Documentary Archives - Page 21 of 63

7 Deadly Sins with Morgan Spurlock

August 1, 2014 Jeff Pfeiffer

When talking about sin, you can’t help but get dark, and executive producer Morgan Spurlock’s (Super Size Me) new Showtime documentary series, 7 Deadly Sins, does lean toward the dark side, both in its stylish presentation, and through some black humor. That wryness comes from both the choice of stories that populate the seven episodes (each one devoted to one of the titular sins), and from Spurlock’s role as host, introducing each segment. Spurlock tells us that the inspiration for having him host in such a manner came from him “having a fantastic, twisted childhood, watching lots of Twilight Zone […]

NGC’s ‘Going Deep with David Rees’: Everything old hat is new again

July 13, 2014 Lori Acken

Leave it to the guy who (literally) wrote the book on sharpening pencils — and gets plenty of folks to pay him $15 to artfully sharpen a single Ticonderoga No. 2 — to spend his time at the Television Critics Association press tour teaching reporters to fold the perfect paper plane. And then cheerfully asking us to throw the finished products at him en masse. As the star of National Geographic Channel’s family-friendly new series Going Deep with David Rees, which premieres Monday, author/cartoonist/comedian David Rees sets out to shed fascinating new light on such mundane tasks as tying your […]

‘The 90s: The Last Great Decade?’ three-parter premieres July 6 on NGC

July 3, 2014 Lori Acken

National Geographic Channel Takes An In-Depth Look At The Era That Brought Us Televised Warfare, The World Wide Web, Vanilla Ice And Springer. If the 1980s were America’s technicolor candy land, filled with shoulder pads and parachute pants, MTV and the Brat Pack, the 90s was the decade that grew us up a little and connected us a lot, in ways that both thrilled and horrified us. With television cameras in places they’d never gone before — courtrooms, war zones, emerging crime scenes — the line between news and entertainment blurred and then nearly disappeared, while, in the White House, […]

OWN Premieres “Operation Change” Tonight

June 23, 2014 Kellie Freeze

Tonight, OWN begins its 10-part documentary series, Operation Change, which follows philanthropists Bill and Tani Austin and their son Steven Sawalich, who are joined by celebrities as they tackle challenges facing the world today. The Austins are the founders of the Starkey Hearing Foundation, a nonprofit organization that gives free hearing aids to impoverished people around the world. Each week, the family travels to some of the world’s most remote, dangerous and poverty-stricken places, where they are joined by notable figures like President Bill Clinton, Sir Elton John, Harry Connick Jr. and Marlee Matlin. Throughout each episode, the team immerses […]

Don Wildman talks a new season of Monumental Mysteries on Travel Channel

June 13, 2014 Lori Acken

Before I can even ask him a single question, Travel Channel’s intrepid Monumental Mysteries host Don Wildman quizzes me about my current location. When I tell him Milwaukee, he offers up a fascinating story about the underground caverns throughout the Midwest that German immigrants used to age and cool the first icy, refreshing pilsner beer Americans had ever quaffed. A fast trip to Google afterward reveals he’s spot-on. The Miller Brewing Co. in my hometown sports 160-year-old, man-made caves some 60 feet below ground. That’s just the kind of guy Wildman — the son of a history teacher dad and […]

A Male Revue: Interview with Jeff Timmons “Men of the Strip”

May 30, 2014 Barb Oates

From Chippendales to Magic Mike, the chiseled-chest hunks of male revue shows have long been captivating female audiences worldwide. E! turns the cameras on the Men of the Strip, a new Las Vegas male revue featuring 98 Degrees star Jeff Timmons, in a two-hour reality/movie event premiering on Sunday, June 1 at 10pmET. Timmons serves as both host and entertainer (a singer, not a stripper) for the show, but he’s quick to cast the attention on the eight sexy performers and their journey to the spotlight. “One of the big things we wanted was guys with good charismas, aside from […]

Discovery’s Monster Weekend highlighted by “Russian Yeti” special

May 29, 2014 Jeff Pfeiffer

If Animal Planet’s Monster Week wasn’t enough for you, you might want to tune in to Discovery Channel’s Monster Weekend, which begins May 31 at 8pm ET/PT, and culminates the next evening with the two-hour special Russian Yeti: The Killer Lives (pictured). Monster Weekend features four premiere programs, two airing on both May 31 and June 1. Kicking things off, May 31 at 8pm, is Alaskan Monster Hunt: Hillstranded. Here, Deadliest Catch captains Johnathan and Andy Hillstrand return to their hometown of Homer, Alaska, for a different kind of hunt — to investigate sightings of a strange sea animal, known […]

D-Day 70th anniversary TV programming

May 27, 2014 Jeff Pfeiffer

This year marks the 70th anniversary of D-Day — June 6, 1944 — the historic date when Allied forces invaded France during World War II to begin the liberation of Europe from Nazi rule. To commemorate the event, several networks will feature specials about the massive — and deadly — operation that ultimately served as the beginning of the end for the Third Reich. Along with documentaries and movies, you can likely expect news networks to feature coverage of the D-Day 70th anniversary ceremonies taking place in France, and featuring a number of world leaders. We will update news coverage […]

President Obama to introduce History’s “The World Wars” event series

May 23, 2014 Jeff Pfeiffer

Premiering this Memorial Day, May 26, History’s three-night event series The World Wars is a look at the years 1914-45 — three decades of devastating war that changed the course of the world. History has announced that President Obama will introduce night one of the six-hour series. Other notable figures included in the series to offer insights are Sen. John McCain, Gen. Colin Powell, British Prime Minister John Major, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and more. Narrated by Jeremy Renner, The World Wars looks back at the war years through the eyes of the powerful men of the time — Roosevelt, Hitler, […]

OWN producing original documentary series featuring Michael Sam

May 14, 2014 Jeff Pfeiffer

With eight picks left during last week’s NFL draft, Michael Sam was at last selected by the St. Louis Rams, thereby becoming the first openly gay football player drafted into the league. OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network announced today the production of a multi-part documentary series following the life of Michael Sam, the former University of Missouri player about to enter America’s biggest pro sports league. The project currently has the working title of The Untitled Michael Sam Project. “We are honored that Michael is trusting us with his private journey in this moment that has not only made history but […]