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Thursday, October 13
CUBA MIA: PORTRAIT OF AN ALL-WOMAN ORCHESTRA Documentary follows all-female combo Camerata Romeu as they prepare for a concert of classical music and Latin song against the backdrop of Old Havana’s Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.
4 am on PBS
Friday, October 14
AUSTIN CITY LIMITS The 30th season of the venerable concert series opens with sets from former surfer-turned-jammy strummer Jack Johnson and indie sweethearts Rilo Kiley .
Midnight on PBS
Saturday, October 15
DAVID SPADE: TAKE THE HIT Filmed before a hometown Phoenix audience, this 98 HBO special finds the wiseass comic venting on teenage stoners, bad dates and the sexual peccadilloes of celebrities.
10 pm on Comedy, repeated at 2 am
JAMIE OLIVER: HAPPY DAYS LIVE The British bold-type TV chef takes his act on the road in this four-parter recorded in front of an audience at London’s Hammersmith Apollo. Tonight’s topic: cooking in a bag as opposed to in the bag.
1 am on Food
Sunday, October 16
PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC: ONE NATION UNDER A GROOVE Follow P-Funk mastermind George Clinton from his beginnings in doo-wop and early R&B to his creation of an otherworldly groove machine. He explains the genesis of his funk philosophy: “Free your mind and your ass will follow!”
11 pm on PBS
DO YOU SPEAK AMERICAN? Why is the English spoken by New England lobster trappers so foreign to that spoken in Dubya’s Texas? Will Spanish soon be the U.S.’s official language? Subtitled.
4 am on PBS
Monday, October 17
THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART The amply appointed Dolly Parton promotes her new CD of 60s folk rock covers, Those Were The Days.
11 pm on Comedy, repeated at 12:05 am on CTV, 9 am and 4 pm Tuesday on Comedy
THE BLUES: PIANO BLUES An accomplished pianist in his own right, director Clint Eastwood explores his lifelong passion for piano blues with interviews and performances by such keyboard legends as Ray Charles , Fats Domino , Little Richard and Dr. John .
3 am on PBS
Tuesday, October 18
CRASH TEST DUMMIES Two good ol’ feuding redneck families duke it out in a demolition derby to determine who rules the racetrack.
10 pm on A&E, repeated at 2 am
THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN
Critical darling and winner of this year’s UK Mercury Prize for album of the year, androgynous torch singer Antony Hegarty and his Johnsons join Catherine Zeta-Jones on the couch.
11:35 pm on CBS/Omni1
Wednesday, October 19
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF FRIDA KAHLO Rita Moreno narrates this documentary profile of the revolutionary Mexican painter. Wife of Diego Rivera, friend of Nelson Rockefeller and Henry Ford, lover of Leon Trotsky, Kahlo was the mercurial connection between many of the key figures in politics, art and culture of the 1920s, 30s and 40s.
3:30 am on PBS
