http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/gamma/

It may be too late, but this PBS show was a good one on the study and state of knowledge about gamma ray bursts. Check listings for your local PBS station to see if there is another airing. I almost missed all shows in our area due to my son's recent illness, but managed to catch the last one on night duty last night. I wish I could have taped it for science class presentations. It is a great example of the scientific process showing the back and forth of ideas, the personnal rivalries, the widespread ability of scientists to admit error in the face of new data, how tracking down the answers to seemingly simple questions can lead to awesome discoveries, and how simple logic can point the way through a muddle of conflicting data especially when most of it is theoretical.

One man predicted decades ago that gamma ray bursts were distant events based on simple geometry and probability. Few supported him because the theorists could not come up with a mechanism to generate energy bursts of levels high enough to cause the detector responses seen over such a distance. Few believed him until space probe and advanced ground based scopes working together provided conclusive supporting evidence. In the end many "leading" theorists are shown admitting they were way off and a theoretical explanation was found.

In the last few minutes it also points out both the danger of such explosions to advanced life and their ability to help explain Fermi's paradox.

Regards,
Mark