Tomorrow on HBO: “The Fifty Year Argument” — Scorsese on The New York Review of Books

Posted on September 28, 2014 at 3:59 pm

Once upon a time, there was no internet. And instead of bloggers and pundits and tweets we had something called public intellectuals, people who read widely, thought deeply, and wrote long, passionate, carefully reasoned, thoroughly documented and beautifully written articles about the important issues of our day, not to be confused with reality television or celebrities. The publication at the heart of this was the New York Review of Books. Martin Scorsese’s documentary, “The Fifty Year Argument” tells the story of this venerable and venerated publication, featuring interviews with its editors and contributors. It premieres tomorrow on HBO.

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Documentary Television

New on ABC: Black-ish

Posted on September 22, 2014 at 10:20 pm

One of the best new shows of the year is Anthony Anderson’s “Black-ish.” Anderson plays Andre “Dre” Johnson has a great job, a beautiful mixed-race doctor wife, Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross), four kids, and a colonial home in the mostly-white suburbs. But now that he has given his children a better life, he worries that they are so assimilated into upper middle class white culture that they are losing their identity as African Americans, that they are only “black-ish.”

The people behind the show have prepared some discussion materials for church and school groups and families. If you’d like a copy, send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with Black-ish in the subject line.

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Race and Diversity Television

Janelle Monae Tells Sesame Street About the Power of Yet: Just Keep Trying

Posted on September 13, 2014 at 8:00 am

I told you this was going to be great!

Janelle Monae sings about “The Power of Yet” to remind us that if we can’t do something, we just have to keep trying.

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Television

All the Gilmore Girls Episodes Will Be Streaming on Netflix!

Posted on September 13, 2014 at 8:00 am

I am delighted that all of the 153 episodes of “Gilmore Girls” will be available on Netflix, starting in October. This show had some of the most delightfully quirky characters and some of the most witty dialog in television history. Melissa McCarthy plays the chef and business partner and best friend of Lorelei (Lauren Graham). And you can see early performances from actors like Sean Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy’), Jared Padalecki (“Supernatural”), and Matt Czuchry (“The Good Wife”).

I wrote about what made “The Gilmore Girls” special and how much I loved sharing it with my then-teenage daughter ten years ago. If you’re new to the show, check out this Huffington Post list of some of the series highlights.

9/11/14

Posted on September 11, 2014 at 7:01 am

We remember the unspeakable tragedy of 9/11 today as the losses of those devastating hours continue to bolster our resolve to eradicate terrorism and keep our families safe. CNN has updates on some of the people who helped us understand the terrible pain of the attack’s losses — and the unimaginable courage of so many in responding to it. The television broadcasts of that day are archived online. There are a number of television specials observing the memorial tonight, with the Discovery Channel profiling NYPD’s elite Emergency Service Unit (ESU).

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Television