Fight channel as appealing as being bitten by a snake
CHANNEL 129? When did that creep in? And what’s it all about? Well, in a nutshell it’s about fighting, or so it seems. Tonight, for instance, at 9pm there’s the first episode of
in which viewers take a look at mixed martial arts in the sunny state of Florida, followed at 10pm by which looks at fighters competing in fierce martial arts matches. Tomorrow there’s
at 9pm, which is hosted by Chris Casamassa, the four-time US karate champion best known for his role as Scorpion in the blockbuster movie
features the best martial arts fight scenes from deep in the forests of Northern California, to dirt roads in Indonesia and remote villages in Japan.
So a new channel, but one with about as much appeal as being bitten by a rattlesnake.
Or maybe it’s a boy thing, which could also be the case in
which will be screened on Discovery TLC (172) at 10.40pm tomorrow. The subject matter in this case is “I can’t orgasm” and experts attempt to bring couples closer together by solving their sexual problems.
Back to today, the only glimmer of hope comes from on DStv Reality (180) at 4pm and then (again, but no surprises here) at 9pm. It may be illegal, but in America moonshining (producing your own distilled beverage) is a big-money industry, dating back hundreds of years.
tells the story of those who keep this tradition alive – often in the woods near their homes, using camouflaged equipment – and the local authorities who try to keep them honest.
Viewers get to see practices rarely, if ever, seen on TV, including the sacred rite of passage for a moonshiner – firing up the still for the first time. Water, sugar, corn and yeast are the key ingredients.
It is also no accident then that moonshine season is from June to October, at the height of the corn harvest and the peak period for the foliage to hide the illegal operations.
This is a centuries-old war and, for the best in the industry, these three months can mean a considerable fortune, tax-free. The victors become the stuff of legends, but one mistake and the losers face a prison sentence.
On a more poignant note, there’s on BBC Knowledge at 9pm on Tuesday.
Alex Lewis was diagnosed with bone cancer shortly before his 18th birthday and, at the age of 21, realises that after three years of intensive treatment he is running out of options.
The programme follows him over a period of eight months as he falls in love and becomes engaged, while trying to experience as many things as possible in the time he has left.
Finally, on Friday at 5.40pm there’s
which will be screened on Discovery HD (180).
Intrepid couple Mykel and Ruth Hawke get stranded in remote, forbidding locations and must work together, using their limited resources, to enable them to survive for four days and nights in a challenging environment.
In this episode, the couple are in Botswana when their vehicle breaks down.