Each week, Hulu’s content editor, Jocelyn Matsuo, shares her latest finds from the Hulu vault.
NBC Sports’ National Heads-Up Poker Championship has all the head-game of regular televised Poker, but the format has the fierce, one-on-one battle of the minds that makes for a good spectator sport, even over an entire season. You get to know the pros in style, personality and tells. In fact, you already know some of the competitors from your favorite 90’s sitcoms: Jason Alexander and Brad Garrett get invites, as well as Don Cheadle and Jennifer Tilly.
This series is especially good for poker novices. Heads-Up greatly simplifies the odds and the commentary is clear, while giving player-history that is actually interesting. And with Hulu’s continuous play feature, you can watch episodes back-to-back, just like you’re in the tournament. Here are the starts of the 2008 and 2009 championships to get your started.
Last May, Hulu sent one of our intrepid reporters, Adam Georgian, to San Diego to report on the 2009 Red Bull Air Race. With the San Diego leg of the series now available on Hulu, here are his notes from the field as he watched this spectacular event.
Believe the hype when people mention that San Diego is America’s finest city. The atmosphere was definitely charged for the second stop of the 2009 Red Bull Air Race Series. A handful of the world’s greatest pilots and countless enthusiasts descended on the pristine maritime inlet for the race in San Diego Bay, but not all seats are created equal in this competition. The best seat in the house, of course, would be at the front of an Edge 540, but San Diego’s Race Club Lounge comes in a close second.
I’ve seen the Red Bull Air Race twice now in San Diego and the Race Club is truly magnificent — the best way to view competition and get up close to all the action as these pilots strain both muscle and machine to achieve the most precise flights in the shortest amount of time. Inside the “The Club,” as they call it, guests are welcomed with an events program, a gigantic turn-by-turn projection screen, and a hostess donned with a smile. Members are treated to the largest viewing area on the peninsula, with leather couches and plush, oversize chairs perfect for the sunny lounge spot.
Whether watching the Godfather Peter Besenyel put on his signature seamless performance or Hannes Arch creatively maneuver his injured aircraft following a bird strike, this race was impressive. This year the San Diego bragging rights go to the — oh, well we won’t spoil it for you. Watch the race to see who wins. Smoke On!
This week, Hulu is proud to introduce our viewers to 3 Points, a documentary that follows Houston Rockets shooting guard Tracy “T-Mac” McGrady to three refugee camps in Chad, home to many of the roughly 250,000 refugees from the Darfur region. Inspired by the work of fellow Houston player Dikembe Mutombo as well as Chicago Bull Luol Deng (whose family is from Sudan), McGrady realized he didn’t know much about what was happening in that part of the world, but he was interested in finding out how he could help out. In a time when many celebrities have turned their eyes to Africa, McGrady’s on-camera experiences are refreshingly real: He’s not ashamed to admit he doesn’t know the right solution — in fact, at one point, he naively offers to pay to build a swimming pool for the children — but, through the course of the film, he talks to everyone willing to speak to him to better understand the needs of the region’s displaced persons. What he experiences is profoundly moving, and an inspiration to all of us at Hulu. Below, McGrady tells us why he got involved and fills us in on the progress his organization, the Darfur Dream Team, has made since his 2007 visit. — Rebecca Harper (), Editor
First, can you tell us what sparked your interest in Africa?
It’s really a couple of things: Being a teammate of Dikembe Mutombo for five years, knowing he comes from Congo, and just having conversations with him over the years. And also knowing that he put $10, $12 million of his own money to build a hospital in his own country. But you know, after games, sitting back there, talking, talking about everything that’s going on over there in Africa like we did so many nights … it really didn’t have that effect on me, to want to go over there and see it for myself. What really did it for me was sitting at home one day. I saw a PSA that [Chicago Bulls forward] Luol Deng did on TV, and I immediately after that ad, I called my assistant to set up the whole trip. I just wanted to know a little more about the conflict and everything that was going on over there.
