Reel TV: The Best in Television This Week

By the People: The Election of Barack Obama (HBO)

Actor Edward Norton helped produce this intriguing documentary about the road to the Presidency of Barack Obama.  It encompassed a 3-year period, starting out as just a portrayal of a junior U.S. senator. but becoming much more when Obama decided to run for President.  There are comments from those closest to him personally, a look at the team of players who helped propel his campaign to success and a depiction of the political maneuvering that turned him from “Barack who?” into America’s first viable black Presidential candidate.

This documentary captures the charisma and thoughtful intelligence of Barack Obama.  While it does touch on some of the more uncomfortable aspects of his run, such as the Jeremiah Wright issue and the fact that some voters were averse to voting for a black man for the highest office in the land, By the People can hardly be called objective.  It is obvious that the makers of this documentary were clearly in awe of Obama and he comes across largely like a flawless character.

Still, no matter whether you supported this man or not, By the People: The Election of Barack Obama was well made and highly fascinating.

Bet the Prez wishes his life post-election was as positive an experience.

Kate’s Story (TLC)

I have been as anguished as everybody else about the Jon and Kate Gosselin saga, vacillating  between being shamelessly curious about it and being weary of all the drama. Like a bad car wreck on the side of the road, you know it’s horrible, but you can’t resist the urge to watch.

I have not looked at Jon & Kate Plus 8, since all the scandalous details of their marriage breakdown came out.  While flipping through the channels on Monday night, however, I saw that TLC had a special, Kate’s Story,  a one-on-one interview with Kate Gosselin about her current situation.  I confess that curiosity prompted me to take a look and, despite my initial misgivings, I am glad I did.

Kate’s’ Story showed a side of Kate that viewers have never seen before.  Instead of the always-in-control ice maiden we are used to seeing, she came across as softer, more vulnerable and more honest than it past interviews. She answered hard questions about her marriage and about her hurt regarding Jon’s public infidelity.  Also , for the first time she admitted that her treatment of Jon in the past was wrong and that a part of her still loves him.

I actually felt sympathy for her.  Whether this interview was a real depiction of her feelings or simply another manipulative effort to get the public on her side and boost sinking ratings for her show, who knows?

It, nevertheless, was interesting to watch.

Mad Men (AMC)

Now, how could I leave Mad Men off the list?  It’s one of the few shows I watch that is consistently good every week.  This past Sunday was the next-to-the-last episode of the season and was pretty juicy.

It seems like Don Draper’s whole smug little universe is about to crumble. In the previous week’s episode, Betty had found out the truth of Don’s past and in the most recent episode, her attitude towards him definitely took a major dive. The backdrop of this episode was the day of the Kennedy assassination on November 22 1963 and it seems to signal that there are going to be even more disturbing events in store for Don and the folks at Sterling Cooper.

Pete was turned down for the position he sought and became decidedly disillusioned about his job, his place of work and his co-workers.  Roger’s spoiled daughter got married, with the misfortune of having her wedding a day after the assassination.  Roger is starting to become unhappy with his young wife and I think next season he’ll be returning to his hedonistic lifestyle.

The icing on the cake, however, is that Betty drove off to meet Henry in secret and he told her he wants to marry her.  She returned home and announced to a stunned Don that she is no longer in love with him. At first he responds by telling her that she’ll feel “better about things tomorrow,” except that she doesn’t.

At the end of the show, Don went in to work alone, except for Peggy, who was there to catch up on work, and walked off to his office, looking forlorn.  This is probably something he’ll have to get used to from now on, as his world implodes.  Even though he’s been a womanizing, lying, self-absorbed creep, though, you still kind of felt sorry for the guy.

The upcoming finale should be something to knock your socks off, so be sure to watch.

“V” Premiere (ABC)

For those sci-fi fans disappointed in the declining quality of shows like Heroes,  the first episode of V, a remake of the 1980-ish show of the same name, was highly anticipated. If the pilot is any indication, then we will be supremely satisfied for the things to come.

When an earthquake occurs and a lot of flying saucers lands in various locations around the world, people are, understandably concerned at first.  However, their representative, a beautiful supermodel-type alien named Anna (Morena Baccarin), emerges to basically do a PR job by informing Earth’s residents that, in exchange for some minerals to fuel their ships, the extraterrestrials will do a bunch of great stuff.  This includes providing worldwide peace, technological advances and a cure for deadly diseases.

While many are charmed by Anna and ready to welcome the visitors, not everybody buys into her claims.  When FBI agent Erica (Elizabeth Mitchell, )Ryan(Morris Chestnut), Jack (Joel Gretsch) and others come to a secret rally,  they hear that the aliens are not the benevolent creatures they portray. They are, instead, lizard-like critters whose true mission is to take over Earth and take out its citizens.  Not every alien is evil, though, and they want to help fight the bad ones in a joint effort with the human resistors.

This was a fantastic setup for future episodes, as good verses evil, is about to begin and more people become enlightened about the true purpose of the visiting aliens.

V is well acted, well written and visually pleasing. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of a terrific ride.

The Rolling Stones: Truth and Lies (BBC)

BBC’s documentary about legendary rock group The Rolling Stones, was fun to watch. They are probably the only band from the 1960’s whose popularity has remained constant and that has not morphed into one of those “golden oldies” type groups whose appeal is limited to just an older generation.

The Stones have always been controversial, according to this documentary, always more edgy and defiant than other groups, like the Beatles.  Their outrageous, unapologetic behavior and provocative ways intimidated the status quo back in the early 60’s, but resonated with a younger generation.  The doc describes their rise to fame, relationships and self-destructive addictions and attempts to decipher truth from fiction.

It was especially amazing to see the members of the band before age, gravity and every illicit drug known to mankind ravaged their faces. Keith Richards actually resembled a human being once upon a time.

Despite their setbacks and controversies, though, the Rolling Stones can still garner sellout crowds and bring cross-generational fans together to celebrate their music.

My guess is that this group will still be rocking for years to come, even if they have to come on stage using walkers.

An interesting and informative documentary.