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August 17, 2007
What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
Seth Arenstein advises watching all three parts of Christiane Amanpour's hot-button God's Warriors series on CNN; and reviews more end-of-summer originals on cable.
Tube Stake: Programming Reviews by Seth Arenstein
CNN'S WARRIOR: Christiane Amanpour interviews Yehuda Etzion, a founder of the Jewish Underground terrorist group.
• FRIDAY, AUG. 17
South of Nowhere, 8pm ET, The N.
Disney Channel's High School Musical 2 (also at 8pm) premiere isn't, like, the only show on TV tonight for frisky teens. OK, so last year’s sophomore season of teen soap/drama South of Nowhere suffered a bit, perhaps because creator Tom Lynch stopped running the series day-to-day.
Nobody can accuse season 3, which premiered last Friday (click here for a peek), of lacking drama. The cliffhanger of season two’s finale—gunshots at the high school prom—was resolved quickly in the season opener with the death of Clay (Danso Gordon), one of the Carlin family’s two sons. The plot thickens in this 2nd episode as young Clay has left behind his teen girlfriend, Chelsea (Aasha Davis), who's pregnant. And Clay was the “good one.”
Then there’s the Carlins’ teen daughter, Spencer (Gabrielle Christian), the lead character in season 1 and for most of last season. This season looks to be different for her in that other characters are getting more face time (good for us, since the faces of three of the ensemble’s women are so close it can be difficult to tell them apart).
But back to Spencer, our apparent heroine, wearing a perpetual frown on her face, who is mourning the loss of her brother and is now openly a lesbian. Only problem is that rich, detached Ashley (Mandy Musgrave), the object of Spencer’s attention, seems to be moving back toward heterosexuality.
Fortunately for Spencer, deposed cheerleader and resident nasty girl Madison (Valery Ortiz) might be ready to leave heterosexual life for lesbianism. She’s hanging around with Spencer a lot in tonight’s episode and defends her with a terrific line when a fellow high school student asks whether Spencer would consent to do a lesbian video.
Shooting the male student down a peg by explaining the motivation for a racy video, Madison says: “Those who can, do; those who can’t, do pay-per-view.” One thing’s for sure, tonight’s other high school-based outing over on Disney Channel won’t include a plot quite this thick.
• MONDAY, AUG. 20
Cruisin: Route 66, 7pm ET, BlueHighways TV.
While it’s probably impossible to verify host Michael Wallis’ claim that “Nearly everyone in the United States, at one time or another, has traveled at least a stretch of old Route 66,” after watching a few episodes of Cruisin: Route 66, you’re likely to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Needless to say this enjoyable travelogue series about the old road between Chicago and Santa Monica lacks the technological panache of more established (read wealthier) cable networks, but what it lacks in sizzle it compensates for with honest home cookin’ and apposite footage of 66’s old but often charming landscape.
While Cruisin is clearly a nostalgic look at a time when getting there—in a huge gas-guzzling station wagon—was “a vital part of the vacation experience,” the sum total of this series isn’t a complete softball. Wallis, author of Route 66, The Mother Road, isn’t shy about his opinions, like when he blasts Los Angeles as a congested, smog-filled confluence of roads, ramps and bridges; he’s much kinder to Santa Monica.
And one of the best things about Wallis and this series is that he isn’t totally nostalgic—the good times are available on 66 today, he argues. Look in the guidebooks, call the 66 state historical associations, get out on the road and, most importantly, “read the signs.” They’re “a necklace” that will guide you down “the yellow brick road” from small town to village to cities. Postings for old (and sometimes decrepit) service stations, motor courts, diners and trading posts are still around and “they’re classics,” especially the neon ones, Wallis says in a stentorian voice as he recommends greasy spoons you shouldn’t miss.
Not many networks are willing to heap praise on kitsch. Thank goodness fledgling BlueHighways TV is, and is kind enough to take us along for the ride with Wallis. [Note: The series runs on VOD next month.]
• TUESDAY, AUG. 21
God’s Warriors, 9pm, CNN.
In a time when much of the media places high value on the rapidity of sound byte journalism, CNN's Special Investigations Unit produces long-form documentaries featuring the network’s "top investigative talent." It's stepping up on the long-form front, offering 40 hours of in-depth, documentary programming (a 30% increase over last year) under its CNN Presents banner.
Its latest effort is this 3-part series of specials over 3 nights: Jewish Warriors (Tues.), Muslim Warriors (Wed.) and Christian Warriors (Thurs.) The multi-part investigation, featuring Christiane Amanpour, looks at how religious fundamentalism is impacting power and politics in the faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Interesting timing, running the Jewish Warriors episode Tuesday night ahead of Wednesday's premiere of Muslim Warriors. With the pitched battle in the Middle East, partisans will likely spend those two nights critiquing each episode, concentrating mostly on evidence of bias and inconsistency between the two presentations (there’s plenty for them to pick apart). What will probably be crowded out in these micro views, unfortunately, is the episodes’ worth purely as pieces of documentary filmmaking, an endangered artform on television these days.
