AS
PEOPLE
LIGHT
candles
across
the
world
at
memorial
vigils
on
Dec.
1,
World
AIDS
Day,
television
also
commemorates
the
day
in
this,
the
25th
year
of
the
epidemic,
with
a
wide
variety
of
programming.
PBS’
gay
newsmagazine
“In
the
Life,”
which
is
in
its
15th
year
on
the
air,
dove
into
the
program’s
archives
to
cobble
together
a
series
of
its
best
news
segments
about
the
disease
and
its
effects
on
individuals
and
communities.
Hosted
by
gay
actor
Wilson
Cruz
(most
recently
seen
in
gay
serial
“Noah’s
Arc”
and
in
the
upcoming
film
“Coffee
Date”),
“The
Changing
Face
of
AIDS”
episode
compiles
five
former
stories.
From
1996
comes
a
dispatch
about
the
creation
of
the
“drug
cocktail”
of
protease
inhibitors
and
other
antiviral
drugs
that
gave
a
new
lease
on
life
to
many
people
living
with
HIV.
Due
to
the
introduction
of
the
drugs,
for
the
first
time
the
gay
community
had
to
deal
with
people
growing
older
with
the
virus.
A
story
from
2004
looks
at
how
the
cocktail
and
HIV
change
the
aging
process.
Another
segment
studies
the
link
between
the
use
of
crystal
methamphetamine
and
HIV.
A
2005
story
examines
the
contentious
issues
surrounding
the
connections
between
the
drug
and
the
virus.
“In
the
Life”
also
focuses
on
the
historical
and
ongoing
challenges
in
treating
the
disease
with
a
1998
segment
about
an
AIDS
service
provider
in
Tijuana,
Mexico.
A
2004
story
explores
the
Stop
AIDS
Project,
a
controversial
AIDS
prevention
group
with
a
pro-sex
message
that
was
in
trouble
of
losing
its
funding.
Cruz
fills
in
some
background
and
segues,
and
provides
brief
updates
on
most
of
the
stories.
But
the
collection
is
more
blasts
from
the
past
than
a
fully
synthesized
special
about
how
the
disease
has
changed
over
the
years.
THE
HEAVY
HITTER
this
Dec.
1
is
gay
cable
channel
Logo,
which
offers
a
whole
day
of
programming,
including
classic
AIDS
films
“It’s
My
Party,”
“And
the
Band
Played
On,”
“Behind
the
Red
Door”
and
“In
the
Gloaming.”
From
4
p.m.
to
7
p.m.,
there’s
a
marathon
of
the
entire
Logo
original
series
“The
Ride:
Seven
Days
to
End
AIDS,”
which
follows
a
group
of
cyclists
on
a
San
Francisco-to-Los
Angeles
fundraising
ride.
The
Sundance
Channel
debuts
its
documentary
“The
Mother’s
House”
at
10
p.m.
Directed
by
Emmy-winning
South
African
filmmaker
Francois
Verster,
the
film
shows
four
years
in
the
life
of
a
young
South
African
girl
with
an
HIV-positive
mother.
At
11:15
p.m.,
the
channel
also
shows
“Positive
Voices:
Matthew
Cusick,”
a
12-minute
documentary
about
the
HIV-positive
gymnast
who
sued
Cirque
du
Soleil
for
HIV
discrimination.
On
a
lighter
note,
at
4
p.m.
on
Lifetime,
gay
favorite
“The
Golden
Girls”
airs
a
rerun
featuring
Rose
(Betty
White)
having
an
AIDS
scare.
Over
on
the
USA
network,
a
three-episode
marathon
of
“Law
&
Order:
SVU”
episodes
all
address
crimes
to
do
with
HIV/AIDS.
The
drama
starts
at
8
p.m.
On
Dec.
4
at
9
p.m.,
Showtime
premieres
“3
Needles,”
a
star-studded
look
at
how
the
virus
affected
three
people
in
three
different
countries.
The
cast
includes
Stockard
Channing,
Olympia
Dukakis,
Lucy
Liu,
Shawn
Ashmore
and
Sandra
Oh.
Showtime
also
airs
“Beat
the
Drum”
in
December,
the
story
of
a
rural
African
boy
who
travels
to
Johannesburg
looking
for
work
and
hope
after
a
mysterious
illness
strikes
his
village.
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