Watchable the week of March 22, 2021

SHOW OF THE WEEK: TINA (March 27, 10 p.m., HBO, Crave)

I confess I haven’t paid a lot of attention to Tina Turner over the years, but I came out of this documentary about her life and career with a new appreciation for the 81-year-old entertainer.

Most people are likely at least nominally familiar with her troubled relationship with former husband Ike Turner, who died in 2007. Although it’s a part of her life that Tina has repeatedly said she wants to move past, it’s covered in depth in the doc, mainly through tape recordings made for her blockbuster 1981 People magazine interview about the abuse she suffered.

The doc traces that history from 1957 when 17-year old Anna Mae Bullock moved to St. Louis, Missouri, and began performing on weekends with Ike’s band. Their relationship was at first platonic, but they became romantically involved in 1960, the same year the single “A Fool in Love” was released. Ike changed her name to Tina and created the Ike and Tina Turner Review.

Tina told People that was also around the time Ike first hit her, beating her with a shoe stretcher because she didn’t want to tour while pregnant.

She stayed for 16 years in what she called “a life of death,” blaming it on fear and also guilt about what would happen to Ike’s career if she left.

Katori Hall, who wrote the book for “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical,” notes that Tina grew up seeing violence between her father and mother. She was also abandoned as a child by both parents, first her mother, then her father. That’s got to have a devastating impact on a kid.

Tina also recounts on tape a suicide attempt, which came after the success of “Proud Mary” in 1971.

Surviving that kind of trauma is one thing — Tina finally ran from Ike in 1976 after he left her bloody on the drive from the Dallas airport to their hotel, literally fleeing across a freeway and almost getting hit by a truck — what impressed me most was what came after Ike. That Turner, pushing 40, supporting four children and with debt from the dissolution of the Ike and Tina Review, hustled and toiled and sweated (literally) her way into a new career.

Turner says in the doc she didn’t view her ascendancy as a solo artist in the 1980s as a comeback; it was “Tina’s debut.”

Whatever you call it, it was phenomenally successful: over 100 million records sold; 12 Grammys; the first Black artist and first woman to front Rolling Stone; a record-breaking 1990 tour when she was 50 years old.

Tina says this documentary (directed by Oscar winners Daniel Lindsay and TJ. Martin) is her goodbye to her American fans, along with the Broadway musical about her, which she is seen attending in 2019 in the doc. She has retired to Switzerland with her German husband Erwin Bach, and I hope she has finally found the peace and happiness missing in the early part of her life.

UFO Town (March 26, 9 p.m., CBC and CBC Gem)

Did alien aircraft visit the Ontario township of West Carleton in the late 1980s and early 1990s? As with anything involving unidentified flying objects there’s no such thing as a definitive answer.

This documentary from Toronto producer Saloon Media focuses in particular on the “Guardian case.”

In 1989, someone using that name mailed documents and photos to UFO investigators purporting to show evidence of a UFO landing in the area, including blurry pictures of an alleged alien. In 1991, more material was mailed, including a video of an alleged flying saucer in a swamp in Carp, Ont.

The case put this part of Ontario on the map in the early ‘90s, with the TV shows “Unsolved Mysteries” and “Encounters” doing segments on it.

No one has ever figured out whether “Guardian” was someone with genuine knowledge or a crackpot. But the doc includes interviews with locals who saw unexplained phenomena around that time: bright lights shining directly into second-floor windows or above a road; a craft with spinning lights rising silently out of the trees before taking off in a blink; military-type helicopters landing in the vicinity of sightings.

One woman, the late Susan Gill, even claimed to have seen beings with glowing skin disembarking from a UFO.

As author Ian Rogers says, a UFO case is never really closed. No one has definitively proved or disproved the existence of extraterrestrial life, but it’s a subject that continues to fascinate us.

