Top Picks: Oprah's latest shows, 'Camelot', a way to avoid Charlie Sheen, and more
Two new television shows on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), a creative retelling of 'Camelot', a web plugin that blocks all references to Charlie Sheen, and more recommendations.
Two classes under one roof
The hit British series "Upstairs, Downstairs" marks its 40th anniversary with a juicy, 21-disc DVD release containing not only all the original episodes of this iconic show, but some 25 hours of extras. This is just in time for the newly updated BBC revival that will launch on PBS two weeks after this set's March 29 release.
Enough 'Tiger blood'?
Tired of all the celebrity ado around Charlie Sheen? Adonis DNA or no, the actor has arguably crashed his way into a few too many headlines recently. Tinted Sheen, a plug-in for Firefox and Chrome Web browsers, automatically hides references and even pictures of the actor behind CIA-style black box redactions. Download the add-on at: http://fffff.at/tinted-sheen.
Oprah at her most candid
Haven't had a chance to sample the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) yet? Tune in to a two-weekend double-header offering a pair of the TV mogul's top new shows: "Season 25: Oprah Behind the Scenes" features the show's trip with 300 audience members to Australia, followed by "Oprah Presents Master Class," starring Oprah herself in what she calls her most candid interview yet. The two-hour blocks air March 29 and April 3 from 8 to 10 p.m.
The making of a crisis
Charles Ferguson's documentary "Inside Job" is the most lucid and straightforward cinematic rendering to date of the 2008 financial collapse and its many and continuing aftershocks. There have been plenty of books, articles, and movies about the 2007-08 financial meltdown and what led up to it, but if you're looking for a first-rate all-in-one overview, it doesn't get much better than "Inside Job," now out on DVD.
A fire that changed the law
An HBO documentary about the worst workplace fire in New York City history, "Triangle: Remembering the Fire," airs March 21. The catastrophe at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory claimed 146 workers in a mere 18 minutes. March 25 marks the hundred-year anniversary, and this program interviews descendants of those who perished.
'Camelot' as you've never seen it
Origin myths are fair game for every generation of storytellers to reimagine – the King Arthur tale is one of the most tempting. The latest version, "Camelot," spins out as a 10-part miniseries on Starz, beginning April 1. Get ready: no Lancelot, Guinevere marries Arthur's best knight, and much more. This British production starring Joseph Fiennes as Merlin and Eva Green as Arthur's half-sister, Morgan, is full of nudity, sexual activity, and gruesome killings – but civilizing a dark time is what the Arthur story is all about.