TVSquad

I told you not long ago that Wordplay, the documentary about New York Times Crossword editor Will Shortz and his annual crossword competition would air as part of the PBS series Independent Lens on October 16. It turns out it's also the very first documentary of the series' sixth season.

Other documentaries will include An Unreasonable Man, the popular 2006 documentary about presidential candidate and consumer advocate Ralph Nader; Banished, which tells the story of how some small towns expelled their black communities; King Corn, about two college students who grow their own food to challenge big agri-business; Miss Navajo, which centers on a unique Native American beauty pageant; Iron Ladies of Liberia focuses on the first head of state in Africa; Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita, about a neurologist trying to find a cure for his paralyzed daughter; and Please Vote for Me, a documentary from China about three eight year old students running for "class monitor."

Actually, it's the only crossword documentary I know of, but it's really good. Wordplay, the 2006 documentary about New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz and the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament he started over two decades ago, will air this fall as part of PBS' Independent Lens showcase. If you haven't yet seen the movie, you can save yourself the rental and just catch it on TV.