These listings cover television programs up to Thursday, March
20th.
Greetings, TV viewers!
This week's "Faking It: Ivy League to the Big Leagues"
is about bringing a self-proclaimed nerd into an NFL cheerleading squad. Do you think it'll
actually be a challenge for her, or will her yoga training save the day? ;-)
The show is on Friday night at 10pm -- go VCRs go! -- or you can catch it on rerun on Saturday at 3pm.
Want some clams? Watch the show-of-the-week, then talk about them
with me and other citizens (including other city workers, if they're available)
in the House of Illusions Geek Speak. We usually meet on Wednesdays
at 6:30pm Whyville Time.
If you come and really take part in the meeting, you'll get
up to 50 clams from City Hall... you like that?
To sum up: tune to the show, show up to the chat,
chat up your thoughts, and know you get clams!
Last week's MediaHour was "Flight of the Century", a TLC Sunday night special by the folks who do Junkyard Wars. Do you think you could build a 1903 airplane in less than 24 hours, using a pile of scrap and 100-year old plans? Well, these folks did -- three teams of Americans, British, and French
-- and once we learned how hard it is to build a functioning airplane, we were all pretty surprised to find what they accomplished in 20 hours!
Sadly, this MediaHour discussion was blighted by two or three sour apples, frustrating our attempts
to keep the talk on track. If you don't want the 50 clams, I'm sure you can find better things to do, okay?
Everyone is welcome to email me what you and your parents think -- you can
get clams for that, too.
Email me, the MediaWiz of Whyville!
And now... the Media Menu!
Thursday, March 13
"The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc" (Bravo Channel, 7-10pm E/P) This
is a movie about the illiterate peasant girl who led the French army to victory in the name of God and was subsequently burned at the stake as a heretic. Airing during Women's History Week, this particular movie is historically accurate, in the opinion of some scholars. But, as such, there
are scenes of violence. So it has been movie rated R. It was directed by Luc Besson, whose earlier films include "The Fifth Element". Available on video.
Friday, March 14
"Faking It: Ivy League To The Big League" (The Learning Channel, 10-11pm
E/P, repeating March 15 , 3-4pm E/P) This is a documentary about a
self-confessed geek who would rather spend time with books than people. When she was at high school she was bullied by the popular cheerleaders; in this film you'll see her seek the help of
professional NFL cheerleaders to become one of them -- at least to fake it
real good -- after a lot of exhausting 'beauty knows no pain' training. Not a likely candidate for such an undertaking, she was born in Fort Worth TX in 1979, but was unable to cope with the scene there, moved to France at 16. Then, determined to be an astrophysicist, she entered
Harvard University, but somehow emerged with a degree in Chinese History. After working briefly in Hong Kong, she attended a graduate program in New Zealand studying digital video post-production. Fatigued by too much rugby and too many sheep, she moved to New York City in 2002.
Currently, in regular, non-fake life, she works at an educational non-profit organization and teaches yoga on the side. There's more information about this "Faking It" series, including how to get yourself on
the show, at http://tlc.discovery.com/fansites/fakingit/fakingit.html.
"Expedition Egypt::Death and Rebirth" (A&E Network, 8-9pm E/P) This
documentary examines the many differences and some similarities of
Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the religion of the pharaohs. They share
in the belief that a better life awaits us after death -- and differ with such practices as mummification, spells, symbols and burial structures.
Saturday, March 15
The Tiger Rising (This is a BOOK. You'll find it for free at a library
or a bookstore where it should be available in inexpensive paperback
format.) As a MediaWiz, I consider any medium fair game -- so today I
recommend you go out and borrow or buy this young adult novel
by Newbery Medal winning author Kate DiCAmillo. It's an emotional story
about what happens to a kid in Florida who walks
through the woods one morning and discovers a large, live, tiger in a cage.
