My idea of Thanksgiving, the one I learned in school and reinforced with construction paper Pilgrim hats and traced-hand turkeys, is a story about people coming together and bridging cultural divides, of a bountiful feast and joyous celebration, gratitude and joy. Even though the story was told from the perspective of the Pilgrims, I was… continue reading
TV documentary
An interview with Danica Patrick and Hannah Storm about their new doc
NASCAR driver Danica Patrick and director Hannah Storm discuss the new Epix documentary Danica, which is about Danica’s life on and off the race track.
‘The greatest tragedy of our generation’ told through ‘the people who are experiencing it’
Watch the first responders who rescue civilians hurt and killed in Syria, in this exclusive preview of NatGeo’s Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS.
How and why nature documentaries lie to us
Nature documentaries sometimes use the same techniques as reality TV and scripted shows to enhance what we’re watching—and they can also deceive.
The first Snapchat documentary is about to disappear
A review of the first Snapchat-only documentary, “We’ll Still Be Here,” produced by PBS’ POV, which is available for 24 hours on the NowThis channel.
The 10 documentaries HBO will air the rest of this year
Trailers and descriptions for the docs HBO will air this summer and fall, including The Trans List, Marathon: the Patriots Day Bombing, and Meet the Donors.
Watch this once-lost, groundbreaking show about gay people
The first openly gay person on a television series was Lance Loud, An American Family‘s break-out star. But a decade before that, on Sept. 11, 1961, a documentary aired on television that first introduced its viewers to openly gay people: The Rejected. KQED produced the hour-long film for WNET’s predecessor–and WNET later produced An American Family…. continue reading
The fantasy of reality star life destroyed by Survivor cast, others
Going on a reality show may change a person’s life. But it may also leave a person wondering why their life hasn’t changed, why they’re not insanely famous and rich. What actually happens to most reality stars after their show ends and life resumes–often, a desperate search for fame, fortune, and/or meaning–is the subject of a… continue reading
Mary Carillo is one of the best things about the Olympics
More than two weeks of Olympic coverage conclude tonight, and there’s a lot to criticize about the decisions NBC makes when covering the Olympics, and many people loathe the non-sports parts as unnecessary filler. But I’d watch Mary Carillo’s work all day; her pieces have become one of the highlights of watching the Olympics for… continue reading
The 32-year-old behind-the-scenes documentary you’ll want to watch right now
Want to see a young Harrison Ford walk away from a young Steven Spielberg as he describes one of the most well-known scenes in the Indiana Jones series, if not all of film, because he wants mustard? That’s just one of the many hilarious and insightful moments in a behind-the-scenes documentary about the filming of… continue reading