Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Chicago Tribune - June 14, 2003
Steve Johnson, Tribune television critic
The newest Cirque du Soleil show, which comes to Chicago over the summer, can be previewed on video (Bravo, Saturday).
Animal Planet, amusingly enough, lists the "50 Greatest TV Animals" (Saturday).
In sports, there's golf's U.S. Open from Olympia Fields (NBC, Saturday and Sunday), plus a possible Game 6 of the NBA Finals Sunday night (ABC).
And Discovery Channel offers the latest in its popular prehistoric re-creation series, "Walking With Cavemen" (Sunday).
But the weekend's most challenging and important fare is on HBO, which starts the five-part "Pandemic: Facing AIDS" Sunday.
From filmmaker Rory Kennedy ("American Hollow"), it's an often wrenching documentary look at what she reminds us is the "worst infectious disease catastrophe since the bubonic plague," killing someone every 10 seconds.
Five half-hour episodes profile the disease in five countries, focusing on individuals with AIDS in each. First up are "Thailand" and "Uganda" (6 p.m. Sunday), with looks at "Russia," "Brazil" and "India" following the next three Sundays at 11 a.m.
It's not pretty or pleasant, which is kind of the point, but Kennedy does put a very human face on a dehumanizing illness. Elton John narrates, and Philip Glass provides the original score.
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