There is plenty of local television news — I’m including webisodes just because I want to — around of late.
First, it was fun to watch the Chattanooga Roller Girls’ bout with the Vette City Vixens on the CW on June 30. Kinda weird and nostalgic, but cool. I thought for a minute I might be able to flip channels to hear Mort Lloyd describe a Tojo Yamamoto chop to the head with one of his geta wooden sandals.
Local music fans will be happy to know that Comcast has added a Riverfront Nights channel to its Xfinity On Demand lineup. The series, which kicks off Aug. 4 and runs through mid-September, features not only live music from local and nationally touring bands, but it also features local businesses and institutions that promote healthy outdoor living.
The series is about celebrating an active lifestyle in addition to good music, according to Jeff Styles from Friends of the Festival. There is a VIP area for dogs sponsored by The Dog Pound, Do Good Chattanooga and Good Dog, for example, and each week a different group will be on hand to talk about what they do.
The channel will highlight all of those, according to Jim Weigert, vice president and general manager of Comcast Chattanooga.
You can find the channel by going to the On Demand button and navigating to the Get Local menu.
The free concerts take place at the 21st Century Waterfront beginning at 7 p.m. The lineup kicks off with Papa Grows Funk and includes Fishbone and Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds. The full schedule is at www.riverfrontnights.com.
“Shock Theatre’s” second episode, featuring a screening of the 1989 version of “The Woman in Black,” is already a hit worldwide. Dr. Shock himself, Jack Gray, put the completed version online earlier this week, and on Tuesday he reported that about 750 people had seen it in countries including Canada, France, Thailand, India and Jamaica.
Just a little while later, he wrote back to update the numbers. Viewing in the United States alone had shot from 708 to 3,992. The number of countries being represented doubled to 48, including one guy each in Hong Kong, Panama, Bulgaria and Belarus. Someone also watched it in Algeria, and three people watched it in Iceland.
“That’s wild,” Gray said.
In addition to the usual hijinks that helped define the original “Shock Theatre” that was so popular here in the ’70s, Shock and crew have brought in Hope Holloway and Kevin Bartolomucci with Chattanooga Ghost Tours to help solve a ghostly mystery plaguing the “Shock Theatre” set.
“They had a blast,” said Gray.
Ted Whittenbarger also helps out as Dirge.
You can watch Episode 2 below, on www.drshocktheatre.com or www.chattanoogaghosttours.com. You can also find links to “Night of the Living Dead,” which was the first “Shock Theatre” episode done back in December.
Barry Courter is staff reporter and columnist for the Times Free Press. He started his journalism career at the Chattanooga News-Free Press in 1987. He covers primarily entertainment and events for ChattanoogaNow, as well as feature stories for the Life section. Born in Lafayette, Ind., Barry has lived in Chattanooga since 1968. He graduated from Notre Dame High School and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a degree in broadcast journalism. He previously was ...
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