What to Watch Right Now

In this cutting-edge urban underground Hip Hop cartoon show, Fonz and Mike take control of a TV station to bring you irreverent humor, comic interviews with recording artists and animated shorts from a Hip Hop perspective.

Arkelope is an animated short that takes a pointed look at endangered species and human indifference. When a middle-aged couple come across a nature documentary on the decline of the arkelope while channel-surfing, they learn that although the species has managed to survive a variety of natural disasters, it is now in imminent danger of extinction due to man's short-sightedness. With a serious yet funny approach, this little film illustrates human passivity in the face of the ubiquitous TV set.

The Bat Thumb must stop another villian from taking over his precious city, only this time he will have to stop No Face in the hardest battle to date.

A collection of the funniest routines from Billy Connolly's three decades of stand-up comedy.

This documentary presents a few individuals for whom the Internet has become a way to connect with like-minded souls in surprising ways: a cyber punk based on an anti-aircraft rig in the English Channel who operates a rogue Web server, a monk developing "wireless prayer technology," a "gamer" who re-creates himself in an online game, a retired couple living in an Internet-controlled seniors' complex and a divorcée who exchanges vows online with a man she's never met.

A travelogue featuring oddly-shaped buildings (and the folks who live in, work in, own and admire them) located along USA highways.

Lee Cohen, one of Canada's top immigration lawyers, defends two refugee claimants as Canada's Refugee Hearing Board goes under the microscope. Cohen's War is a timely look at the the plight of refugees and the maverick lawyer who defends them. He is a crusader, he rides a Harley, and he fights a lonely battle, going where three-piece suits fear to tread.

Bill Maher, creator of the immensely popular late-night talk show Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher and host of the HBO hit series Real Time with Bill Maher, displays his celebrated, biting wit in his fifth HBO stand-up comedy special, Bill Maher: Be More Cynical. Doing what he loves most, stand-up comedy, Maher rips through a horde of contemporary topics, from the evils of big government to the bewildering power women have over men, and delivers a landmark performance that re-affirms why he is one of today's brightest and most revered comedians.

This moving documentary recounts the two months leading to Martin Luther King Jr.'s death in 1968, coinciding with the 65-day strike of 1300 Memphis sanitation workers.

Bowery Dish is a one-hour video documentary that illuminates the complex issues surrounding urban renewal/gentrification on the Bowery in a provocative and entertaining fashion. Bowery Dish is a firsthand exploration, told by the people at the forefront of change. Everyone from the homeless to the recent entrepreneurs gets his or her say; conflicting points of view are presented for the viewer to experience all sides. Professionally shot and mastered on Beta, Bowery Dish includes moments that can only be captured through other related media - candid moments in the cramped flophouses are shot digitally while historic footage of the Bowery provides context to the changes taking place. Music is an integral part of life on the Bowery. From the inspirational hymns of the Bowery Mission to the cutting-edge sounds of DJs spinning at the hottest clubs and the late night jam sessions of aging jazz musicians living in flophouses. Bowery Dish uses the diversity of music found on the Bowery to explore the conflicts and connections on this lively, eclectic avenue.

Fighting during the Depression Era America, Jim Braddock became not only a boxing icon, but a symbol of hope and perseverance. This documentary includes interviews with boxing historians and boxers alike to reveal the impact Jim Braddock had on the sport and the American spirit.

A Korean-American researcher for a female condom study (Sandra Oh) loses all objectivity when she realizes that one of her subjects (Suzy Nakamura) is dating her ex and begins to pursue a friendship with the subject.

Can a house be a metaphor for Arab-Jewish relations in Israel? Amos Gitai returns to the house in West Jerusalem he profiled in 1980. He interviews members of the Jewish families who live there, and he talks with the Arab family who lived in the house until 1948. They are now in East Jerusalem and pay a nearly furtive visit to the street in front of their old house. Gitai also interviews Palestinian laborers at work on renovations and excavating an old tunnel to the Holy Mount. What do people think of each other, what do they think of Israel, what do they think of co-existence? Do the current residents know the house's history?

This documentary on the history of short subjects was first shown on the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) cable network. It surveys the genre from the beginning of the movies in the 1890's, when all movies were shorts, through the 1950's, when short subjects virtually disappeared from theaters. Several series of shorts are highlighted, including the The Three Stooges, Joe McDoakes, Robert Benchley, the Pete Smith Specialties, John Nesbitt's Passing Parade, and the Dogville comedies. Animated short films are given short shrift.

A reflection on the weakness of our individual identity. What would happen if in our past a small detail was resolved in a different way? Are we a product of our personal story?