TV Daily

Salon's guide to what to watch on Tuesday: The lyrical, haunting "John & Jane Toll-Free" explores the lives of call-center workers in India.

Published November 13, 2007 11:00AM (EST)

Prime Pick

Photo: HBO

Plenty of informative documentaries air on TV every day, but few could be considered true works of art. "John & Jane Toll-Free" (7 p.m. EST on Cinemax) is that rare documentary that captures its subject -- workers at a call center in Mumbai (Bombay), India -- with a lyrical, haunting combination of striking images, ambient sounds and first-person accounts. In exploring the stories of a handful of 1-800 operators who provide customer service and telemarketing to Americans, the filmmakers transform the workers' hopes and disappointments into a sort of visual poetry. One worker hates his job and wants to be a model. Another listens to self-empowerment tapes whenever he's not working and announces that he plans to be a billionaire some day. Each story unfolds patiently, rich with heartbreaking details. Ranging from unspeakably sad to sweet, "John & Jane Toll-Free" is an unforgettable film that you shouldn't miss.

Also…

Hitchcock's "Rear Window" airs at 8 p.m. EST on AMC. Nova looks at a controversial lawsuit involving teaching intelligent design in public schools in "Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial" (8 p.m. EST on PBS, check listings), which is followed by Independent Lens documentary "Miss Navajo" (10 p.m. EST on PBS, check listings). On Showtime, the stand-up special "Paul Mooney: Know Your History -- Jesus Was Black, So Was Cleopatra" airs at 11 p.m. EST.

On the talk shows

Regis and Kelly

ABC, 9 a.m. EST

Dustin Hoffman, Emeril Lagasse

The View

ABC, 11 a.m. EST

Bill O'Reilly, Marc Cohn

Ellen DeGeneres

Syndicated, check local listings

Heidi Klum, Sean Casey

Oprah Winfrey

Syndicated, check local listings

"Knock, Knock, It's Nate!"

Charlie Rose

PBS, check local listings

A tribute to Norman Mailer

Larry King

CNN, 9 p.m. EST

Hunter Tylo

Jon Stewart

Comedy Central, 11 p.m. EST

John Bolton (repeat)

Stephen Colbert

Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. EST

Richard Branson (repeat)

David Letterman

CBS, 11:30 p.m. EST

Jennifer Garner, Ken Burns, Chaka Khan (repeat)

Jay Leno

NBC, 11:35 p.m. EST

Jessica Alba, D.L. Hughley, Cold War Kids (repeat)

Tavis Smiley

PBS, check local listings

Jules Lobel, Roger Daltrey

Jimmy Kimmel

ABC, 12:05 a.m. EST

Jimmy's 40th birthday special

Conan O'Brien

NBC, 12:35 a.m. EST

Rachel Weisz, Little Big Town

Craig Ferguson

CBS, 12:35 a.m. EST

John Larroquette, Bianca Kajlich, They Might Be Giants (repeat)

Contributors: Megan Doll, Heather Havrilesky, Eryn Loeb, Amy Reiter


By Salon Staff

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