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Truth is, a lot of us are like that. The average cable subscriber watches 15 channels regularly and tends to ignore all the others, no matter how large the lineup is.
But with even the tiniest cable channels investing big bucks in programming, you may be missing out on something you’ll actually enjoy. Here are some upcoming choices to get you to lift that clicker.
“Black Gold” (9 p.m. Wednesdays, truTV). The channel formerly known as Court TV wants to compete with the likes of Discovery, History and National Geographic.
That’s why it ordered this series about oil drillers from the same company that produces “Ice Road Truckers” for History, “Deadliest Catch” for Discovery and “America’s Port” for Nat Geo.
Imitation — it’s the sincerest form of television. Still, if you find any of those shows compelling you’ll probably want to check out “Black Gold.”
“Finding Amanda” on HDNet Movies (7:15 on June 25, HDNet Movies). Mark Cuban, the blogging Dallas Mavericks owner and media mogul, has seen the future of film … and it’s not very filmy.
Cuban produces movies and airs them, just once, on his HDNet Movies channel in high definition the same week they premiere in theaters.
These indie pictures don’t always make it to local screens here, so the TV might be the only way you’ll see them. Next up is “Finding Amanda,” a comedy starring Matthew Broderick as a problem gambler who is sent to Las Vegas, of all places, to retrieve his troubled niece (Brittany Snow).
“InfoMania” (9 p.m. Thursdays, Current TV). At first it looks like a ripoff of VH1’s “Best Week Ever” or “The Daily Show,” but “InfoMania” makes those shows look as highbrow as a Ron Popeil infomercial.
Blisteringly fast and bitingly intelligent, the Conor Knighton-hosted rewind of the week in news is packed with digs at our commercial culture (Sarah Haskins’ “Target: Women” exposes some of the more shameless efforts to get her gender to spend money). You can also watch “InfoMania” online anytime at current.tv.
“Cosmos” marathon (9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday on Science Channel). Carl Sagan’s PBS epic about space is back in a shiny remastered version on Science Channel, which recently moved to Channel 23 on Time Warner Cable.
But Science isn’t a rerun channel; most of its programs are BBC imports that have never aired in the U.S., like “Impact Earth” (8 tonight), which follows NASA scientists as they try to predict the likelihood of a comet hitting our planet.
“Greensburg” (8 p.m. Sunday, Planet Green). On June 4 Discovery Home Channel changed its name to Planet Green, a cable network based on the proposition that people will spend a lot of money to save money on their energy bills.
Shows like “Greenovate” and “Renovation Nation” set the tone, but “Greensburg” — a 13-week series about the western Kansas town wiped out last year by a tornado — also fits in well with the concept, since the town has voted to rebuild as an eco-village. If you missed the first two episodes, they’re re-airing this weekend.
“The Road Hammers” (7:30 tonight, GAC). Jason Priestley’s country show. That one-line description either gets you or it doesn’t. The former “90210” star is directing, not starring, in this docu-series about a top Canadian country-music band that decides to move south and take on Nashville. (“It seemed like a good idea at the time,” its leader says.)
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