If you’re in the mood for more TV with creepy undertones, CBC Gem has the web series “Something Undone” (March 26). Jo (Madison Walsh) is alone in her mother’s old house after her mother, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, has committed suicide. As she cleans out her mother’s belongings and records sounds for the podcast she’s making with her boyfriend Farid (Michael Musi) — which is about the gruesome murder of a family in Newfoundland — she hears odd noises, and things just get spookier from there. Although it presents on the surface as a haunted house drama, the press materials say “Something Undone” is about isolation and mental health struggles. Directed by Nicole Dorsey and shot in and around Harriston, Ont., it was created through CBC’s Creative Relief Fund, which supports artists in the pandemic. 

CBC Gem also has “The Slowest Show” on March 26, which is described as an “experimental comedy series” from Pat Kelly, known for the CBC Radio show “This Is That.” I would describe it as extremely subtle comedy. A single, stationary camera records actors in a mundane situation, for instance, attending an exhibit at an art gallery.

Finally, the period drama “Victoria,” starring Jenna Coleman (“Doctor Who”) as England’s longest-serving monarch before Queen Elizabeth II came along, makes its CBC and CBC Gem debut on March 22 at 8 p.m.

Short Takes

Shine True (March 22, 10 p.m., OUTtv)

There’s a “Queer Eye” vibe to this reality series, with each episode focused on an American or Canadian transgender or gender non-conforming individual being guided to express their authentic self. Trans Toronto musician Lucas Silveira and nonbinary New York model Richie Shazam are the ones doing the guiding, which includes makeovers but also frank, sometimes painful but also rewarding conversations. In Episode 1, nonbinary Mexican-American artist Azul is still mourning the death of their father and navigating a strained relationship with their mother while trying to feel more comfortable in their own skin. With a new suit, a new haircut and dye job, and support from people who’ve been in their shoes, Azul gets a boost of confidence that’s heartening to see.

For Real: The Story of Reality TV (March 25, E!)

This series surveys the history of reality TV with clips, interviews and even cast reunions. Hosted by “Real Housewives” host and executive producer Andy Cohen, it’s more admiring than critical, although it does touch on the scandals. The first episode profiles “The Osbournes” (2002), precursor to shows like “Gene Simmons: Family Jewels” and “Run’s House”; the tragic “Anna Nicole Show” (2002); “The Simple Life” (2003), which made Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie “hot”; “The Girls Next Door” (2005), which begat reality star Kendra Wilkinson; trainwreck TV “Breaking Bonaduce” (2005); and reality behemoth “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” which just began its 20th season (and is available in its entirety on Hayu in Canada). If all that hasn’t turned you off, Episode 2 promises a “Real World” reunion.

City on a Hill (March 28, 10 p.m., Crave)

If you like complex, character-driven drama with a lot of moving parts, then “City on a Hill” is worth a look. Set in early 1990s Boston — Boston buddies Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are executive producers — it tackles crime, drugs, politics, police corruption and race relations through a sizable ensemble cast. Kevin Bacon stars as FBI agent Jackie Rohr, prolific womanizer, boozehound and dirty cop. His main foil is idealistic assistant district attorney Decourcy Ward (Aldis Hodge, who played Jim Brown in “One Night in Miami”). Reluctant allies in Season 1, they seem to be back to adversaries as the second season begins. It’s not as riveting as “The Wire,” but the acting is top notch. Be warned that you’d best catch up on Season 1, also on Crave, before diving into Season 2.

Odds and Ends

There are a couple of shows I wasn’t able to review due to embargoes. “The Irregulars,” a YA drama that posits that a group of impoverished adolescents in Victorian London were the ones solving Sherlock Holmes’ cases, debuts March 26 on Netflix. (Netflix also has “Who Killed Sara?” on March 24, a Mexican series that’s part revenge drama and part murder mystery about a brother trying to find out who was behind his sister’s death 18 years ago.)

Disney Plus has The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers (March 26), the series sequel to the 1990s films about a hapless pee-wee hockey team and their coach, with Emilio Estevez returning to the role of Gordon Bombay.

FX has Season 2 of “Breeders” (March 22, 10 p.m.), starring Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard as frazzled parents.

NOTE: The dates and times listed here reflect information provided to me and cross-checked where possible against broadcast and streaming schedules, but it’s always best to check listings for your own area. The selection of series reviewed here reflects what I’m given access to by networks and streamers, whether reviews are embargoed, how many shows I have time to watch and my own personal taste.