In the midst of the gun regulation debate, mental illness, fairly or unfairly, has become a focal point. So "Call Me Crazy: A Five Film" (8 tonight, Lifetime) arrives at a fortuitous time. As much about mental illness as it is about mental health, the five short films seek to offer understanding of the issue from different vantage points.

There's plenty of star power, in front and behind the cameras, to help make the points. (Jennifer Aniston is one of the executive producers) The first short, directed by Bryce Dallas Howard, introduces "Lucy" (Brittany Snow), a law student battling schizophrenia and losing, mostly because she can't accept that she has it. She ends up in an institution, where she makes a new friend (Jason Ritter) and gets encouragement from a psychotherapist (Octavia Spencer).

Next is the story of "Grace" (Sarah Hyland), a college-bound teen dealing with a mother (Melissa Leo) who has bipolar disorder. If you've read "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls, it will seem quite familiar.

"Allison" (Sofia Vassilieva) is the free-spirited younger sister of Lucy; in this chapter, Allison is bringing home her new boyfriend to meet her parents (Jean Smart and Richard Gilliland) on the same weekend Lucy returns home from inpatient treatment. Laura Dern directs.

In "Eddie," directed Bonnie Hunt, stars Mitch Rouse, a comedian with severe depression in a story told through the eyes of his wife (Lea Thompson). Dave Foley, Chelsea Handler and James Avery appear.

The Ashley Judd directed final chapter belongs to "Maggie" (Jennifer Hudson), a vet returning from war to her young son and her father (Ernie Hudson) who suffers from PTSD.

The emphasis here is on simply making clear that mental illness is treatable and that the people who live with it shouldn't be dismissed as less than human because of our fears or lack of understanding. Compassion is warranted. "Allison" explores the toll of living with someone with a mental illness; Lucy's character shows us that mental illness can be something you live with, not just suffer from.

It's not a contest but I'd say "Allison" is the most successful short. It's a nice mix of humor and drama; Vassilieva and the always good Smart add layers to their characters that make them feel real. Melissa Leo is also a standout as a mother who is delightful, funny, sad and frightening. You have to love Leo's lack of vanity; I mean, besides sometimes going without makeup, she wears animal print leggings.

"Call Me Crazy" is a mental illness primer; if you've encountered any of these conditions or even read about them, you won't be getting new information. But there's still a lot of confusion about what constitutes a mental condition and there's still fear mongering. Maybe some star power will help spark a more tempered response.

UNC-TV has announced changes to their Sunday schedule to accommodate a live broadcast of funeral services for George Beverly Shea, a gospel singer from Montreat who was a longtime associate of Billy Graham.
The funeral will air at 3 p.m.

Shea died on Tuesday at the age of 104.

UNC-TV will also broadcast two original documentary specials celebrating the life and work of Shea on Saturday, April 20. "The Wonder of it All," a documentary about Shea's life, will air 6:00 p.m., to be followed immediately at 6:50 p.m. by "George Beverly Shea and Friends," featuring musical performances by Shea and other gospel musicians and singers.

Regularly scheduled UNC-TV programs will be pre-empted by these special presentations.

Broadcast networks are scrapping parts of their previously scheduled TV lineups tonight to air news specials on the latest in the Boston Marathon bombing case.

Here's what we've seen so far (will update as more specials are announced):

-Instead of "Vegas," CBS will air an hour-long special at 9 p.m. with anchor Scott Pelley. "Vegas" will on Saturday instead. Pelly's 6:30 "CBS Evening News" broadcast will also be extended to one hour.

-NBC's "Rock Center with Brian Williams" at 10 p.m. will devote the entire hour to Boston events and air previously planned segments at a later date.

-ABC has "20/20" at 10 p.m., which is all Boston, and "Nightline" at 12:30 a.m. will also be devoted to Boston. Diane Sawyer's "ABC World News Tonight" broadcast will be extended to one hour, running 6:30 p.m. to 7:30.

And of course, expect cable news to be wall-to-wall Boston.

Note: Network broadcasts are subject to change due to breaking news events in Boston. Here's what we know so far about Boston news specials airing tonight.

Chasing Ice (8pm, National Geographic Channel) - An award-winning 90-minute documentary in which environmental reporter and former climate-change skeptic James Balog uses time-lapse techniques to document the rapidly changing Arctic landscape. The videos are the result of Balog's three-year mission to gather undeniable footage of the effects of global warming.

Nikita (8pm, CW) - Nikita is drugged and subjected to Amanda's mental-conditioning process. Meanwhile, Birkhoff and Sean attempt to save the women they love.

Happy Endings (8:30pm, ABC) - Max's former roommate, whose life he ruined, seeks revenge, but realizes that Max's life is so sad it's not worth wrecking. Max then sets out to get his act together with help from Jane. (Note: A new episode also airs at 8).

Vegas (9pm, CBS) - Katherine arrests Dixon after Violet accuses him of assault, while Lena finds the body of a gambler in a suite at the Savoy.

Grimm (9pm, NBC) - A volcano threatens to bury Portland in lava, while Adalind gains a new ally,

Shark Tank (9pm, ABC) - A self-described geek with an idea for made-to-order furniture, and an update on "Scrub Daddy" from Season 4.

