Showtime takes a weekly look at "This American Life"

This American Life began in 1995 as a radio show produced by Chicago Public Radio and hosted by Ira Glass. The one hour radio version currently airs on over 500 public radio stations nationwide. Each week's TAL is an exploration of common and uncommon American lives surrounding a central theme. Usually, these are true stories told by the people who lived them. Ira Glass serves as narrator, interviewer, and emcee, moving the show along.

This week, a TV version of This American Life premiered on Showtime. This version is only half an hour long, but maintains the pace and the charm of the radio show. If you're a fan of Bill Geist's segments on CBS Sunday Morning or the "human interest" stories in your local paper or in People Magazine, you'll love TAL. It features those types of stories with a bit of a twist....

For example, the premiere TV version featured a story I remember hearing about a year ago on the radio version. We meet a Texas couple who raise Brahma bulls. They have one that is very near and dear to their hearts, Chance. Chance is both a business partner and a special friend to the couple. He makes personal appearances at events and on TV shows. He is so tame he sleeps under a tree in their front yard. At the age of nineteen, old for a bull, Chance dies. But at that same time, the couple learns of a cloning project being undertaken by Texas A&M University, where they took Chance for his veterinary care. They love Chance so, they make arrangements before his passing, to have Chance cloned. What transpires when "Second Chance" comes into their lives is the focus of this first story.

The theme of the first TV offering of TAL is "Reality Checks". In addition to the Second Chance story, we explore the story of a start-up rock band "Ghosts of Pasha" who are given the gig of a lifetime. Early in their first tour, they play to a house packed with rabid Ghosts of Pasha fans dancing to all their tunes, sporting GOP t-shirts, singing along knowing all the words. It's a glorious night. Later, they learn that this show was the work of an Improv company called "ImprovEverywhere" who specializes in missions such as these with the intent of making people happy. They felt they would be giving a new and deserving band one wonderful, memorable, gig. The reality, for the band, was quite different.

I'm a big fan of the radio show having listened to it for years from its original home, WBEZ-FM, the NPR affliate in Chicago. I immediately set a Tivo season-pass for the show when I learned it was launching on TV and will definitely continue to watch. Human nature in all its craziness and the particular quirks of social behavior found only in America have always been fascinating to me. It's a big country we live in and there are many, many, quirks to explore. If I had to make any complaint at all, I wish the TV show were not only a half hour long. The longer radio show allows TAL to explore an additional story (the TV version featured two this week, the radio show usually covers three.) and each feature is usually longer. Perhaps it will expand in length if it takes off. I hope so.

Tune in to This American Life on Showtime. It runs multiple times throughout the week, so check your listings and set your TV. You won't be disappointed.