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Arts and Entertainment

TV Junkie: 9/11 Weekend, 'True Blood' Finale & More

twintowers.jpg
"Twin Towers" photo by Thomas Attila Lewis
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Weekend EditionCheck out the listings for a subset of the myriad of commemorative 9/11 programs, not including the live coverage of ceremonies that will blanket the airwaves for a significant chunk of your Sunday. I'm avoiding these programs as all this footage has been on an endless repeat for the past 10 years, and the day is still fresh in my memory as I was living just a couple hours outside of NYC and talked with several people that day who witnessed the attacks in person. Being in Western Massachusetts, I literally could have looked up to see the planes make their detours to New York I heard about the first plane hitting the World Trade Center on NPR and got to work just in time to see the second plane hit the tower on a TV broadcasting CNN in the office. The West Coast slept through most of the attacks that morning but if you were in the Northeast you had probably seen the footage of the attacks 100 times by noon and were already trying track down friends who may have been in lower Manhattan or DC, and getting your spare room ready for refugees fleeing the city.

About 20 times a ay I walk by a photo I took of the WTC in 1995, I'm not going to kid you that I notice and absorb it every time, but that place and that day are vivid for me. I can appreciate the sense of detachment some might feel about the place and the day, after all, it was a continent away from Los Angeles, and the footage still looks surreal - it's about as real as the Apollo missions to the moon for some people, and thus deniable. Perhaps the detached need a weekend of TV specials to reattach, I respect that, this is the weekend for it. This really isn't my 9/11 story, but my unwillingness to review these images, transcripts, phone calls, and radio transmissions is shared by a lot of people. By watching these shows we won't learn anything new about the day we will never forget.
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I'm choosing instead to enjoy the weekend by watching the final stages of the Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain) which will come down to the wire with the top two contenders separated by a mere 13 seconds as of this morning. Sunday night will be the season finale of "True Blood" and we'll be having a few cocktails inspired by the series (see below). I've seen a lot of criticism about this season of "True Blood" but if you were looking for depth in this show you are delusional - it's meant to be cartoonish and provocative and that's why it's fun. If you can't get ahold of the actual True Blood beverage, just use juice from blood oranges which you can probably get at one of those fancy Whole Foods places:


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Here's more ammunition to hold off your disappointment with the upcoming Fall season: "Community" Season 2 came out on DVD this week, full of extras in as well as the original hilarity. I'm so glad this show made the cut, wish that it would get more recognition awards-wise. Check out the above DJ Steve Porter "Community" remix. --- The TV Junkie Must-Watch Plan: Tonight - "Russell Peters: The Green Card Tour Live From the O2 Arena," "Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett Together Again," "The Soup," "Fashion Police," "The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson". Saturday - Vuelta a Espana, "Doctor Who," "I Faked My Own Death". Sunday - Vuelta a Espana, "Curiosity," "True Blood," "Breaking Bad," "Curb Your Enthusiasm"Tonight

7:45pm Russell Peters: The Green Card Tour Live From the O2 Arena Showtime - Comedian Russell Peters performs.

8:00pm Beyond 911: Portraits of Resilience CNN - Forty untold stories reveal men and women who sacrificed so much for America after the attacks of 9/11.

9:00pm Dateline NBC NBC - Remembering Sept. 11, 2001.

9:00pm 9/11: The Days After History - An examination of the texture of life in the post-9/11 world and oft-forgotten consequences.

9:00pm Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett Together Again HBO - The pair reminisce about life and show business on stage at the Saban Theatre in Los Angeles.

10:00pm The Soup E! - Joel McHale and company rock media, celebrity, etc.

10:00pm Haven Syfy - Lockdown

10:30pm Fashion Police E! - The September Issue Week 2

11:35pm The Tonight Show With Jay Leno NBC - TV-show host Bill Maher; actress Octavia Spencer; Alice Cooper performs.

12:05am Jimmy Kimmel Live ABC - Filmmakers Freddie Wong and Brandon Laatsch; Kristin Chenoweth performs.

12:35am The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson CBS - Actor Alfred Molina; actress Brie Larson.

12:35am Late Night With Jimmy Fallon NBC - Actress Lauren Graham; actor Joel Edgerton; Pearl Jam performs.

Saturday

7:00am Vuelta a Espana Universal Sports - Stage 20, next to last stage!

9:00pm Doctor Who BBC America - The Girl Who Waited Amy is trapped in a facility that houses alien plague quarantine victims.

9:00pm Dead of Night TCM - (1945) Summoned to an English estate, a man (Mervyn Johns) recalls it from his nightmare and there meets other guests (Michael Redgrave, Roland Culver) with nightmares.

10:00pm I Faked My Own Death Discovery - Crime, For Love and Money A husband and wife try to hide from drug dealers and the law

Sunday

7:00am Vuelta a Espana Universal Sports - Stage 21 - final stage of the Tour of Spain!

8:00pm America Remembers -- 9/11 PBS SoCal/KOCE - The United States commemorates the 10-year anniversary of Sept. 11 with memorial events and personal testimonies.

8:00pm Curiosity Discovery - What's Beneath America? The America of today is a product of ancient forces dating back billions of years.

8:00pm The Love We Make Showtime - Musician Paul McCartney plans a benefit concert in the wake of Sept. 11.

8:00pm 9/11: 10 Years Later CBS - Host Robert De Niro introduces events marking the 10th anniversary of the disaster, including interviews with firefighters and showing camera footage taken within Ground Zero during the attacks.

8:00pm Making the 9/11 Memorial History - People close to the project show the Sept. 11, 2001, 10-year memorial from its conception to installation at ground zero.

9:00pm True Blood HBO - And When I Die Spirits surface in Bon Temps; Sookie gains valuable allies; Lafayette's relationship with Jesus is jeopardized; Terry gets an unexpected visitor at Merlotte's; Sam and Luna envision a storybook ending; Debbie confronts Sookie and Tara.

9:00pm Dinosaur Revolution Discovery - Survival Tactics A glimpse into the era of the dinosaur reveals a dangerous world fraught with peril.

9:00pm Great Performances PBS SoCal/KOCE - A Concert for New York The New York Philharmonic performs Mahler's Symphony No. 2 to honor the victims of Sept. 11. With Dorothea Rýschmann, Michelle DeYoung and the New York Choral Artists.

9:00pm 102 Minutes That Changed America History - Films, photos and recordings from unique and rarely seen or heard archives chronicle the terrorist attack on New York City's World Trade Center Sept. 11, 2001.

9:00pm Rebirth Showtime - (2011) The lives of five people undergo a decadelong transformation following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

10:00pm Curb Your Enthusiasm HBO - Larry vs. Michael J. Fox Larry accuses his neighbor of harassment; Jeff takes a bullet for Susie; Larry gives an inappropriate gift to Elizabeth's son.

10:00pm A Special Edition of 20/20 -- Remembrance and Renewal: 10 Years After the 9/11 Attacks ABC - Special

10:00pm Breaking Bad AMC - Bug Skyler's mistakes come back to haunt her; Gus takes action against his rivals; Jesse seeks Walt's help.

10:00pm Dinosaur Revolution Discovery - End Game An up-close look at how T.rex lived, from nesting in pairs to the rearing of their young.

10:20pm Twin Towers USA - Two brothers, a firefighter and a police officer, are remembered for their bravery in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001.

10:30pm Entourage HBO - The End Vince pulls out all the stops with Sophia; Ari and Mrs. Ari go to therapy; Drama, Turtle and Vince try to convince Sloan to give Eric another chance.

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