What seems like bias to some could actually be a well-meaning and legitimate plan on CNN’s part. The first installment, Tuesday's Jewish Warriors, spends more time telling the story of radical Jewish elements, people willing to use terrorism to reach their goal of a theocratic Israel. A secular Jew, who doesn’t share the radicals’ ideas, gets relatively brief on-camera time.
The 2nd episode, Muslim Warriors, opens with the story of an American woman who says the word "jihad," in her view, has been badly translated as "holy war." Her interpretation of jihad, she says, has nothing to do with war; she’s not a warrior in the traditional sense.
Instead, her definition of jihad is a love of Islamic fundamentals that have influenced this American-born woman to embrace her religion and reject elements of western culture, like materialism and sexual leniency. She’s chosen to live in the U.S., but in a peaceful, modest way (despite what appeared to be Louis Vuitton and Chanel handbags draped over her shoulders).
While one reaction to this storytelling could be that CNN is unfairly focusing on Jewish terrorists and Islamic pacifists, another interpretation could be that CNN is telling stories that go against the stereotype. Indeed, if viewers hang in for all 4 hours of the first two episodes, it becomes clear that CNN has shown favorable and unfavorable elements on both sides of the divide. But how many viewers are likely to do that?
Shakespeare’s As You Like It, 9pm, HBO.
Don’t fret over whether or not the Bard would have liked it, these are different times and Old Willie deserves a new interpretation now and then, especially when they’re as lovingly done as this one.
Good news and bad news, the bad first: Kenneth Branagh the actor does not appear in this production; the good news, he’s adapted it beautifully and directed it with great attention to detail and pacing. His choice of lighting and the action that opens this Shakespearian comedy work well to get the viewer enticed immediately.
The downside is that while the male cast Branagh has assembled—including Kevin Kline, Alfred Molina and Hustle’s Adrian Lester—is fine, it would have been enhanced greatly by Branagh’s presence. Still, revel in the beauty of the production, set in 19th century Japan, and the work of the female cast: Bryce Dallas Howard (Spider-Man 3) as Rosalind, Janet McTeer as Audrey and Romola Garai (Vanity Fair) as Celia. There’s also something to savor in the work of veteran comic actor Richard Briers, known in this country as Tom Good in Good Neighbors, but tonight he’s delightful as Old Adam.
• THURSDAY, AUG. 23
Mad Men, 10pm, AMC.
After a lightning-fast start it seemed that AMC's 1960-based ensemble drama Mad Men might be slipping just a bit. This week’s episode puts such talk to rest.
Like HBO’s The Sopranos and other excellent dramas, there are generally one or two moments in a strong episode that stand out enough to be the topic of watercooler chatter the next day. This 6th episode of Mad Men (click here for a sneak peek) has the requisite two standouts, and perhaps more.
The first is a scene where the secretaries of Mad Men’s fictitious ad agency, Sterling Cooper, are rounded up to do some product testing. Writers Andre and Maria Jacquemetton use this seemingly innocent activity as a canvas, painting in bold strokes the ugliness of the sexism as practiced by the firm’s male partners, and completely tolerated during that era. The lust for young secretaries exhibited by Mad Men’s mostly married men is a masterful blend of bluster and boorishness, placed perfectly on the canvas. (There’s also another bit of infidelity at the top of this episode that’s positively scandalous, but we won’t tell, if you don’t.)
The next scene of note is really a collection of moments, mixing the open anti-Semitism of the era with a potential Middle East business deal, communism, and Sterling Cooper creative director Don Draper’s (Jon Hamm) lust for (heavens no) a Jewish client, Rachel Mencken (Maggie Siff).
This allows the writers to explore many things Jewish—Draper’s wife’s early romances, differences between Jews in America and elsewhere, the utopia of Israel. In addition, it wasn’t clear that the sparks that Draper and Mencken produced in earlier episodes would continue to produce a prolonged flame during the rest of the series. Apparently it will. Excellent.
• NOT REVIEWED BUT BEAR IN MIND...
Murder 101: If Wishes Were Horses, 9pm Saturday Aug. 17, Hallmark Channel.
Dick Van Dyke is back, this time with son Barry and grandson Shane joining the fun, as Hallmark's resident grandfatherly academic sleuth in this original mystery movie franchise.
American Princess, 9pm Sunday Aug. 18, WE tv.
More uncouth Yanks are shipped off to England for this reality show in search of an American Eliza Doolittle to turn into a right proper lady. Princesses-in-the-rough this season include—ahem!—a former stripper and a nude model.
All times ET/PT unless otherwise noted.
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