Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
My luau is just a couple of weeks away. There will also be golf, scuba diving, and hopefully a trip to a volcano. Now, if this last thing happens, it is my most sincere wish that the volcano not blow while I'm there because I don't know where I'm a-gonna go if it does blow. I wouldn't mind landing in New York City or Mexico, but I don't know where I'm a-gonna go. It could be fun, however, to be there for the blow if I go, and from that I can take a Quantum of Solace.
Sunday, April 13:
8:00 – 9:00PM
Nature – "What Females Want and Males Will Do (Part Two)". Do males in the animal kingdom pick the females or do the females pick the males? Perhaps, just perhaps, it's a mite more complex than that. I don't know, but there are tons of scientists out there who are desperately trying to find out. It seems as though the females pick, but it's not quite as simple as all that. Watch and find out.
9:00 – 10:30PM
Masterpiece – "A Room with a View." It is truly essential to have a room with a view. I well know that, as did E.M. Forster. If he hadn't known that, he wouldn't have written a book all about. I imagine, particularly when in Florence, Italy, a room with a view is just that much more important than it otherwise would be.
10:30 – 11:00PM
PBS Previews – "Carrier." PBS isn't going to show you Carrier; they're just going to show you a preview of it (it airs at the end of April and beginning of May). They're going to tantalize you. They're going to intrigue you. They're going to tell you about some of the people on the USS Nimitz.
Monday, April 14:
8:00 – 9:00PM
Antiques Roadshow – "Spokane (Hour Three)." Wow. I am amazed. This week the Roadshow is in Spokane. Spokane! Washington! Spokane, Washington! Say it with me one time: Spokane, Washington! Spokane, the town that can! Spokane, the town with a plan! Spokane, where a man can be a man! Spokane, where they have lots of old stuff for the Roadshow.
9:00 – 11:00PM
American Experience – "Walt Whitman." Walt Whitman lived a long, long life. He died in 1892 at the age of 72. One wonders if it is a coincidence that his book of poems, Leaves of Grass, was published when he was just half that age (36, for those of you bad with numbers). Well, I wonder anyway; and that very question may be enough to have me tune in to this two-hour biography of Whitman.
Tuesday, April 15:
8:00 – 9:00PM
Nova – “Marathon Challenge." This episode examines what it takes for the average person to run a marathon. I have some choice answers for that, mostly along the lines of "more guts than brains," so I'll only give you that one and quickly end this description. Wait, I should add that it looks at people in the Boston Marathon. There, done.
9:00 – 10:00PM
Frontline – "Sick Around the World." Imagine Michael Moore's documentary, Sicko, done by Frontline. T.R. Reid runs around the world trying to figure out what other countries do in terms of healthcare and whether we can learn anything from those countries. I imagine that while we can, we won't. We, as a people, are pigheaded.
10:00 – 11:00PM
Independent Lens – "King Corn." A couple of kids who are recent college grads planted an acre of corn. They then did their best to figure out just what happened to the corn. Where did it go from the field? How did it get to people's tables (if that is, in fact, where it ends up)?
Wednesday, April 16:
8:00 – 9:00PM
Illicit: The Dark Trade. The listing description I have here states, "the world economy is being derailed by new networks of illicit traders." You would think they were talking about the subprime lenders, but they're not; they're talking about black market goods. The film is based on the bestseller by Moises Naim and looks into the trade.
9:00 – 11:00PM
The Truth About Cancer. This is another (the third) bit of PBS's Take One Step health campaign. The show is looking to find an answer to the question, "Why does anyone still die of cancer?" It's quite the question. I know they're giving it two hours, but it doesn't quite seem like enough, does it?
Thursday, April 17:
8:00 – 9:00PM
The This Old House Hour – Episode TBA. It’s This Old House and Ask This Old House. It’s like maintenance – for your home. Wait, no, that’s exactly what it is. That doesn’t mean it’s not awesome, though. Seriously, the This Old House Hour is one of the finest home improvement hours on PBS. No joke.
9:00 – 10:00PM
Antiques Roadshow – "Spokane (Hour Three)." Wow. I am amazed. This week the Roadshow is in Spokane. Spokane! Washington! Spokane, Washington! Say it with me one time: Spokane, Washington! Spokane, the town that can! Spokane, the town with a plan! Spokane, where a man can be a man! Spokane, where they have lots of old stuff for the Roadshow.
10:00 – 11:00PM
Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? – "Collateral Damage / Not Just a Paycheck." The first part of this week's show questions how globalization is changing our health. The second is about how job insecurity/unemployment greatly alters our healthcare, too. Tell me about it; I don't get healthcare coverage for writing up these PBS doo-dads.
Friday, April 18:
8:00 – 8:30PM
Washington Week with Gwen Ifill and National Journal #4742. Another whole week has gone by and good old Gwen Ifill and National Journal are here to fill us in. For the record, I like to pretend the National Journal is a sidekick, like Robin to Batman, Starsky to Hutch, or chocolate sauce to chocolate ice cream.
8:30 – 9:00PM
NOW on PBS #416. It’s the Emmy award-winning weekly newsmagazine. It looks at issues facing our democracy. The show is hosted by David Brancaccio. Even better, they still send me e-mails (I think that makes me cool and them nice). Thanks, Now, you guys are awesome!
9:00 – 10:00PM
Bill Moyers Journal #1202. It’s Bill Moyers. It’s his 1,202nd journal (not really, but I’m not going to explain to you the way in which TV shows are numbered at this point in time; maybe later if you’re nice). He’s a good journalist, so I assume this will be good journalism (at least the odds are it will be).
10:00 – 11:00PM
Return to the Cuyahoga. June 22, 1969. A day that will live in infamy. I wasn't born then so it's totally not my fault, but that is the day the Cuyahoga River caught fire. It burned. The river burned. Good old Cleveland. Not that it was really just Cleveland's fault; everyone of you that was alive back then was responsible. This show is going to take a look at what's happened since (and a lot has).
Saturday, April 19:
9:00 – 10:00PM
Austin City Limits – "Ray Davies." Good old Ray is the "legendary" frontman for the Kinks. He's going to perform. He'll sing new stuff, he'll sing old stuff. He'll sing. For his supper – or at least that's what I hope.
So, I wouldn't mind landing in New York City or Mexico, but I don't think I'd like to land on Three Mile Island or on the Ayatollah. There are a ton of other places listed in the song as well, but I don't quite feel the need to go through every last location Mr. Buffett put forward. You ought to take a Quantum of Solace from the fact that the lyrics to the song, and therefore the list of locations, is available at his website.
