TVSquad

(S05E12) "...you guys have been getting divorced for like eight years. Isn't it time you took that old dog into the woods and put one in it's head?" - Lou

Considering who he's starting to hang around with again, is Lou even qualified to give advice like that? If anyone should be wary of getting back in bed with someone, it's him. At least Tommy knows that Sheila and Janet aren't going to rob him blind ... well, at least not for as much as Candy took from Lou.

We're starting to see the effects of what 22 episodes has done to Rescue Me (in a good way). After last week's first musical number featuring the comatose Sean, "Disease" featured more moments that, while not completely out of place, certainly seem to be a result from the extra breathing room.

Unusual diseases, disorders and ailments are a common subject for news stories and documentaries, but what makes Twisted --a film by Laurel Chiten about people suffering from the neurological disorder dystonia-- so interesting is that Chiten herself suffers from the disorder. It gives the documentary an intimacy you wouldn't find elsewhere, and it's clear that Chiten's subjects feel a kinship with her and are willing to open themselves up to her about what it's like to live with the disorder.

We all know that war and famine still plagues a large portion of the globe, but most people feel there's not much they can do about it, short of throwing money at the problem. In the case of Ed Artis, Jim Laws and Walt Ratterman, however, they actually travel into some of the most dangerous parts of the world to help people directly. Artis, Laws and Ratterman --a retired army medic, a doctor, and a renewable energy expert, respectively-- risk their own lives to make sure people get the help they need.

On April 12 (check local listings), PBS will air a two-hour documentary called Rx for Survival: The Heroes, a companion to the six-part series, Rx for Survival: A Global Health Challenge. I mentioned the series back in November, and recently saw an advanced screening of Rx for Survival: The Heroes.

The special, narrated by Brad Pitt, takes an in-depth look at something many of us take for granted, which is the men and women who work to both maintain and eradicate diseases most of us never think about. The special not only focuses on major epidemics like HIV and tuberculosis, but on diseases not so well-known, such as "night blindness" in Southeast Asia, an ailment cured by an eye doctor in Baltimore who simply administered drops of Vitamin A to the children, a nutrient their regular diet lacked. This treatment, which was initially slammed by the medical community, also helped prevent other series diseases, resulting in a cut in child mortality rates by as much as one third. The special also focuses on a tenacious effort to once and for all eradicate polio from the Earth, just as small pox was destroyed in the early 80s.

The most fascinating aspect of the special, besides the medical professionals, scientists, and community volunteers from these areas who work to both treat diseases and spread awareness of them, is how Western science is often challenged by religious belief. In one scene, a man refuses to give his son a polio vaccine, claiming it is the will of Allah to decide what happens to his son. The man eventually accepts the medication for his son, but it illustrates there is more to fighting these diseases than just administering drugs. There is also the challenge of trying to get two very different cultures to see eye to eye on a very important issue that has the potential to affect us all.