What's on tv

There's turbulence over at Canal+, the group of premium channels available by subscription in France (and throughout the world). Last month, the long-time director of programming at the group, Alain De Greef, passed away. We also lost several of the group's subsidiary channels that were part of our satellite package, like Sport+ and Cuisine+, channels that just stopped broadcasting. Now there are rumors coming out of the group that more changes are being made. Among them, and most disconcerting to a lot of people, is the potential cancellation of the political satire show "les Guignols de l'Info," a staple of Canal's line-up for the past twenty-seven years. We'll have to stay tuned (or not).

The guy in the middle is the puppet version of PPDA (Patrick Poivre d'Arvor), the former TF1 anchorman and the "host" of les Guignols de l'Info.

What NOT to watch this week. Our tv magazine rates shows and movies using a star system: one star is ok, four stars is best. They use another symbol for really bad movies: the red dot. It means "à zapper" (change the channel!). The editors often include comments about the movie that make me laugh.

Another week, another killer shark. This one's original title is "Swamp Shark." Shark movies never fail to displease our reviewers. With one notable exception: Sharknado. They liked that one. And Sharknado 2. Thumbs up. And, if you look at this week's cover, you will see that there's a report on the filming of the upcoming Sharknado 3. Oh boy.

Killer Shark. American made-for-tv movie. Directed by Griff Furst, 2011.
With Kristy Swanson, Richard Tanne, D.B. Sweeney, and Jeff Chase.
Every year, hundreds of young people gather in the bayou for Gator Fest, but this year, a giant shark lurks in the swamps.
► An attempt to copy Spielberg's "Jaws" without the talent or the budget. The result is sometimes funny, but above all, mostly annoying.
For adults and children over 10.