MetaFilter posts tagged with television and documentary

There is no evidence that Quetzalcoatlus could see dinosaur pee with its ultraviolet vision, or that a herd of hadrosaurs could knock over a predator with their concentrated infrasound blasts.

brundlefly — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:45:29 -0800

Paleontologist Matt Wedel was a talking head in the Discovery Channel's Clash of the Dinosaurs, but was not very happy with the final product. The production company, Dangerous, responds. Finally, the Discovery Channel steps up.

Swastika Tube

hortense — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:43:50 -0800

Spiegel TV has tracked down rare Nazi TV footage, complete with everything from bizarre cabaret acts to interviews with people like Albert Speer. Pop culture done by Nazis, the banality of showbiz evil. found here alternate link

Dan Treacy/Television Personalities documentary

Item — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:22:27 -0800

Dan Treacy and his band Television Personalities have had a long and storied history. Here's a nice little documentary (part one, two, three, four) on 'em. Formed in 1977 during the first wave of UK punk, they put out records on a fairly regular basis until the turn of the millennium, when Treacy seemed to fall off the face of the planet. He was eventually tracked down to a British prison ship, where he was serving time for a slew of petty crimes related to his mental illness and drug addiction. Upon his release in 2004, he reformed the group with long-time member Ed Ball (also of Teenage Filmstars/the Times) and returned to playing shows and putting out new material, starting with an... interesting choice for a single, the haunting 'All the Young Children on Crack'. Here's a good, concise history of the group. 'Painted Word', my personal favorite TVPs song. 'Part Time Punks', probably the group's best known song. 'I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives'. Fun trivia: the TVPs were on tour as David Gilmour's(!) supporting act in the mid 80's when Treacy took it upon himself to read the reclusive Barrett's home address to a crowd of thousands. Gilmour was not amused and the group got the sack.

Why Democracy?

St Urbain's Horseman — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:42:59 -0800

Why Democracy? "In October 2007, ten one-hour films focused on contemporary democracy will be broadcast in the world's largest ever factual media event. More than 40 broadcasters on all continents are participating, with an estimated audience of 300 million viewers. Each of the broadcasters - an A-Z which includes everyone from Al Arabiya to ZDF - will be producing a locally-based seasons of film, radio, debate and discussion to tie in with the global broadcast of the Why Democracy? films."

"If people do not accept our position on creationism, they do not have to watch."

goodnewsfortheinsane — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 08:42:04 -0800

Guess who's censoring references to evolution out of David Attenborough documentaries? That's right, the Dutch. See the differences; here's a detailed write-up by a Dutch biologist and documentary enthusiast comparing the two versions side-by-side (in Dutch).

On the edge of Aquarius, I'm living on the edge

Rev. Syung Myung Me — Wed, 20 Jul 2005 17:38:08 -0800

Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession. In the late 1970s to the end of the 1980s, LA's Z Channel was a pay-TV cable channel that would play loads of esoteric films. It'd been credited with starting the trend of "director's cuts", bringing passed-over directors and films to the public's attention, and in some cases, was directly responsible for Oscar Nominations -- and was basically the work of one man, Jerry Harvey. Unfortunately, Z Channel folded shortly after Jerry Harvey killed his wife and then himself. X a n Cassavetes' film tells the story of Jerry Harvey and Z Channel through interviews with filmmakers and those involved, including an archival interview with Harvey himself.

Wal-mart: Sith Lord of unbridaled capitalism

spock — Mon, 06 Jun 2005 09:31:24 -0800

That "liberal bastion" PBS and that "wacky" Christian Right AGREEING on something? Does the "Sith Lord of unbridaled capitalism" really deserve to be hated? Does it bear watching? A new movie will take a look: (Registration -free link). Why are growing numbers "ready to join the ranks of all right-thinking people the world over in declaring Wal-Mart an outpost of hell on earth"??? The full 60 minute Frontline program video is available online.

N-I-G-G-E-R

LinusMines — Sun, 04 Jul 2004 11:15:30 -0800

Cable channel Trio drops the N-bomb An original documentary, premiering tonight, takes a close look at a troublesome word.

Great television science presenters and their shows

milovoo — Fri, 04 Jun 2004 14:07:53 -0800

Great television science presenters and their shows: Tim Hunkin "the Secret Life of Machines", Jacob Bronowski "The Ascent of Man", James Burke "Connections", David Attenborough "Trials of Life" "Blue Planet" etc., Marlin Perkins "Wild Kingdom", Don Herbert "Watch Mr. Wizard", Adam Hart-Davis "Science Shack" "Rough Science", Jack Horkheimer "Star Gazer". Does anyone else have any favorites, past or present?

Ghosts of Rwanda

specialk420 — Thu, 01 Apr 2004 21:20:53 -0800

Ghosts of Rwanda
10 years later, FRONTLINE delivers one of the most powerful episodes in their excellent series of reports. Also covered in The Economist last week, and a couple years ago in The Atlantic in a sublime article: "Bystanders to Genocide". When you first heard about the tragedy did you wish you could have done something, if you had only known more?

StringThread

srboisvert — Fri, 14 Nov 2003 08:40:17 -0800

The elegant universe. A 3 hour PBS NOVA documentary on string theory [in 24 ~5-10 minute chunks of real player or quick time video]. Welcome to the 11th dimension.

Ripper Case Closed?

Reggie452 — Mon, 09 Dec 2002 06:51:37 -0800

Walter Sickert was a renowned impressionist painter. In her new book, author Patricia Cornwell also claims that Sickert was Jack the Ripper. Whether you believe her theory or not, Cornwell is certainly getting a lot of press out of this. If all these links aren't enough for you, you can also watch a documentary on Cornwell and her Jack the Ripper theory tonight at 10 p.m. EST on The Learning Channel.

IPLawyer — Mon, 11 Mar 2002 13:48:18 -0800

Thoughts on the 9/11 documentary. We've already talked about would you watch. Now that it's aired, did you watch? Was it what you expected? Did it trivialize by turning horrible tragedy into heartwarming fare, or did it bring the harsh reality of 9/11 home to those who weren't there?

dglynn — Wed, 09 Jan 2002 22:53:51 -0800

Hackers: Computer Outlaws A TLC show(that I'm 3/4 through) that seems to actually use reliable sources to discuss not just cracker behavior, but also the creative side of hackers, pointing out the developments attributed to some hackers. Now Markoff and Mitnick. Not a bad little show....

SandeepKrishnamurthy — Fri, 04 Jan 2002 09:21:53 -0800

Taxi Dreams Did anyone watch the PBS show- "Taxi Dreams"? The PBS site is very informative. I enjoyed the video clips in the gallery . The facts and figures section was decent. Overall, I thought it was a great way to study the immigrant experience and the American dream.

msacheson — Thu, 06 Sep 2001 13:21:29 -0800

Good PBS program alert! Tonight is the premiere of The First Year, which aims to show "the human side of (American education): the determination and commitment of five novice teachers as they struggle to survive their first year in America's toughest schools." Check your local listings.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to ask the community for thoughts/ideas/cautions/resources for people interested in going into teaching.

Dean_Paxton — Fri, 31 Mar 2000 03:34:33 -0800

Code Rush Documentary Did anyone get to watch the Netscape documentary on PBS. In my area, it aired at 2am. I fell asleep trying to catch it...