What made you decide to document your visit on camera?
I just think it was important for me to learn as much as possible, to get as much information as I could to learn about the conflict. For me to admit to my fans that it’s not embarrassing to me to admit that I don’t know something. I just wanted to get all this information and learn as much as possible, and to show my fans that it’s OK to say that you don’t know about something and [you] want to learn more. I want them to also learn what’s going on over there, so I wanted to document this whole trip.
There was a lot of discussion about how you were out of your element when you made this film. After all, you’re an NBA star who lives in a mansion, and you went to these camps where you found yourself sleeping in a tent surrounded by giant bugs. What were some of the things you learned on your trip?
Well, first of all, stepping out of my element, yes, that is definitely what I did. You go from living this great life to flying over there and living in the U.N. compound. At first, I tried to sleep in the room, but I couldn’t get comfortable in there because it was so hot. So then, the first time ever in my life, I slept in a tent. I just thought I could get a nice little breeze throughout the night. [Laughs]
What I wanted was just what they wanted, the three P’s and that’s why the documentary is called “3 Points,” because it’s the three P’s that they wanted. That’s to be protected; they wanted punishment, and they wanted peace. I’ve learned that the kids over there, they want to be educated. My whole idea coming back was to tell their stories and let people know what’s going on over there in Darfur.
What’s stayed with you since you’ve been back?
Everything, everything. Seeing some of the wounds. Seeing the little kids drawing in the art room. Just seeing the little kids walking around — two, three years old, with no supervision. Seeing all the pain on their faces. I mean, it’s just so much that it really, really was a sad situation.
Were you surprised by what you saw, or were you prepared for it?
I think I was pretty much prepared for it. I think it helped talking to Dikembe because he’s from Congo, so I was a little bit prepared. It took a while for it to really hit me. I mean, I was fine up until the last day, when I was just lying on my bed, staring at the wall. I woke up in the middle of the night and that’s when it really hit me. I actually started shedding tears.
Tell us about some of the people you met — did they have any idea who you were?
[Laughs] No, they had no clue who I am. They were excited to see me, because they felt like I was there for a great cause, to bring them help. We had a bunch of people willing to sit down and have a conversation with us, which is great. It was cool, it was cool. I got to meet a lot of people over there. The most important thing is they were willing to sit down and share their stories, and I know how tough that would have been, you know, just bringing back up what they witnessed at a time in their life that was pretty harsh.
Did the experience change you at all? How?
It definitely changed me because I feel like that could have been me in that situation. If that was me in that situation, I’d want people to help me and do everything possible to get out of that situation. But because I’m blessed and I’m fortunate — you know, I’m one of the lucky ones to be able to wake up every morning and do something that I’ve always loved to do — I felt like it was my responsibility to do what I told them I was going to do, and that’s to tell their stories when I got back to the States and educate a lot more people on this situation, and to help educate the children that are over there.
Would you go back? Do you plan to?
I don’t think it’s safe right now to go back. Once we get these schools up and running, hopefully it will be safe to go back. I would love to. I think I have a better understanding of how to handle the situation over there as far as the living conditions.
What is the progress of the schools? Has the conflict held things up?
No, we’re definitely moving forward. That’s something that I promised them I was going to do. No matter what, we’re gonna move forward. We’re building these schools, and I just want to thank the guys that were added on this team, this Dream Team, and that’s Derek Fisher and Baron Davis, for their help in building these schools.
[...] documentary, Three Points, has now been released on Hulu. Hulu’s Rebecca Harper also has an interview with McGrady, where he reveals that seeing a public service announcement on Darfur featuring Sudanese Bulls [...]
This week on Hulu, PINKS All Out, show creator and host Rich Christensen and his team deliver something never televised before: four-wide drag racing from the zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina.
