Ellen Leventry: June 2009 Archives

Valentine's Day 2001 I spent with Michael Jackson and 3,000 of his most adoring fans.

At the time the "King of Pop" and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach had started an initiative
called "Heal the Kids" which aimed to "restore children's 'birthright of nurturing care'." That evening the two were hosting a panel discussion on how parents could best balance care of their children with demands of their careers and relationships and Beliefnet was there to cover it.

Like many Americans, my relationship with Mr. Jackson was a bit schizophrenic: Adoring his musical genius one minute and guffawing along to all the late night hosts' jokes about his legal troubles or commenting on his freakish plastic surgery-aided transformation the next. But that night, I witnessed almost 3,000 crazed fans rushing the stage, trying anything to get a piece of the superstar and I realized that, even with all of the troubles that he may have brought upon himself, he never really stood a chance.

There could be no more serendipitous programming on television this coming week than National Geographic Channel's "Iran and the West," as the eyes of the world are focused currently on the Islamic Republic's post-election protests and threatened crackdown on those protests. Featuring surprisingly candid interviews with leading players from both sides, this eye-opening, riveting two-hour special explores the complex relationship the Islamic Republic has shared with the United States and Europe since the fall of the pro-Western Shah in 1979.

Treated alternately as an enemy and an ally by its Western counterparts, Iran has played a pivotal role in not only the political biography of the Middle East, but, indeed, the world. And this documentary does a masterful job of connecting the dots, essentially giving the viewer an easy to navigate road map to a complex journey from the Iran Hostage Crisis, to the rise of Hezbollah, to Iran's opposition to the Taliban. Leveraging astonishing access to key officials, this special provides historical context for current events that the main stream media simply isn't giving viewers.

If you want to better understand the breaking news reports about Iran filling the newspapers, cable networks, and even Twitter, then you must check out this incredibly enlightening documentary.

"Iran and the West" airs Monday, June 22, at 9:00 p.m. ET on National Geographic Channel.

When news that Jamie Lynn Spears was pregnant at 16 first broke back in December 2007, I suggested that Ms. Spears turn it into a teaching moment and film a reality spotlighting the hardships of being a teen mother.

Well, it's been a long gestation period, but MTV has taken the idea and run with it in its new series, "16 and Pregnant." The show glosses over nothing--30 hour labors! Inattentive teen fiancées! Destroyed social lives!--but never preaches stay abstinent or use protection. It's "just the facts, ma'am," but, boy, do those facts speak for themselves.

Take Maci and her boyfriend Ryan, the couple featured in the first episode. A good student, a cheerleader and a softball player, everyone is shocked when Maci announces she is pregnant. But the family soon rallies around her and the mood is general excitement, except for Ryan whose main concern seems to be filling his stomach with food and riding his dirt bike. He's scared as can be (with good reason), and perhaps a bit disinterested, and you can see it all over his face.

TNT sells itself as the network that "knows drama," but it's now branching out into melodrama with a new "unscripted drama" (read: reality show) called "Wedding Day," in which deserving couples get their dream walk down the aisle.

I'm not sure why the network that has brought us quality scripted shows such as "The Closer" and "Leverage," feels the need to jump on the reality TV bandwagon, but there must be money (big ad bucks, low production costs?) in them thar nuptials. Several networks now feature wedding-themed reality shows, including TLC, BBC America, and even CMT is in on the act, in their own way, with "My Big Redneck Wedding."

WEtv (that's Women's Entertainment, not Wedding Entertainment, by the way) has basically transformed itself into the nuptial network with "My Fair Wedding," "Bridezillas," "Rich Bride, Poor Bride," "Platinum Weddings," and more.

But, TNT has gone to the godfather of reality TV, Mark Burnett, to produce this "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" meets "My Fair Wedding" mash-up, so I was expecting something more: maybe a groomsmen being voted off the aisle, or a random wedding volunteer being told "You're fired."

"The Hangover," the Warner Bros. comedy about the misadventures of four men in Las Vegas for a bachelor party, was the surprise winner at the box office this weekend, taking in $45 million dollars. But, it really shouldn't have been too much of a surprise: the trailers for the movie looked hysterical and people want to laugh in these difficult economic times.

The adult drama genre, a.k.a. those Oscar contending films, is suffering terribly right now, as Entertainment Weekly points out in this week's issue. The Soloist producer Gary Foster, who saw his film languish at the box office, posits that, "Audiences don't want to be reminded of the darkness in the world."

Personally, I think the same applies to "dark" action films: note the difference in box office between the dark and dystopian "Terminator: Salvation" and the fun and fresh "Star Trek."

Directed by Todd Phillips ("Old School"), "The Hangover" follows three groomsmen who lose the groom-to-be after a night of Vegas debauchery that none of them can remember when they wake the next morning in their wrecked hotel suite. Hijinks and hilarity ensue as the three mismatched musketeers try to retrace their every movement from the night before, including a hot night at the blackjack table a la "Rainman" and a run in with Mike Tyson's pet tiger.

You may have never heard of "College Life," MTV's attempt at creating a real reality show by letting loose University of Wisconsin - Madison students with cameras, but it's an interesting little gem tucked away at the 11:30 p.m. Monday...