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5:55 PM Showtime
Sicko (2008 USA): It wasn't the box office phenomenon that was Fahrenheit 9/11, nor was it the incendiary device known as Bowling For Columbine, but in my humble opinion Sicko is Michael Moore's best film yet. Cutting back on the silly gimmicks and concentrating on the factual (and pathetic) inequities of the American "health care system" (if system is not too strong a word), Moore finally got the balance between entertainment and education almost right. Some considered the final reel trip to Cuba showboating akin to Columbine's trip to K-Mart, but Moore got results both times — which is more than you can say for the Department of Health and Human Services. Also airs at 8:55 PM and throughout the month.

11:15 PM Turner Classic Movies
Carnal Knowledge (1971 USA): The subject of many a snickering playground joke (none of which the tellers or the tellees actually GOT), Carnal Knowledge blew the lid off the sexual revolution — or at least tried to. Jack Nicholson and Art Garfunkel star as college pals navigating the treacherous waters found within bedrooms nationwide during the 1950s and '60s, when America transitioned from Leave It to Beaver to Beaver Hunt. Though there's little on screen that would now (or even in 1971) be considered shocking, the dialogue is what got the film into trouble with would be censors in Georgia, who seized the film and took their case all the way to the Supreme Court, where they ultimately lost. It'll be interesting to see if TCM shows Carnal Knowledge completely uncut: it's been many years since the channel snipped out bad language, but this will certainly be an acid test for any scissor wielders still stalking the TCM corporate corridors. It's followed at 1:00 AM by the equally infamous, but much more light-hearted, Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice, in which a pair of suburban couples delicately inch their way towards spouse swapping.

Friday 02/06/09

3:45 PM Showtime
The Great Debaters (2007 USA): More debate fun, this time of the altered historical drama variety, arrives in the shape of last year's undervalued The Great Debaters. Denzel Washington stars as leftist Melvin Tolson, a professor at tiny Wiley College in Texas. Tolson coached the black college's debate team and turned them from underdogs into a respected powerhouse who eventually earned a berth competing against the Ivy Leaguers of the much-vaunted Harvard squad. Though the film takes some liberties with actual events, it's still head and shoulders above the majority of period dramas and is suffused with an angry political radicalism not often seen in American films. Directed by Washington and co-starring Forest Whitaker, The Great Debaters also airs at 6:45 PM and 2/8 on Showtime 3 at 1:00 PM.

4:00 PM Encore
Dr. No (1962 GB): Encore first aired most of the James Bond films in widescreen back in early 2007; they then reverted to pan and scan prints for the entirety of 2008. Now they're airing an impressive 16 Bonds in a row (some more than once), including such essential series' entries as Goldfinger, The Spy Who Loved Me, and Never Say Never Again. Okay, maybe that last one isn't essential, but it is amusing to watch Sean Connery in a hairpiece. I'm not going to list them all, so you'll need to point and click your way towards Encore's online schedule for the full details.

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