Morgan Spurlock
The flotsam otherwise known as the summer television schedule is upon us. Fortunately, a few seaworthy programs have surfaced, and while reality TV on the networks jumped the shark about the time Fear Factor showed up, cable’s new breed may hopefully find legs.
30 Days comes from the mind of Morgan Spurlock (creator/producer of the Oscar-nominated Super Size Me). The format draws from Fakin’ It, a BBC transplant that briefly aired on Discovery’s TLC, and the ubiquitous Michael Moore mockumentaries. In the inaugural episode, the minimum wage goes primetime as Spurlock and his wife, unemployed and homeless, arrive in Ohio where the minimum wage is actually less than the federal minimum wage, if that’s even possible. For 30 days, they rake rock bottom for the money to pay rent and bills, and maybe even celebrate a birthday. Poverty sucks — that’s no surprise; what’s revealing is how high the chips are stacked against folks on the fringe. (Where were they on Election Day, I’d like to know?) Future installments feature an ex-jock on growth hormones, Christians as Muslims, and more fish-out-of-water stories.
Spy, from the BBC, airs on PBS (Mondays). Production values (film-res footage, aerial shots, motion graphics) run high on this Survivor-style spies-in-training show. Decent editing spares us the mundane, while former vets from MI6 and the CIA give you the lowdown on how to stalk your ex and rummage your neighbor’s dustbin. The subjects aren’t entirely interesting, but the skills and the training are.
Other shows I’m watching: Frontline (no holds barred investigative journalism — how long before CPB cuts off their funding?) and Robot Chicken (stop-motion animation on Cartoon Network‘s Adult Swim).
