Elizabeth Platt ([email protected])
Wed, 2 Sep 1998 18:09:56 -0700 (PDT)
I think you won't need any encouragement after you see what's going to be
on cable in September and October...
If you can get the channel, that is!
Some of you might recall a few posts of mine, back in June I think it was,
about the song "Wild Irish Rose", which Bono wrote for the Irish TV series
"Bringing It All Back Home". I mentioned that BIABH had _finally_ aired
in it's entirity on US cable 'round about May (?), and promised to tip you
all off if I knew it would be re-broadcast.
Guess what? It's being rebroadcast! Along with a whole package of other
films produced by Hummingbird Films in Dublin.
The drawback: The channel that will be airing these shows is the Ovation
Channel, which is a relatively obscure arts-oriented channel that isn't
carried on many systems (and don't even ask me about Canada!) (And
apologies to anyone living outside of North America--TV info is always
pretty paraochial...) Also, I have checked with Ovation's PR folks, and
the channel isn't carried (yet) on any of the direct broadcast satellite
services, either.
Anyways, you can use Ovation's searchable Web site at:
Yes, you can punch in a title of key word to find when a show is being
broadcast--I typed in "U2", and not only did it pull up the schedule info
for "Bringing It All Back Home", it _also_ listed the documentary "Miss
Sarajevo", _BUT_ the latter film isn't scheduled just yet...
Apparently, Ovation TV went out and bought a whole package of works from
Hummingbird, including:
--> Bringing It All Back Home, which will start broadcasting on September
14th, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern (?) time, and will repeat four times.
--> SULT: Spirit of the Music, a TV series devoted to live performances of
Irish traditional music. No U2, but I've been told that Hot House Flowers
make an apperance somewhere along the line; bear in mind, there's
something like 13+ hours of this series set to broadcast! Minor U2
connection: Donal Lunny, who was the musical director for "Sult", is
the fella who worked with Bono & Adam on the compilation CD, "Common
Ground".
--> A River of Sound, another TV series about Irish traditional music.
--> Rocky World, a documentary about Daniel Lanois, in which U2 make an
appearance (and perform as well). (And just FYI, I know that Hummingbird
began work on this film immediately after Lanois wrapped up his work on
"Achtung Baby".) Yes, this film was (is?) available on videocassette in
the US, and it was either nominated for or won a Grammy for long-form
video, but I doubt you'll find it as readily as, say, "Spice World" at
your local Blockbuster outlet. This one is set to air on September 29
(9:00 a.m.) and October 3 (5:00 p.m.)
--> Irish Music in America - this is the "Disneyfied" version of
"Bringing It All Back Home", where the 5 hours of BIABH was sliced down to
a single show--I don't know if _all_ of U2's bits on BIABH are included,
but I believe that "Wild Irish Rose" did make the cut. This will air
_this week_, September 5 at 11: 00 a.m. Eastern.
On the Web page, but not yet scheduled, are "Miss Sarajevo" (which lists
Bono as the producer) and "Christy", a profile of Christy Moore.
Except for those last two programs, all the shows listed above are set to
air between now and the end of October.
And doesn't this just beat the crap out of MTV? >:)
If you want more info, please search the Ovation TV site, don't email me!!
=:| Check with your local cable operator as to whether they carry the
channel, then check the dates and times on the Ovation Web site.
A final suggestion: Anyone who lives in a city where your system _does_
carry Ovation, might consider organizing (or contributing to) a video tree
of some sort. After all, each episode of BIABH is going to air _four_
times, so even if you just want to make a "master" copy for a willing
tape-tree coordinator...well, think about it. :)
Happy watching!
Slan,
Elizabeth Platt
[email protected]
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