Becoming

This is a concise biographical series that gives sports fans of any age precisely what they want: More access to star athletes and new perspective on the more personal side of their success. It's obviously designed to paint the most positive possible picture of its subjects, which it sometimes accomplishes by glossing over controversial or less-than-flattering moments from the stars' pasts. Kids aren't likely to notice, of course, but adults will if they've followed the athletes' stories, and it raises that thorny issue of how a celebrity's public images compares to reality.

Even though the stars' involvement in this show is inherently self-promotional, the content does have merit for kids in particular, thanks to its focus on the roles communities, mentors, and hard work play in the subjects' success. These are all great messages to hear from the athletes, who now are the role models themselves and may be inspiring your own kids. Even those kids who aren't aspiring NBA players will get something positive out of these athletes' stories of perseverance, but Becoming is best enjoyed by those already enthralled by the featured icons.