This screenshot depicts the “4th and Forever” blog found at http://current.com/shows/4th-and-forever/.
UPDATE 3:39pm | Current TV has announced that it will hold a screening open to the public of the first two episodes of “4th and Forever,” a new docu-reality television series premiering Thursday that tracks the Long Beach Polytechnic High School football team during its 2010 season, on Wednesday in Anaheim.
The screening will be held at the AMC Downtown Disney 12 theater, 1565 S. Disneyland Dr., from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 25, the eve of the May 26 series premiere.
Coach Raul Lara and Poly alum Darnell Bing, now an NFL free agent, are scheduled to attend the screening event, which is being hosted by Bob Gibson and Rich Estrella from Time Warner Cable’s “SoCal 101 High School Sports” show.
Members of the football team will also be on hand. Following the screening, the audience will be treated to a question-and-answer session with Lara.
The global cable television station has also set up a “4th and Forever” blog featuring video clips, photos, a “Meet the Team” section and more.
UPDATE 2:29pm | A number of readers have noted that the city’s main local cable television provider, Charter Communications, is not included in the list at the bottom of our initial post of cable and satellite television service providers that carry Current TV in their offering of channels.
It is not listed below because Charter does not carry Current TV in its basic, cable-ready or digital cable packages.
This has some locals seeing red because last year’s Long Beach Polytechnic High School football team is the subject of a new docu-reality television series on Current TV that premieres Thursday night. Because many Beachers receive their cable TV service from Charter, they will be unable to watch the program.
Current TV has yet to announce whether full episodes of the new series shot almost entirely in Long Beach will be available for viewing on its website.
Anyone wishing to request that Charter begin offering Current TV among the array of channels it carries should click here, fill out the required fields and select “TV” before clicking “Submit” to speak with a customer service representative in real time via Charter’s online chat service. Requests can also be made by calling 888-438-2427.
8:30am | A new Current TV docu-reality television series premiering Thursday is set to catapult the 2010 Long Beach Polytechnic High School football team to global fame.
While the high school is already nationally renowned for churning out more football players who go on to play in the National Football League than any other high school in America, the show, “4th and Forever,” has the potential to gain the Jackrabbits even more attention, only this time around it will be of international proportions.
Cameras follow head coach Raul Lara and his teenage players through a season themed on repairing the damage done during a less-than-stellar 2009 season. Captured in between the chronicles of grueling practices and hard-fought battles on the football field are the rare, tender glimpses into the lives of teenage boys growing into young men in the face of hardship, and all too often without a male role model in the home.
While the show has been loosely compared to “Friday Night Lights,” producer Brian Gardner told ESPN Page 2 that he aimed for the show to feature a style of storytelling reminiscent of that which is featured in The Blind Side.
Struggling to overcome the pressures of a community that expects nothing short of success and triumphing over the temptations of the streets using football as a ticket to a brighter future are common themes interwoven throughout the series.
To watch an extended preview of the show, click here.
Among some of the better known names in professional football who formerly donned Jackrabbit jerseys are Mark Carrier, Willie McGinest, DeSean Jackson, Darnell Bing, Marcedes Lewis, Winston Justice and Pago Togafau. Several of these current and former NFL players said Poly is the quintessential subject matter for a TV reality series such as “4th and Forever.”
“It’s about time,” McGinest told ESPN Page 2. “Poly has been a powerhouse for years, dating back to the ’70s, as far as putting out talent.”
Justice, who currently plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, told the sports network that the school’s — and the community’s — atmosphere make it a common-sense choice for a reality-based series.
“I thought it’d be a pretty good reality show because it has a lot of drama,” Justice, a 2002 graduate who now plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, reportedly said. “The whole community has a whole bunch of drama.”
Some may find the show’s portrayal of the city of Long Beach as less than favorable, as the series contrasts the high school football program against a backdrop of rough-and-tumble, inner-city life fraught with gang banging, criminal activity and teenage parents (the show even touches on the fact that a number of Poly football players are gang members).
“It’s tough just because of the gangs and other stuff they have going on around,” McGinest told ESPN Page 2. “You’ve got to be able to deal with that growing up. It’s just a part of life. Sports is a big, big way to get out of there. If you go to Poly, you know you’ll have an opportunity.”