IN MY VIEW
Sunday March 26 MISS SOUTH AFRICA 2017 M-Net, Channel 101, 17:00
Thank heavens for the occasional low-hanging fruit, it really makes my job easier. Beauty pageants are a bit outside my sphere of interest, but there are lots of people out there who are keen to see who will be crowned Miss South Africa this year. So be sure not to miss the live coverage on M-Net today. The event takes place at Sun City and the panel of judges includes TV presenter Maps Maponyane, radio personality Unathi Msengana, Olympic swimmer Cameron van der Burgh, TV personality Bridget Masinga, fashion media publisher Gisèle Wertheim Aymes, big-time lawyer Ezra Davids and 2004 Miss South Africa Claudia Henkel.
Thursday March 30 CAROL M-Net Movies Premiere, Channel 104, 20:30
There’s a lot to talk about when it comes to this movie. It got a 10minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015 and was nominated for six Oscars, including one each for the two lead actresses. It didn’t win any in the end, but it also received five Golden Globe nominations and won a whole mess of other awards. It’s a period piece set in the early ’50s about aspiring photographer Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara) who starts a romantic relationship with glamorous married woman Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett). This was during a time when being openly homosexual in the US was risky, so many people kept it on the down-low. The movie runs with this premise. For instance, Carol’s husband intends to use her homosexual tendencies to leverage custody of their daughter in their upcoming divorce. The movie is based on the 1952 novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith — who was mostly known for writing thrillers such as The Talented Mr Ripley. Despite Highsmith’s own homosexuality, The Price of Salt was her only novel to broach the subject. Highsmith herself was a very interesting character. Look her up online for some insights.
Monday March 27 TROPIKA ISLAND OF TREASURE (Season Seven) SABC3, Channel 193, 19:30
The latest season of this reality contest takes place in the Seychelles and will be hosted by Minnie Dlamini. In case you don’t know, it’s a show in which teams of two — made up of people of varying degrees of celebrity status — compete in various island games for a grand prize of R1-million against the backdrop of a tropical paradise. The games master for this season is Top Billing host Jonathan BoyntonLee. There are a bunch of trailers on Tropika’s YouTube channel if you want to check it out. It looks like the usual mix of obstacle-course type challenges and more relaxed game-show-style contests, with a generous number of the contestants looking sexy while partying in the luxurious locale.
Friday March 31 JOHN OLIVER: TERRIFYING TIMES SABC3, Channel 193, 21:00
I don’t know if it’s just the way comedian John Oliver delivers his material, but I have an easier time following political satire when he does it. Or perhaps it’s the fact that this particular stand-up recording is almost a decade old and most of the events Oliver alludes to have penetrated even my skull by now. One of the highlights is when Oliver talks about the shame he feels walking into just about any museum and seeing records of the British colonial period everywhere. At least, he says, they didn’t have 24-hour cable news covering every foreign policy blunder in real time like the US currently has.