Spring brings music, love and laughter

Disney premiere
Friday, April 15, 9pm, Disney Channel: Lemonade Mouth

Enjoy a family movie night and catch the premiere of this Disney Channel original movie based on the book by the same name.

Themes of ‘believing in yourself’ and ‘following your dreams’ make this music-driven production uplifting and inspiring.

Lemonade Mouth is about an unlikely collection of students who meet in detention and discover they share a passion for music.

They later decide to start a band — Lemonade Mouth — that captures the imagination of students who feel sidelined by the high school elite.

The movie’s soundtrack was released this week and is now on iTunes.

Naturally, there is an interactive website for the kids: http://tv.disney.go.com/disneychannel/originalmovies/lemonademouth/

Royal wedding
Monday, April 18, 10pm, Lifetime: William and Kate

This movie premiere will put you in the mood for the Royal Wedding coverage later this month.

Starring Nico Evers-Swindell as Prince William and Camilla Luddington as Kate Middleton, it tells the story of how the two met and the nine-year courtship that ensued.

Somehow they managed to withstand the social and Royal Family pressures, not to mention the relentless media attention surrounding the relationship.

That attention will be at its peak on April 29, with live TV coverage of the Royal Wedding on numerous channels.

Comedy
Monday, April 18, 9pm (re-airs midnight Tuesdays), Game Show Network (GSN):  Drew Carey’s Improv-A-Ganza

If you are a fan of improvisational comedy, tune in to Improv-A-Ganza, which debuted last Monday.

Drew Carey is back with comic actors and friends from the former UK and US hit show Whose Line is It Anyway?.

They include Kathy Kinney, Ryan Stiles, Jeff Davis, Chip Esten, Greg Proops and Colin Mochrie.

Relying heavily on the audience to drive the action onstage, the show promises to break new ground in the improv arena.

For more information, visit the show’s website:  http://tv.gsn.com/shows/improv

Reality TV
Tuesday, April 19, 11pm, BET: Toya: A Family Affair series premiere

Antonia ‘Toya’ Carter, who made her debut on BET’s smash hit series Tina and Toya, is back with her own new show.

Follow the fearless Toya, on her path through personal and professional tribulations and triumphs.

She has a new romance, with music mogul MempHitz, which may lead to marriage.

However, her life is complicated by the challenges of raising her 11-year old daughter by hip-hop superstar Lil Wayne, and trying to keep her troubled family – including mom and four brothers – away from the dangers of street life.

Superwoman Toya can rise to any challenge and we can believe in her again in this new series.

Japanese earthquake
Sunday, April 24, Discovery Channel: MegaQuake: Hour That Shook Japan

This one-hour documentary focuses on the recent earthquake and tsunami which wreaked devastation in Japan.

The special will feature interviews with survivors and home footage of the events as they happened.

Check the Discovery Channel website for air times, not available at this writing: http://dsc.discovery.com/

Music drama
Sunday, April 24, 11pm, HBO: Treme, Season Two premiere

This compelling series chronicles the challenges and interconnected stories of several struggling musicians in post-Katrina New Orleans.

All are from Treme, one of New Orleans’ oldest neighbourhoods and historically an important source of African American music and culture.

The Season One soundtrack was a Grammy-nominated album with music by Steve Earle, John Boutte, Kermit Ruffins and more.

Historical drama
Sundays, 10pm, Showtime: The Borgias

Billed by the network as “an unvarnished portrait of the original crime family”,  this new historical drama stars Jeremy Irons as Spanish Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, who ascends to the highest circles of power through intrigue and manipulation, and becomes Pope Alexander VI.