World AIDS Day on Sundance. Plus ‘The L Word’ on Logo and ‘Project Runway.’
Remembering the Red Ribbon
W hile solemn observances of World AIDS Day abound all over town, on December 1, television is also paying tribute to the more than 25 million lives lost to the global pandemic since its early-’80s emergence.
Notably, the Sundance Channel has scheduled a four-hour block of programming that includes the U.S. television premiere of Stephen Fry: HIV & Me , a new documentary with the celebrated English comedic actor/writer who so succinctly played the title role in Wilde .
In the documentary produced by Ross Wilson, Fry recalls the early days of the disease as he lost many of his friends as infections rose in the ’80s, and discusses more recent developments in detecting and treating HIV. But it’s the personal stories from an HIV-positive grandmother to a teenage schoolgirl who was born with the virus that remind us that HIV is truly everyone’s disease.
Fry’s documentary is followed by an encore presentation of The Origins of AIDS , directed by Peter Chappell and Cathérine Peix. The provocative film explores how and when SIV, the simian cousin to the HIV, made the leap from chimpanzees to humans in Africa.
The four-hour block completes with the U.S. television of premiere of Diego Quemada-Diaz’s award-winning short film I Want to Be a Pilot, and the short documentary Positive Voices: Matthew Cusick.
December 1, 1–5 p.m., on Sundance Channel. Details: www.sundancechannel.com.
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‘The L Word’ on Logo
True, some of its “best” parts, particularly the girl-on-girl steamy parts, are edited to provide a tamer version of the original broadcasts. But cable television viewers, especially lesbian cable television viewers who don’t subscribe to Showtime, are happy to know that Logo has acquired the rights to all five seasons of The L Word. Reruns of Showtime’s lesbian saga, featuring the ex-and-sexploits of Shane, Bette, Jenny, and the rest of the girl gang, begin airing in the summer of 2008. Details: www.logoonline.com.
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‘Project Runway’
Who better than a gay man can deftly mentor a group of fledgling designers as they seek to set new fashion trends?
Nobody, that’s who. Accordingly, Tim Gunn returns to pilot this year’s winner to runway stardom. Included in this season’s show are seven (!) out contestants (Chris, Christian, Jack, Marion, Rami, Ricky, and Steven) and two Texans (Elisa, who grew up in El Paso, and Marion, a former Tyler tot, now residing in Dallas).
The competition starts November 14, 9 p.m., on Bravo. Details: www.bravotv.com.
