Tag Archives: documentary

‘The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling’ (2007): The unscripted side of pro wrestling

I’ve been out of the loop on professional wrestling for what seems like forever now. I don’t know the major players; I don’t know the companies, and from the few drop-ins I’ve done over the years, you can basically have it. But I have the fondest memories, as a very small boy, of the syndicated Big Time Wrestling show, out of the National Wrestling Alliance‘s Detroit territory, which could always be counted on to keep an hour of boredom at bay on a rainy Saturday afternoon (“And Pampero Firpo coco-butts The Sheik! He’s killed him! He’s killed him! No, no wait!  He’s getting up!”). And the early days of Vince McMahon’s WWF, when I was a teenager, were some of the best “TV theatre” around, with the hypnotic, hysterically funny “Rowdy” Roddy Piper a true artist at his craft.

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‘Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie’ (1993): A familial look back at the fascinating, complicated couple

I hadn’t realized that this past April was the 35th anniversary of the passing of Lucille Ball, television’s greatest comedienne. Probably because that former standby of media information—the old “TV listings”—hadn’t reminded me. Since traditional linear network TV is now essentially a niche joke—the last form of mass communication that actually helped unify our popular culture, as opposed to the internet and streaming, which have completely Balkanized it—I seriously doubt there was any kind of effort on the part of her old network, CBS, to commemorate her death while celebrating her legacy (maybe they did something on MeTV…do people still have cable?).

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‘Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom’: Thrilling & educational, Marlon Perkins paves way for ecology & conservation

Hey―we care about the planet here at the DrunkTV HQ. But we don’t wear diapers and tampons about it, that’s all. We don’t want to get taxed for it, or eat ground-up bugs so cows won’t fart, or drive an electric lawn mower instead of a kick-ass V-8. We like the Earth…we’re just not pussies about it. That’s why we like ultimate outdoor chad Marlin Perkins and his Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom series.

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‘True-Life Adventures’: True Disney works of art

Tis the season to watch TV, since it’s getting downright frigid outside, and also because you couldn’t pay me to see most of the new movies out now in theaters (hey, Marty—I’ll settle that little argument for you: The Irishman and all the Marvel movies both stink equally…but at least they stink in 3D).

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Secret Stories of Hitler: ‘Swastika’ & TV documentaries highlight DVD collection

Mill Creek Entertainment has taken three Adolf Hitler-themed documentaries (one feature length, and two long-form TV outings), and put them together in a newly-monikered set, Secret Stories of Hitler.

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‘Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much’ (2017): How one man ‘cheated’ The Price is Right

2017’s Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much is a documentary about a hero of sorts,

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