For Better or Werts : TV Worth Watching

TUBE TIP: The Spelling Bee

The hit documentary Spellbound brought into the mainstream what we cultists have known for years: Spelling bees are cool. The 2008 National Spelling Bee finals make their way into network prime time this Friday (8-10 p.m. ET on ABC), but you aren't some latecomer, so be sure to catch the preliminary rounds carried elsewhere.

The Washington, D.C., quarterfinals are covered online at espn360.com Thursday 2-5:30 p.m. ET. Then the semifinals move to cable TV, aired live Friday 11 a.m.-2 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Dare we hope to see 'em sweat in HD?

Bonus movie: Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne star in the related family film Akeelah and the Bee, about an underprivileged girl who discovers her own gift for spelling. Look for it On Demand on some cable systems, and on TMC The Movie Channel Saturday at 6 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. ET.

Watch the Spellbound trailer here.

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Diane Werts has been glued to the tube since she can remember, growing up in a household where the TV came on first thing in the morning and stayed on till bedtime and beyond. She worked for the USA Film Festival, then for The Dallas Morning News writing about everything from Shakespeare to macrame art to rock music (and has the hearing loss to prove it). She moved to New York's Newsday to edit their glossy TV magazine, then returned to writing about television, specializing in its stranger permutations. She's a past president of the Television Critics Association.

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