The Weather Channel adds a movie night

The Weather Channel, already working to expand beyond rain reports and beach forecasts, has decided to start airing movies on Friday nights. The first selection is an obvious one: The Perfect Storm with George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg, coming Oct. 30. Later, expect to see the documentary March of the Penguins, the thriller Deep Blue Sea and the snow-bound horror flick Misery. Not sure yet where this idea hits on the Richter scale (is it the meteorological equivalent of MTV dumping music videos?), but the area's fertile if the network keeps steering in this direction. There are boatloads of disaster-porn choices, like Twister, Poseidon, Waterworld, The Day After Tomorrow and the upcoming 2012 (basically anything Roland Emmerich ever shoots). A little something for the kids: Ice Age, Ponyo and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Classics like Singin' in the Rain and The Wizard of Oz. The list is endless, especially when you count all those global-warming shockumentaries from the past few years. Depends on how far the Weather Channel wants to stretch the definition. If it's flexible (and let's face it, Deep Blue Sea is really about big-brained sharks), then I suggest Caddyshack to fill in any holes in the schedule. Moral of that story: Lightning and golf clubs do not mix. Now that's what the channel's faithful want to hear.

—Posted by T.L. Stanley