Current.tv

Current TV, the new San Francisco based cable channel chaired by Al Gore, offers a 24-hour stream of mini documentaries about ten minutes long. I watched the channel a lot recently in New York and enjoyed it immensely.

The spots are incredibly varied: a first-person account of Katrina survivor rescue, followed by a story on the heroin industry in Afghanistan, and then a profile of the team that produces video games for Electronic Arts. A small status bar at the bottom of the screen, similar to a download bar, shows how much of the story remains to be seen. VJs, sadly apparently trapped in a virtual Colorado vacation lodge, anchor the show.

Some programs could use improvement. A News show that reviews the top Google news searches sounds great but is actually very dull in practice: a click on Google News delivers the same information much more efficiently.

The PBS program Frontline World is trying to do something similar, but they don't have a 24-hour channel at their disposal.

Current.tv has been described, accurately in my view, as MTV for documentaries. About time, and a world away from the pabulum available on most channels. Contact Comcast and ask for it in your town.