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These listings cover television programs up to Friday, August
1st.
Greetings, TV viewers!
This week's MediaHour is any or all of the "Seabiscuit" programs -- or the version of the story in the movie theatres this week!
For the regular Media Hour, watch the show(s)-of-the-week, jot down some ideas, then talk about them with me and other citizens (including other City Workers, if they're available) at the Greek Theater, over in City Hall. You'll find that the Theater makes discussions pretty easy, since City Workers are able to direct people's movement and behavior, when we need to, and it keeps everyone's chat bubbles from overlapping too much. We meet for MediaHour on Wednesdays from 6:30pm and 7:30pm Whyville Time (that's the same as Eastern Daylight Time).
Everyone is welcome to write to me about what you and your parents think:
Y-mail me, the MediaWiz of Whyville!
And now... the Media Menu!
Friday, July 25
"20/20" (ABC, 10-11pm E/P) This news magazine covers a range of
provocative topics: Are America's National Parks becoming a haven for criminals
and, possibly, terrorists? Pop star Monica talks about her R&B chart-topper, and the tragedy of her boyfriend's suicide... Has our culture taught us that men have a right to brag, while women should be humble and modest? Lynn Sherr reports. Plus, John Stossel's report about people who think that wind-powered generators are a terrible idea.
"The Story Of Seabiscuit" (TCM Network, 10:15-midnight ET, 7:15-9pm PT) This classic, black and white movie for horse-lovers is a fictionalized account of a legendary race horse's training and triumphs. In this movie a half-blind ex-prizefighter and mustang breaker team up with a millionaire and his rough-hewn, undersized horse, Seabiscuit. Based on a true story about a horse that was boxy, with stumpy legs that wouldn't completely straighten, a short straggly tail and an ungainly gait who became one of the the most remarkable thoroughbred racehorses in history. In the 1930s, when Americans longed to escape the grim realities of Depression-era life, Seabiscuit
became a national hero. A PBS documentary about this horse airs Monday, July 28.
Also, there's a good book, Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand. If you watch the classic movie, also the documentary and read the book you will be super-equipped to understand the brand-new feature film which hits theatres today, July 25th
Saturday, July 26
"Tim Russert -- William Bennet Talks About 'Excessive' Gambling" (CNBC Cable Network, 7-8pm E/P) This program features William Bennett, Former U.S. Education Secretary, conservative activist, co-director of Empower America, Founder and Chairman of K12 and Chairman of Americans for Victory Over Terrorism, in an exclusive interview with Tim Russert. For the first time on television, Bennett will discuss his excessive gambling and how he and his family dealt with the revelations about it. Bennett candidly tells Russert, "I'm
not a hypocrite. I never got on the soapbox about gambling. I never
said, you know, gambling is a terrible thing, people should stop gambling... Did I fall short of my standards by doing too much, by engaging in this at an excessive level? Yes, but that doesn't make my arguments any less good or not." An important new study about students who gamble via the internet -- sometimes to excess
-- is available at
http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=93.
Sunday, July 27
"The Pennsylvania Miners' Story' (ABC, 7-9pm E/P) This fact-based movie is a dramatized account of how miners are rescued when there's an accident. Told from the perspective of 9 miners trapped deep underground for 77 hours last year, the film , takes viewers inside their mine (shot in real Pennsylvania mines and stunningly recreated on a soundstage) to show the life-threatening dangers and physical limitations the men faced as they waited for rescue. There's a good book about the event," Our Story: 77 Hours that Tested our Friendship and our Faith", written by the Quecreek miners as told to Jeff Goodell. This program carries a TV-PG
parental guideline because of language issues.
"The True Story of Seabiscuit" (A&E Network, 9-10pm E/P) If you really love horses, and are also really wondering if all this media attention to a certain racehorse is based on anything true... here's a documentary about that amazing animal that lost his first 16 races before galloping to glory and becoming so famous that he garnered more newspaper coverage in 1938 than any other individual -- man or beast -- including FDR and Hitler. If you're really, really into this story, watch the PBS version of it, tomorrow.
Monday, July 28
"American Experience: Seabiscuit" (PBS, 9-10pm E/P check local listings)
This is the PBS documentary version of one of the most remarkable thoroughbred racehorses in history., his fabulously wealthy owner Charles Howard, his famously silent and stubborn trainer Tom Smith, and the two hard-bitten, gifted jockeys who rode him to glory To see an on-line interview - text and video - with Laurel Hillenbrand who wrote the book which the movie and all these
TV shows are based log on
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/seabiscuit/sfeature/sf_hillenbrand.html.
Tuesday, July 29
"90 Miles" (PBS, 10-11pm E/P) This is a documentary about Juan Carlos Zald??var who, in 1980, was a 13-year-old loyalist of the Cuban Revolution jeering in the streets at the thousands of "Marielitos" leaving the island by boat for the United States. Within weeks, he was a Marielito himself, headed with the rest of his family for a new life in Miami. Now a U.S.-based filmmaker, Zald??var recounts the strange twist of fate that took him across one of the world's most treacherous stretches of water in "90 Miles.")
Wednesday, July 30
"60 MINUTES II" (CBS, 8:00-9:00pm E/P) This newsmagazine covers a range of topics on people's minds these days: America's love affair with the criminal mobs (often fictionalized on
TV), reported by Bob Simon and violence among teenagers (often the main evening news story), reported by Vicki Mabrey.
"Watergate Plus 30: Shadow of History "(PBS, 8-10pm E/P) This documentary explores the legacy of the a scandal that drove an American President to resign his office
-- something that had never happened before. "Watergate" as the events are called is examined through interviews with Americans who lived through it and were shaped by it, from investigators like Sam Dash to co-conspirators like John Dean, to reporter Bob Woodward, who unraveled the story, and co-authored a famous, suspenseful, book about it, "All The President's Men"
"American Masters: The Education of Gore Vidal" (PBS, 10-11pm E/P) This biographical portrait celebrates the life and work of that rarest of American creatures -- a world class intellectual. Along with interviews with Vidal, himself, it features comments about him by author George Plimpton, Arthur Schlesinger Jr., and many others. The film also includes scenes from the recent Broadway revival of his play "The Best Man" and and Vidal at home in Italy. (Closed Captioning) If you're smart - and have a thorny personality, you'll probably like this program.
Thursday, July 31
"Big As Life: Obesity in America" (Discovery Channel 10-11pm E/P) This is a documentary about the lives of obese individuals
-- revealed as they share their personal challenges -- from clubs for fat people to surgeries that result in spectacular (but often temporary) physical transformations-sometimes with pain. sometimes with joy.
Friday, August 1
"The Wanderer" (live streaming audio web-event, log on
www.kpcc.org -- and click on "Live KPCC", 5-5:30pm ET, 2-2:30pm PT) This is the monthly on-the radio meeting of the book club whose choice, "The Wanderer" by Sharon Creech we will be discussing in the Whyville Media Hour Wednesday July 30. This Newbury Honor novel is about thirteen-year-old Sophie and her cousin Cody on a transatlantic crossing aboard the Wanderer, a forty-five foot sailboat. Along with uncles and another cousin, they're route to visit their grandfather in England. Get the book from a library, read it, listen to the webcast and come join the Whyville discussion next week.
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