KSPS’ ‘Sahara Marathon’ worth viewing
Ironic that a film about a harrowing marathon race with a tortured history should be overshadowed by the Olympics.
At midnight tonight, KSPS airs a “Wide Angle” installment called “Sahara Marathon,” which finds 300 runners from the United States and Europe competing in a marathon across the punishing sands of the Algerian desert. Why? To draw attention to the plight of the Sahrawi people, who’ve spent the past three decades in refugee camps there after being pushed off their land by Morocco.
Will Bob Costas be there? No. Will there be a lavish opening ceremony complete with rock stars and fireworks? No. Worth watching? For sure. Sometimes you’ve just got to eat your Wheaties.
Olympic Update
NBC’s prime-time festivities start at 8. Tonight’s events include the women’s gymnastics individual all-around final, one competition that often produces marquee names at the Olympics. Plus plenty of swimming and some volleyball. Bob Costas hosts.
There’s also hour upon hour of events coverage on NBC’s corporate siblings, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Bravo and Telemundo. Detailed schedules for all these stations are at nbcolympics.com. One final note: “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” are both pre-empted for late-night Olympic coverage.
Highlights
“Big Brother 5,” CBS at 8: A sixth inmate is voted out of the maximum insecurity facility.
NFL football, FOX at 5: Preseason game with the New York Giants playing at the Carolina Panthers. Troy Aikman, Joe Buck and Chris Collinsworth are the Fox football broadcast team.
“Blue Collar TV,” WB at 8: Skits about vacations, seasonally appropriate. Followed by a repeat of “Reba.”
“Road Trip” (2000), ABC at 9: It’s difficult to know how much broadcast editing will sap the limited fun out of this sex-minded MTV-age gross-out comedy featuring Seann William Scott, Breckin Meyer, DJ Qualls and Tom Green.
“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” CBS at 9: Xander Berkeley of “24” is on hand as the politically minded sheriff who wants to make Warrick the scapegoat for an evidence screw-up in this repeat.
“Without a Trace,” CBS at 10: A death row inmate’s father disappears. Repeat.
Family Fare
“T-Rex: Warrior or Wimp?” Discovery at 8: Scientists use CSI-worthy technology to try to answer the question of whether the T-Rex was really the fearsome predator he’s long been thought to be.
Cable Cast
Underdog night, HBO at 6:30: “Bend It Like Beckham” (2002), about a girl whose budding soccer skills must be hidden from her traditional parents, followed at 8:30 by “Seabiscuit” (2003), about a horse, a jockey, a trainer and an owner, underdogs all.
Movie escapes, AMC at 8: The great camp thriller “Escape from New York” (1981), with Kurt Russell and one of the all-time great B-movie casts: Ernest Borgnine, Adrienne Barbeau, Lee Van Cleef, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes and Harry Dean Stanton — wow! It’s followed by the more serious “Escape from Alcatraz” (1979), with Clint Eastwood and Patrick McGoohan.
“Cabin Fever” (2002), Cinemax at 8:15: A little “Evil Dead” (1981). A little “28 Days Later” (2002). It’s a deadly brew in this horror flick about the usual bunch of bonehead students trapped at the usual remote cabin and felled one by one by a horrible virus. Bonus: Rider Strong from “Boy Meets World” (1993-2000) tops the cast.
Late Night Talk
“Late Show with David Letterman,” CBS at 11:35: David Spade, and musical guests Loretta Lynn and Jack White of the White Stripes — he produced and plays on her excellent new album. Repeat.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live,” ABC at 12:05 a.m.: Matthew Lillard and musical guests the Dresden Dolls, a Boston duo whose style of punk cabaret is decidedly different.
“Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn,” CBS at 12:35: Dax Shepard and musical guests Saliva.