, celebrities prank regular folk to win money for charity.

More specifically, three comedians or comic actors dream up pranks, then play them on unwitting folk. An audience votes by cell phone on which scenario they think is funniest. The winner gets to give $10,000 to a needy group.

Donald Faison ("Scrubs," "The Exes") hosts the trio; in the first few episodes, comedians include D.L. Hughley, Bill Bellamy, Andy Dick, Cheri Oteri, Aries Spears, Kunal Nayyar from "The Big Bang Theory" and Danny Masterson. ("The 70s Show" and TBS' "Men at Work").

I suspect the charitable aspect was put in place to offset the fact that some of the pranks are pretty mean; if a target starts to cry, the prank may have gone too far. That happens during one prank, in which the target, on the first day of a new job, loses $100,000.

That's the change I was talking about; TV pranks used to be something you could truly laugh at. Now they can be about laughing at someone's pain.

Each prank gives you a glimpse into each of these comics' sense of humor and sensibility. Bellamy's prank involves poop; Oteri has a naughty one that gets the target involved in cheating children, and then being confronted by their parents. That means most of the pranks aren't particularly funny, but some of them are pretty clever.

"Who Gets the Last Laugh?" won't be the pop phenom "Punk'D" was but at least you won't feel like the joke's on you.