Later that same day he meets a girl who leads him to a deep understanding of the events that his discovery brings on. (Read about the book on Amazon.com if you want more hints what happens,) If you read the complete book you may want to participate in one or two of the following
media events in a few weeks: On April 4th, the "KPCC Book Club of the Air for Young Adults", the only situation I know of where people under 20 get to participate in a radio show about books, will air from 2-3pm Pacific Time. You can join the discussion on that date by calling toll free at
866-893-KPCC from anywhere in the U.S. Even if you can't reach the station (89.3 FM) with your radio where you are, you can still call in your opinions of the book. Then, even if you don't join the radio discussion, there will be a special version of the Whyville "media hour" where you can say what you think of the book read e-chat from others. That event will take place on April 9th -- online at Whyville.net -- at 6:30-7:30pm Whyville time (identical to Eastern Standard Time).
Sunday, March 16
"The Ice World" (Discovery Channel 8-10pm E/P) This is a big-scale documentary about global cooling (instead of global warming). Earth has been in the grip of Big Ice many times in relatively recent history, and there's yet more to come You'll learn about the effect climate changes have had on the landscape of the earth and evolution of humans, and find out when the next ice age is expected.
Monday, March 17
"St. Patrick's Day Specials" (Bravo Network 5-8pm E/P)
This series of three specials starts out with a documentary profile of the
lead dancer of the famous Irish "Riverdance" ensemble, Michael Flatley. The
second hour, entitled "The Journey" profiles the ensemble itself. The
third is a live concert from NewYork.
"The Great Irish Famine" (History Channel, 3-5 pm E/P) Central to any
understanding of Irish matters, especially the factors behind the great
Irish presence in North America, is the Irish Famine of 1845-1851, the
holocaust of its day. A million Irish men, women, and children died, most
of them from disease following months of slow starvation. Hundreds of
thousands were evicted and left destitute. One and a half million took
refuge in immigration, thousands dying in the ships that carried them
across the Atlantic. This 2-hour special documentary tells their story.
Tuesday, March 18
"Welcome to North Korea" (Cinemax, 7:30-8:30pm E/P) It's time to become
acquainted with North Korea, now that it's so much in the news. Granted
unprecedented access to film there, a team of Danish journalists made this
documentary about a place that might be considered last remaining "iron
curtain" country. At a time when other foreign press is tightly controlled
by the authorities, they were able to catch telling glimpses of the
country's "unofficial" reality. Some of this film is frightening. Kids
have a rough deal in North Korea -- famine and lack of heating -- while their
leader, Kim Jong Il, lives in splendor.
Wednesday, March 19
"Alice Waters And Her Delicious Revolution" (PBS, 8-9pm E/P - check local
listings) This documentary in the "American Masters" series is a special
broadcast contribution to Women's History Month. A former Berkeley hippie,
Alice Waters leads a "delicious revolution" at her world-famous restaurant
Chez Panisse. The film describes how Waters brings food and American
counterculture together, following her from Chez Panisse to the Edible
Schoolyard to the farms and to the table, revealing details of the
"counter-cuisine" that made her famous and the ideals that spur her
environmental and culinary activism. (A big part is her view on the real
extent to which "we are what we eat".) The program repeats March 23 at
2:20 pm -- check local listings. There's also a website -- this time with
recipes -- at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/waters_a.html. And for
more information about Women's history month, log on to
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenshistory1.html.
Thursday, March 20
"An American in Paris" (Turner Classic Movies, 8-10pm ET, 5-7pm PT)
Franco-American relations are in the news these days. Here's a movie about a time when things were going well. Magnifique in fact. A 6 Oscar-winning musical based on the music of George Gershwin, it's the story of an ex-GI (Gene Kelly) who remains in France after WWII to study and paint. He falls in love with an awesome ballerina (Leslie Caron), an enchanting girl... not really beautiful... yet, she has great beauty. The story leads to an extravagant climactic ballet about Paris as viewed through the huge special effects-backdrops of some of France's most Impressionist painters -- Manet, Renoir, Utrillo, Van Gogh, Rousseau, Dufy and Toulouse-Lautrec. You'll see the Place de la Concorde Fountain... the Madeleine flower market, the Place de l'Op??ra and Montmartre with a representation of Toulouse-Lautrec's Moulin Rouge. (the nightclub also depicted in the recent Nicole Kidman movie). Gershwin's 'Concerto in F' is performed in this movie -- by a smart-alecy but gifted pianist (Oscar Levant) who plays not only the piano but the other instruments in the accompanying orchestra as well, also conducts and even applauds himself as a member of the audience. Available on video.