“There’s only one track in the country that has four lanes of drag racing, and that’s the zMAX track just outside Charlotte, North Carolina,” says PINKS All Out’s technical crewmember Willie B. “And it’s awesome.” For this particular episode, the sanctioned track — intended to keep the race going when two lanes are shut down due to oil spills — hosted four cars going at it side-by-side as the drivers raced for the finish line in hopes of snagging $10,000 cash and a fully loaded NAPA toolbox .
“When four cars line up side by side, that’s a spectacle,” Christensen says. “Now you’re not hearing two burnouts, you’re hearing four burnouts. The sound is amplified times two. The visual explosion — instead of watching two cars race to get to the finish line first, you’re seeing four. It’s almost overload, and that’s a terrific thing.”
And the cars competing run the gamut: racers drive old cars, new cars, muscle cars and even one known as the Wheelie Wagon. “There’s every car, from import to domestic to old-school to brand-new, to all-wheel drive and front-wheel drive, and every manufacturer,” Christensen says. “Most importantly, they all have one common thread: grass-roots racers. They don’t have big sponsors paying them big dollars to travel the country. These are your neighbors and people that you know who wrench on their cars on the weekends.”
As a result, the racing is real fun to watch. “You’ll see some of the craziest, absolutely unbelievable driving that you’ve seen at a PINKS All Out show all year long,” says Willie B., a former racer on the show who’s also a radio DJ in Denver. “There are some guys that are out to prove a point, and they don’t get out of the throttle until it’s proven. I couldn’t believe some of these guys laid on the gas when their car was sideways, facing the wall — and these guys are still just hammering it.”
You’ll also see a bit of Big Three rivalry. “The rivalries are fantastic. That’s become the most fun part of the show. We ask the crowd who’s the Ford people, who the Chevy people are, and who the Mopar [Chrysler] people are,” Christensen says (a Mopar man himself). “Everybody starts rooting for their brand, and it’s no different than watching the Vikings fans versus the Green Bay Packers fans. It’s fantastic, total rivalry in the friendliest, most respectful form. Even Chevy people know there are some bad Mustangs out there and, of course, the Ford people know there are some bad Camaros out there. These things are bad to the bone. They’re fast, they’re awesome, so even though [the fans] root for one, they still have respect for the other brand or model.”
And though Christensen puts himself on that box between the tracks for every race — where he’s been struck by car parts, lost some of his hearing, and come within a couple feet of being hit — he’s never gone down the quarter-mile track himself. “For me, I actually get to sit back and really enjoy the enthusiasm, and get caught up in the moment,” he told us. “But no, there’s no real desire for me to get in that car and go down there as fast as I can. That’s telling the truth. I love watching others do it. I’ve really become a true fan of watching these unbelievably talented and smart people put that horsepower to their back wheel and get that tire to the concrete and get down that track as quickly as they can. They’re artists and geniuses as far as I’m concerned.”
You can catch PINKS All Out on the SPEED channel, or watch full episodes anytime right here on Hulu.
Though Hulu’s headquarters is in Los Angeles, most of us call another city home. We are usually too busy to notice this subtle fact, though lately a wave of hometown pride has taken our office by storm. With the Playoffs for both the NBA and NHL in full swing and the best of both leagues battling it out on the hardwood and ice, the competitiveness and trash talking in the office is building to a crescendo only rivaled by the annual Hulu Ping Pong Tournament. With Round 2 kicking off in both leagues, we are excited to feature full games throughout the Playoffs:
as well as classic Playoff games from past seasons.
Also, make sure to check out daily new videos covering all of last night’s NBA and NHL Playoff action. While you are at it, share videos through your Facebook and MySpace pages with your fellow fans, or e-mail clips to your friends to remind them they were rooting for the wrong team.
This is the best time of year for Sports fans, and hopefully we can help ignite your office rivalries, too.
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[...] documentary, Three Points, has now been released on Hulu. Hulu’s Rebecca Harper also has an interview with McGrady, where he reveals that seeing a public service announcement on Darfur featuring Sudanese Bulls [...]