(Biography Specials S1E23) Barack Obama
Season 1, Episode 1 TV-14
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When he called himself "a skinny kid with a funny name" at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, his political star was already on the rise. By the time he decimated the competition in 2004 race for the Illinois Senate, he was the bona fide golden child of a Democratic party desperately in need of a winner. In many ways, the story of Barack Obama is a uniquely American tale of the 21st century, where racial lines are blurry and the most interesting chapter is just beginning.
(Biography Specials S1E17) Jon Stewart
Season 1, Episode 2 TV-14
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A look at the comic whose "fake news" TV show, The Daily Show, has made him one of America's leading social and comedic voices. After a career as a stand-up, Stewart became the host of the first talk show ever produced on MTV, which became an instant hit. In 1999, Stewart began hosting The Daily Show, which won acclaim for its incisive political satire. Stewart has won nine Emmy's for the show despite complaints from some critics that too many Americans get their news from the show, regardless of the fact that it's put together by comics and not by serious journalists. Stewart hosted the Academy Awards show in 2006, and was invited to do it again in 2008.
(Biography Specials S1E35) Steve-O
Season 1, Episode 3 TV-14
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Profile of the wild daredevil who became a star with the "Jackass" franchise, famously introducing himself to TV viewers when he swallowed and regurgitated a live goldfish on air. But fame came at a heavy price as Steve-O's craving for drugs, crazy stunts, and the rock star lifestyle put him on a downward spiral and led to a threatened suicide in 2008. Now three years sober and with his biography, "Professional Idiot," coming out, Steve-O is hopefully a new man.
(Biography Specials S1E13) Lindsay Lohan
Season 1, Episode 4 TV-14
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Actress, singer, partier, she's barely into her twenties, and Lindsay Lohan has already gone from screen tests to rehab stints. She was acting in a soap opera by the age of ten and made her film debut in The Parent Trap a year later. Unlike many child actors, Lindsay's appeal seemed to grow as she as she aged, and by 2005 she was headlining hit films such as Mean Girls. Despite her popularity as an actress, press accounts focused more frequently on her antics as a Hollywood party girl. In addition to her alleged problems with substance abuse, her clashes with co-stars and studio execs, and her widely reported trips to rehab, Lindsay has added "singing sensation" to her film career, having released her debut album in 2004.
(Biography Specials S1E29) Whitney Houston
Season 1, Episode 5 TV-14
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Whitney Elizabeth Houston, known as The Voice, is one of the most successful pop stars of all time with some 170 million records sold. Signed by the legendary Clive Davis, she scorched the charts with such hits as "You Give Good Love," "I Wanna Dance with Somebody," and "Greatest Love of All." But her personal life has been a mess. She married Bobby Brown in 1992 and theirs has been a tumultuous relationship plagued by persistent rumors of drug abuse. They starred in a TV show "Being Bobby Brown" that did more to harm Whitney's career than help it. In 2007, the couple filed for divorce and Whitney was awarded custody of their daughter Bobby Kristina. In the final analysis, this is the story of a woman who found unimaginable success on the stage, but failed to find happiness away from the spotlight.
(Biography Specials S1E27) Charlie Sheen: Bad Boy on the Edge
Season 1, Episode 6 TV-14
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Charlie Sheen has been partying since 1980, and according to the actor, he's tired of pretending he's not great at it. This special will track Sheen's 30 plus years of wild behavior--from using stolen credit cards to buy merchandise over the phone at age 15 to no less than five domestic violence arrests and at least a half dozen stays in rehab (three in the past twelve months) to his current status as a living media circus, gleefully self-destructing in front of America.