Documentary Archives - Page 26 of 63

Sink your teeth into Nat Geo Wild’s “Jobs That Bite!”

November 7, 2013 Ryan Berenz

Outdoor enthusiast Jeremy Brandt tackles some of the oddest, dirtiest, toughest and most dangerous jobs in the animal kingdom in Jobs That Bite! on Nat Geo Wild. Brandt travels the country getting hands-on experience in the less-glamorous aspects of working with animals, including wrangling ostriches on horseback, castrating pigs and taking a lion’s temperature from the tail end. Outdoor enthusiast Jeremy Brandt tackles some of the oddest, dirtiest, toughest and most dangerous jobs in the animal kingdom in Nat Geo Wild’s new Jobs That Bite! Brandt travels the country visiting zoos, wildlife sanctuaries, farms, ranches and more, getting hands-on experience in […]

Veterans Day 2013 TV programming

November 7, 2013 Jeff Pfeiffer

Veterans Day 2013 in the United States is Monday, Nov. 11, 2013. On this day in particular, a federal holiday, the nation honors people who have served in armed service. As has become the custom in recent years, on and around Veterans Day 2013, there will be various TV specials and airings of movies in honor of veterans. Here is some of the notable TV programming airing for Veterans Day 2013. All times are Eastern; check back for updates and additions. Armed Forces Classic — Nov. 8 at 7:30pm on ESPN. As part of ESPN’s annual salute to Veterans Day, the network […]

Animal Planet series invites you to “Meet the Sloths”

November 6, 2013 Jeff Pfeiffer

Sloths — especially baby sloths — have been burning up the internet in recent years in terms of having their cuteness spread virally via pictures and videos. I have no way of measuring, of course, but they may even be close to rivaling cats in the number of adorable and funny pics populating the web, and in number of hits their images get. I know I’ve passed along my share of photos, trying to convince friends of the awesomeness of baby sloths, and last year, thanks to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, we found out that sloths even have the power […]

Showtime’s Time of Death presents an absorbing, emotional look at what it’s really like to die

November 1, 2013 Lori Acken

Twenty-five-year-old Nicole “Little Lencioni has a beautiful face, an instrument-filled house of her own in Santa Cruz, CA, a surfboard, a motorcycle and a devoted circle of ultra-cool friends. She should be having the time of her life. Instead, Little’s life now revolves around death — namely, her mother’s. Maria Lencioni, age 48 and also the mother Nicole’s teenage half-siblings Julia and Andrew, has been battling stage IV breast cancer for the past four years — 2 years longer than the doctors expected. She says her children motivate her keep up the fight, even though 50 medications have failed to […]

JFK assassination 50th anniversary TV programming

October 31, 2013 Jeff Pfeiffer

50 years ago this month — on Nov. 22, 1963 — President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas by, it is presumed, Lee Harvey Oswald (himself later shot and killed by Jack Ruby). The JFK assassination caused political, social and emotional upheavals throughout the world, especially, of course, in America. But while the JFK assassination is an event embedded forever in American history, the 50-year distance may put its significance out of the reach of generations born well after the fact. Rob Lowe, who plays JFK in the film Killing Kennedy, told me in a recent interview, “I don’t think [younger […]

PBS re-airing Lou Reed “American Masters” documentary

October 30, 2013 Jeff Pfeiffer

Check your local PBS listings over the next week — the network has announced that it will be re-airing the 1998 American Masters documentary Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart nationwide Oct. 31 at 10pm ET. Select PBS stations, including the WORLD channel, will be airing the film through Nov. 7 (according to PBS, about two-thirds of the U.S. should be able to see the rebroadcast of this film). Confirmed air dates at this point are Oct. 31 at 10pm on PBS So Cal in the Los Angeles area, and Nov. 4 at 9pm on THIRTEEN in the New York […]

“War of the Worlds: American Experience” invades PBS

October 29, 2013 Ryan Berenz

War of the Worlds: American Experience: Celebrating 75 years since Orson Welles provoked panic with the notorious 1938 radio drama broadcast of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, this American Experience documentary reexamines the event’s legacy. The notorious 1938 radio drama broadcast of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds remains the prime example of mass media’s potential to cause mass hysteria. Celebrating 75 years since Orson Welles’ panic-provoking news bulletins announced a Martian invasion, War of the Worlds: American Experience reexamines the broadcast’s legacy through interviews with historians and experts, and through letters sent to Welles by the […]

POV: 56 Up premieres on PBS Oct. 14

October 14, 2013 Ryan Berenz

Director Michael Apted’s documentary 56 Up premieres as an installment of PBS’ POV film series on Monday, Oct. 14, at 10pm ET (check local listings). In 1964, the documentary Seven Up! studied contemporary British society by asking 7-year-olds from different backgrounds about their lives and hopes for the future. Every seven years since, director Michael Apted’s Up film series revisited members of the group, revealing how the “kids” have fared through the stages of life and how their perspectives evolved. Now at age 56, the group members face the personal, health and career challenges of middle age. But Apted found […]

Gold Fever on Discovery traces California Gold Rush

October 11, 2013 Barb Oates

Gold Fever on Discovery Friday, Oct. 11 beginning at 9pm ET and Friday, Oct. 18 beginning at 9pm ET: Discovery just can’t get enough gold these days. In addition to its hit series Gold Rush, which makes it Season 4 return Oct. 25, the network is introducing a new four-part documentary miniseries titled Gold Fever. The documentary plays out as part documentary with narration and expert opinion, and part movie with elaborate sets, characters and a continued storyline. It’s an engrossing educational look at the California Gold Rush and how America was transformed from a fledgling nation into one of […]

PBS Frontline “League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis”

October 8, 2013 Ryan Berenz

Frontline‘s documentary League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis investigates how, for years, the NFL denied and worked to refute scientific evidence that playing football is linked to early onset dementia, brain damage and other devastating consequences. The two-hour League of Denial premieres on PBS Tuesday, Oct. 8, at 9pm ET (check local listings). Watch “League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis” preview on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE. What and when did the NFL know about the long-term effects of head injuries on its players? Frontline‘s controversial documentary League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis — made even more controversial […]