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April 19, 2009

TV tells stories of Irena Sendler and Natalee Holloway

Anna Paquin as Irena SendlerThere are some fine performers on display in a couple of made-for-TV movies Sunday night. And then, there's Kate Gosselin in the Jon & Kate Plus 8 Go Green special on TLC.

Some of the very best work you can see Sunday is that done by Anna Paquin (pictured) in The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie airing at 9 on CBS.

It is easy to take the Hallmark Hall of Fame franchise for granted. After all, this is the 236th presentation. But few TV franchises have presented such consistently fine and socially-conscious movies over the the years. The Courageous Heart is no exception in its harrowing and sensitive look at a young Polish social worker (Paquin) who defied the Nazi authorities to smuggle Jewish children out of the Warsaw ghetto during World War II.

Paquin's first starring role in a fully adult role would be enough to recommend it, but once again, Hallmark has brought together a top-flight supporting cast including Marcia Gay Harden as Sendler's mother.

Be warned: The subject matter is intense, but there is no other way to tell this story.

Tracy Pollan returns to prime time tonight as Beth Holloway, the mother of Natalee Holloway, the teenager who went missing while on a high school graduation trip to Aruba. Unfortunately, Lifetime chose not to make the screener of Natalee Holloway, which airs at 8 p.m. Sunday, available. Amy Gumenick plays the teen.

And then, there's Jon & Kate Plus 8 Go Green at 9 tonight on TLC. Kate is kvetching from beginning to end as workmen try to make her big home environmentally friendly -- for free. Read my full preview here.

 

 

Posted by David Zurawik at 9:23 AM | | Comments (1)
Categories: Coming Soon to TV
        

Comments

Jon & Kate was original, cute and heartwarming when it debuted. Now it's just plain annoying and Kate Gosselin has become a bitchy shrew. Jon & Kate Go Green? Who the hell cares? I can't stand the way she berates Jon in public. I'M embarassed for him but I guess being whipped is his forte. If the kids weren't so cute I wouldn't bother at all.

Posted by: Richard Crystal | April 21, 2009 3:13 PM

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About David Zurawik
I've been The Baltimore Sun's TV critic since 1989. My writings on TV and media have appeared in such publications as TV Guide, Esquire magazine and American Journalism Review. I have a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park, and an M.A. in specialized reporting (on popular culture) from the University of Wisconsin. I'm the author of The Jews of Prime Time (Brandeis University Press), a look at 50 years of Jewish characters and identity on network TV. I have also been with WYPR-FM (88.1) radio since 1994 and can be heard Thursday mornings at 7:30 doing a weekly "Take on Television" report.
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