Reel TV: The Best in Television This Week

By The Reel Pretty Staff

CREATED on Nov 19 2009

World War II in HD (The History Channel)

It’s good to have an intelligent television viewing option every now and then. The History Channel remains one of the rare networks that offers programs that enrich the mind and spirit.

World War II in HD uses recently lost and restored color films and footage of real life events that occurred in the Second World War, along with descriptions and comments from individuals who experienced them firsthand.

In the episode i watched, there was footage about the Bataan Death March, the liberation of the Philippines by U.S. forces and the exploits of the Tuskegee Airmen. It’s refreshing to see a show that dwells on honor, courage and sacrifice, virtues that seem to have lessened in importance in our current world.

If you are a student of history or have older relatives who fought in WWII, this show is well worth seeing.

The Oprah Winfrey Show Interview with Sarah Palin

We knew the day would eventually come when America’s favorite talk show queen would have to invite the controversial former Vice-Presidential candidate on. It happened this week when Sarah Palin appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to promote her book and to, hopefully, counter the negative perceptions some people have of her.

Oprah certainly did not coddle Palin, quizzing her about such difficult topics as the infamous Katie Couric interview, her disagreements with the McCain campaign coordinators and, of course, her clothes-shedding “grandbaby daddy” Levi Johnson. To her credit, Palin addressed all questions candidly and with confidence, but she has probably had far more time to prepare her answers than she did during her run for Vice-President.

Did Palin’s performance make me feel any more comfortable about the possibility of her someday being the President of this country?To be honest, the thought of her being the person on the other end of the red telephone still gives me the shakes, but one has to admire her gifts for self-promotion.

This interview was fairly interesting to watch and might- gulp!-open the door for Palin to get her own talk show in the near future.

Snapped (Oxygen)

Oxygen’s Snapped focuses on women who commit murder, usually of their spouses. Whether out of jealousy, greed or desperation, all were prompted by strong emotions that caused them to kill.

On the latest episode, a beautiful immigrant from Trinidad is accused of murdering her much older husband. According to her, she killed in self-defense, asserting that her hubby tried to kill her as she lay in the bed. The police, however, wee not too impressed with her explanation, since her husband was twice her size and the likelihood of her being able to overpower him, under normal circumstances, was questionable. She also was discovered to have called her brother and a lover before calling 911, not exactly what you do if you want somebody’s life to be saved. Experts claim that, since the victim, was a recent heart attack victim, he would not have had the strength to either attack his wife or defend himself from her attack.

Despite these facts, it looked as though this lady might actually get away with what many believed was a carefully planned murder. To her surprise, she was charged a second time for manslaughter in the first degree and convicted.

Snapped always offers a fascinating look into the mind of a killer and shows that women can be as calculating, cruel and self-serving as their male counterparts.

Way to go, women’s lib!

Looney Tunes Marathon (Cartoon Network)

This past Sunday, I was in ecstasy, as the Cartoon Network featured a Looney Tunes marathon. Those silly, irreverent Warner Bros cartoons from the 1940’s and ’50’s, with familiar characters like Elmer Fudd, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig,Yosemite Sam and many others have tickled folks for generations.

I’ve always felt that the Warner Bros. cartoons were more for adults than they ever were for kids, who were not savvy enough to catch the inside jokes. The characters were wise-cracking smart alecks, instead of the sappy, innocent beings typically found in the conventional cartoons of the day. Though these cartoons may be a bit dated in some aspects and certainly don’t have the high-tech animation we have nowadays, they still retain their same sarcastic charm.

For a few delectable hours, I was in bliss.

Some things you just never outgrow.

Bridezillas (WeTv)

Everybody who has ever participated in a wedding knows that the stress of preparing for that big day can take its emotional toll, but the women in Bridezillas go way beyond the limit.

Each episode features brides-to-be as they get ready to march down the aisle. In the process, they wreak havoc by making life a living hell for everyone from their husbands-to-be to the bridesmaids to their wedding coordinators. They are loud profane, obnoxious and overbearing wenches and one can’t help but wonder how they got any sane man to pop the question.

In the episode I saw, bride-to-be Karee yelled and cursed at everybody around her, treating them like scum and barking her demands like a drill sergeant. This chick was absolutely monstrous, even getting involved in a road rage incident. She barely made it in time for her wedding, pouted up until the moment of the wedding ceremony, chilled out during the vows, but returned to her evil ways afterwards. She complained about her guests eating too much food during the reception and was angry because she felt she hadn’t received an adequate number of wedding gifts.

If this woman’s behavior was indicative of the things to come, it totally amazes me that her groom showed up.

Yes, Bridezillas is, without a doubt, ridiculously tacky and contrived, but, I still find it fascinating.

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