We watched Janet Jackson grow up in front of our eyes, but how well do we know her? Tonight and tomorrow at 8p on Lifetime, she is going to tell us the truth in a 4-hour documentary.
The doc starts off with her visiting the tiny home that she grew up in, in Gary, Indiana, with her parents and eight siblings. Then she takes us back to those days and what it was like being the youngest member of a hugely successful musical family.
It wasn’t her ambition to be a singer; it was her dad’s for her after he heard her sing. The late Joe Jackson knew she was going to be as big Michael if not bigger. So, he forced her to give up her goals and become the latest entertainer in the family.
She immediately became part of her brothers’ act in Vegas, along with starring TV shows like Good Times and Fame. She didn’t want to do the latter, but her father forced her to do it.
Janet wanted control of her life, so she secretly married James DeBarge. She was so innocent that she didn’t know that he was a drug addict. When it became too much, she went home.
With her newfound strength, she told her dad he was fired. She started to record her music the way she wanted to and become a star in her own right.
Even though she was no longer with her family, she was not alone. She secretly got married for a second time to René Elizondo Jr. And he was just what she needed at that time to launch her career into superstardom. And that is where tonight’s story ends.
Along with all of that, Janet talks about her dad and if he was abusive. She reveals the moment when things changed between her and Michael. What it was like living in his shadow. How she wanted the normal life, she never got because her father didn’t let her have it. She also finally answers if she and her first husband had a secret baby together that her sister raised. And so much more.
We always thought of Janet as private, but this shows how private she really is. However, she was ready to open up. And I hope by doing so, a huge burden is lifted off of her shoulders.
Janet Jackson is one of the most well-known people in the world, but we don’t know much about the woman that has been in the spotlight since she was a little girl.
That is all going to change on January 28th when Lifetime and A&E air a two-night, four-hour documentary about Janet. As she says, “This is my story told by me. Not through someone else’s eyes.”
We will learn things about her we never knew, and she will clear up the rumors we have all wondered about, like did she have a secret baby and what happened during her infamous Super Bowl performance.
Since the doc is being produced by her and Randy Jackson, you know it is her truth. Because of that, I can’t wait to learn more about the women we know but don’t know.
Lifetime recently announced that they were bringing back Highway to Heaven as several telemovies starring Jill Scott. Today, they released the trailer for the first movie, and I am crying like Barry Watson is during it.
It is just as wholesome and cheesy as the original. Because of that, I can’t wait to watch it on November 6th. Will you be watching?
Lifetime announced today that they will be doing movie specials as a sequel to the Highway to Heaven series. Jill Scott will play the angel, and Barry Watson will play a junior high school principal who helps her out.
“The original Highway to Heaven was appointment viewing for millions and in a time when we need those messages of hope the most, we are excited to bring back the iconic series in a new way,” said Tanya Lopez, Executive Vice President, Scripted Programming, Lifetime & LMN. “Having worked with Jill previously for some of Lifetime’s most celebrated movies, we know she is the perfect actor to bring her passion and brilliance to this role. I just love her…Jill amplifies everything she touches in ways that make her pop off the screen. And the addition of Barry was just icing on the cake. I believe we have assembled a dynamic new duo with both Jill and Barry at the helm.”
There is no f*cking way you could get me to do this. No way in hell. I believe the original is cursed because both Michael Landon and Victor French died young from short battles with cancer. French died in 1988, three months after being diagnosed with lung cancer. Landon died in 1991, less than three months after being told he had pancreatic cancer. I believe if you do a project that is too close to the reality of the afterlife, it will kill you. There was Poltergeist, Exorcist, Ghost, and Highway to Heaven, to name a few.
Since so many of us are getting the vaccine, Lifetime is giving us a Christmas present early. Today they announced that they have a Christmas movie coming out this year with several cast members from a show we grew up on, along with some other sitcom legends.
Blending Christmas stars Barry Williams (Greg), Christopher Knight (Peter), Mike Lookinland (Bobby), Susan Olsen (Cindy), and Robbie Rist (Cousin Oliver). Yes, for all of us who wondered what happened to Cousin Oliver, we will find out in a few months! That is enough reason to tune in.
If the Bradys are not enough for you, then Greg Evigan, one of My Two Dads, is on it, along with Beth Broderick, who is one of Sabrina the Teenage Witch’s aunts. They will be joined by Telma Hopkins, who was bosom buddies with the Bosom Buddies and Nell on Gimme A Break.
For Gen Xers, this is like getting a White Christmas on December 25th in Los Angeles or Miami.
What is the telemovie about? “The holiday season is in full swing when Emma (Haylie Duff) learns that the resort where she used to spend Christmases with her family is being redeveloped. Her boyfriend Liam (Aaron O’Connell), hatches a plan to bring her to the resort one last time to propose! He secretly invites both their families to join them and Emma is delighted when she arrives to find the whole family bunch there. Of course, no holiday gathering is complete without drama, and soon the families are bickering over every detail! The added stress from trying to blend the two families eventually takes a toll on Emma and Liam, who start questioning their own relationship. Now just days before Christmas, the two families realize that they’re going to have to work together in order to reunite Emma and Liam!”
So this what it means when we sing Joy to World during the Holiday Season because I am feeling it now!
