What was on TV? Fri, March 11, 2005

20 years ago, Michael Jackson showed up to his child molestation trial in pajamas. Let's see what was on TV!

Earlier Lackawanna Blues (recorded)

Is this the best cast ever assembled? Maybe! S. Epatha Merkerson, Delroy Lindo, Jeffrey Wright, Liev Schreiber, Carmen Ejogo, Michael Kenneth Williamson, Louis Gossett Jr...I could keep going! With so many superstars in front of the camera this movie should be amazing. But everything going on behind the camera lets them down.

This was adapted from Ruben Santiago-Hudson's classic one-man show. Either first-time movie director George C. Wolfe was trying really hard to avoid "staginess" or he was trying really hard to capture the energy of the one man show. Either way, it doesn't work. There is so much quick-cutting, a constant soundtrack of loud music, weird framing choices, and just choices all around, all the time. It could work, but at least half the time, the choices disrupt the rhythms of these actors and their beautiful work. Delroy Lindo or Jeffrey Wright will be delivering some huge monologue and the direction keeps on intruding, being weird and getting in the way. Get out of the way! Let them cook!

But Santiago-Hudson's story of the special place where he grew up and the special people who raised him still shines through, and this is just a tremendous showcase for black performers. S. Epatha Merkerson earned an Emmy for her lead role as Santiago-Hudson's de-facto mother, and rightly so. But my favorite performance came from a young Carmen Ejogo as his birth mother, young and overwhelmed and troubled. She could be such a stereotype, and her screentime is too short, but Ejogo makes every moment count. In her hands this woman is foolish, terrified, angry, and brave.

10:00 Battlestar Galactica on Sci-Fi

1x10 "The Hand of God"

This episode gives us the series' best space battle to date. And it shows exactly how you do a space battle on a TV budget. Actual space battle is thrilling. Especially seeing Adama go down that narrow tunnel! But what makes it special is the scenes on the ship, in the control room.

My guess is that the budget for this particular space battle was a bit...modest. So we get lots of footage on the Galactica. This works, since Starbuck, our usual POV character in the space battles, is stuck on the Galactica just like us, still recovering from her injury. She devised this whole plan, and we feel her anxiety as her best friend executes it and her comrades fall. We see the rest of the team hanging on every work from the pilots. The footage of those pilots is often sparse, but they make it count. Director NAME adds cool touches: we'll see the pilots flying and then see people replicate their movements with model planes as we cut back the Galactica. In an age of high-budget sci-fi and fantasy TV, this episode reminds me that less is sometimes more.

You see that when they win, getting a much-needed supply of fuel and finally dealing a blow to the unstoppable cylons. The suspense is over, the tension is broken, and the result is a true joy bomb. Seeing all these characters who never smile smile, seeing poor Adama and Roslin take off their glasses, Starbuck hugging the president, people popping champagne, and Bear McCreary's exquisite score. I teared up and pumped my fists in the air. Not even the coda to the episode, in which number 6 reveals this was all part of the plan and Baltar embraces his role as God's (or maybe just the cylon's?) instrument could ruin this for me. I'm still smiling.

Late Night

Conan interviews Jon Lithgow (who played a prominent role in his monologue at the Oscars just last week) and says his dream is to be a radio host and knock on random people's doors. And that's pretty much what he does these days! Inspiring, honestly.

What Else Was On

• Wonder Showzen, a violent and filthy parody of children's television, premiered on MTV2. The show retains a devoted cult following to this day.
• The Disney Channel Original Movies Buffalo Dreams premiered. In this one, a white boy moves to New Mexico and after he's nice to the local buffalo, he's made an honorary member of the Navojo tribe and given the name "Rides Like the Wind." Oy vey.
• A&E aired the latest tour of Stars on Ice (I couldn't find the broadcast on YouTube. Tragic!)
• Before they were famous: Jessica Chastain guest starred on Law and Order: Trial by Jury. Also in that episode: Sarah Hyland from Modern Family, Brooke Elliott from Drop Dead Diva. And the Law and Order franchise continued its love affair with actors from The Wire: Carver (Seth Gilliam) and Carcetti (Aiden Gillen aka Littlefinger) also appeared. And Lorraine Bracco was there too!

TiVo Status

The Masterpiece Theater miniseries The Lost Prince, a Frontline documentary, the TV movies Sucker Free City, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and Ladies Night, and one episode of Miracle's Boys. 13.5 hours total.

Figure Skating, 20 years ago

I couldn't find much from the 2005 American Stars on Ice tour. But here are Shen Xue and Hongbo Zhao performing their swoon-worthy and show-stopping "Come What May" program for Stars on Ice Japan.