Today is Juneteenth – the day the slaves in Texas found out that they’d been freed (unfortunately a couple years after the Emancipation Proclamation). So I do not wish to be tardy with my greetings and wishes for a happy day.
Also, Sunday is Father’s Day. Wishing you dads lots of quality time with your kids and no ugly ties. Maybe some flowers.
First up, however, on Friday night at 8 p.m., is a Nickelodeon original movie, which bears an uncanny resemblance to many a Disney movie, although more in line with the 1960s classic The Parent Trap rather than anything you’d currently find on their channel.
Courtesy Nickelodeon
George Lopez stars as Eddie, an MIA single dad who suddenly realizes if he’s going to keep his daughter Naomi (Daniela Bobadilla) out of trouble, he’s going to actually connect with her. So when a chaperone spot opens up for his daughter’s big Spring Action Classic camp event, he agrees to go as the team’s adult leader.
Poor Jane Lynch is once again typecast as the regimental camp leader. There’s a food fight and a snotty champion team. There’s mud and slime and lots of heartwarming moments and no surprises. But in some ways, that is part of the movie’s charm. The other part is Lopez, who is a decent actor and pretty funny in his own right. So while it’s not the greatest thing you’ve ever seen on TV, it’s better than most.
Courtesy Discovery Networks
Sunday starts Space Week on The Science Channel, and I wish the anchor show for the week, Exodus Earth, at 9 p.m., was more compelling. The concept is interesting – if we humans have to flee Earth, where would we go? The series looks at various planets and moons, mostly in our solar system and one not, and how we might get there and what we’d need to survive once we did.
Physicist Dr. Basil Singer – who looks like he’s five – leads us through the search, often acting as human guinea pig. His narration, while enthusiastic sometimes gets a little too forced and it doesn’t work as well as it could. The information is interesting. Mostly.
My biggest quibble is that the show takes the attitude that we are going to have to leave Earth at some point or other if we are going to survive. Nor is there any mention of how we might avoid making some of the mistakes that will apparently make us leave in the first place.
While I applaud the concept of space exploration and would dearly love to travel to another planet, there’s a part of me that’s a little more optimistic about our chances on Mother Earth.
My other quibble is the lack of female and non-White representation. I’ve been to the Jet Propulsion Labs (a major NASA contractor and the folks who built the Cassini project), and I promise you, there are plenty of engineers and scientists there who are not White men. There is one female scientist in the opening show, which is something. But she’s also the only non-White scientist shown, too.
This is important. We need our girls to get that science is for everyone, not just guys. The only other problem is that the show may be a little too geeky for your average kid, but if you’ve got a space nut in the house, she/he will eat it up.
Anne Louise Bannon
Your Family Viewer