Tube Notes: 'We Shall Remain,' 'Chuck'
By Mike Hughes
mikehughes.tv
Television critic Mike Hughes offers his advice on tonight's shows.
TONIGHT'S MUST SEES
"WE SHALL REMAIN," 9-10:30 P.M., PBS
This was the ultimate near-death experience. People were mourning
Tenskwatawa, when he regained consciousness; he described a vision that
natives should reject European ways and forge their own united world.
Until then, this film says, he had been considered a failure, so inept
that he shot out his own eye with an arrow. Now he became The Prophet
and his older brother Tecumseh became the movement's leader.
Tecumseh and translators rode long distances, rounding up support for a
united nation that would be bordered by the Ohio River on the South and
the Great Lakes on the North. The plan fell apart with two battlefield
defeats, one when British allies faltered during the War of 1812..
This film is too stretched, a one-hour story in a 90-minute slot, and
has too many blurred close-ups. Still, it's a compelling story of what
might have been; Michael Greyeyes is excellent as the charismatic
Tecumseh.
"CHUCK," 7 P.M., NBC
Bright and nimble, "Chuck" doesn't get the attention it deserves. Now
it's a week from its season finale.
Chuck and Sarah duck their superiors and try to rescue his father
(Scott Bakula). That gives them a chance to bond -- except that Casey,
their co-worker, is scrambling to find them.