Real Time with Bill Maher (10pm, HBO) - Dan Neil, a local automotive columnist who writes for the Wall Street Journal, will be among Maher's guests.

Showtime has confirmed that next season -- Season 8 -- will be the final one for "Dexter."

The series, starring Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter, has been Showtime's backbone since its debut in 2006. It won a Peabody Award and was nominated for 25 Emmy and 10 Golden Globe Awards.

Hall, who grew up in Raleigh, won a Golden Globe and a SAG award playing the "serial killer with a heart of gold."

"Dexter" has had its up-and-down periods, but last season was a return to greatness, with Dexter's step-sister Deb finally learning his true identity -- and making some surprising adjustments to that new reality.

Hall told Entertainment Weekly that he was happy for the show to get a proper wrap-up: “There has to be an end game. Once Deb found out, it felt like we were moving toward a place where the world as Dexter knew it would end.”

The final season of "Dexter" starts on Showtime on June 30.

Check out the sneak peek of Season 8 just released by Showtime.

Some local TV and radio stations did very well when the Edward R. Murrow Awards were announced today.

WNCN, also known as NBC-17, won the award for Best Newscast in our region for their program featuring the tracking of Hurricane Sandy and a special investigation on dangerous groundwater contamination in Wake Forest, and the failure of local officials to notify residents of the dangers. That report was by Charlotte Huffman, Penn Holderness and Dave Hattman.

WRAL won an award for Hard News reporting for their story on the recovery of Roanoke Rapids police officer John Taylor, who was shot five times during a traffic stop in 2010. The Taylor report was by Stacy Davis, who left WRAL last summer to become the public information officer for the town of Clayton. WRAL also won a Sports award for Jeff Gravley's interview with ousted UNC football coach Butch Davis.

In the radio category, WUNC-FM won four awards, including one for Overall Excellence. The other awards were a News Series award for their American Graduate series, a Sports award for a report on UNC's JV Basketball squad, and one for best Use of Sound/Video for covering a fracking hearing.

The region with North Carolina stations also includes Tennessee, South Carolina, Kentucky and West Virginia. Winners from each region will go on to compete for national honors. The awards have been given out by the Radio Television Digital News Association since 1971.

The Vampire Diaries (8pm, CW) - Damon and Stefan try helping Elena by going to the prom, but she has an outburst no one anticipated.

Which Way Is the Front Line From Here? (8pm, HBO) - Two days before the anniversary of the deaths of war photographers Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros, an N.C. State grad from Fayetteville, HBO debuts a documentary about Hetherington's final hours in Libya. The film is from Sebastian Junger, who co-directed the war documentary "Restrepo" with Hetherington. (Hetherington and Junger are pictured here, Hetherington on the right.) Adrienne reviews.

Parks and Recreation (9pm, NBC) - Two new episodes tonight. First, Leslie tries to get rid of laws that no longer make sense, while April and Ron get management training from Chris. At 9:30, Leslie wants to do something special to celebrate Jerry's retirement.

Project Runway (9pm, Lifetime) - In the first part of a two-part season finale, the final four designers go home to work on their collections, then get visits from mentor Tim Gunn before returning to New York to preview their lines to judges.

Hannibal (10pm, NBC) - Jack thinks Abigail might have helped her father -- a serial killer -- with his crimes. Hannibal encourages Abigail to return to Minnesota. Remember, "Scandal" is a rerun tonight, so ...

The Moment (10pm, USA) - A race car driver on the verge of giving up his dream trains with pro Brendan Gaughan for a chance to earn a spot as a NASCAR driver.

Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines (2am, UNC-TV) - DVR Alert: An Independent Lens documentary examining the evolution of Wonder Woman and other female superheroes, whose depictions through the decades have often mirrored societal anxieties about strong women. The film features interviews with Lynda Carter ("Wonder Woman"), Lindsay Wagner ("The Bionic Woman"), Gloria Steinem and many others.

Unless you're a veteran, your sense of war, and perhaps your attitude toward it, are shaped by the images captured by those committed souls known as combat journalists.

Standing tall (in both ways) among that group was British-born Tim Hetherington, the subject of "Which Way Is the Front Line From Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington" (8 tonight, HBO), directed by his friend, author Sebastian Junger.

At 40, Hetherington was killed, along with N.C. raised photographer Chris Hondros, on April 20, 2011 by mortar fire in Libya, while covering that country's civil war.

The film is straight forward, using video and still images from Hetherington's powerful body of work to tell his story, along with interviews with his parents, his girlfriend and his colleagues, as well as Hetherington's voice. We learn the journey Hetherington took to become a combat journalist and his work philosophy. He wasn't really shooting war, but the emotions, the themes embedded in that hostile environment. It was always about the humanity.

The exploration of the fatal trip to Libya -- which includes video of the moments just before both Hondros and Hetherington were killed -- tells you much about how combat journalists work, the risks they knowingly take, the nature of war and the unrecoverable mistakes that can occur.

Hetherington's work is beautiful; it's always amazing to see how spirit can be captured in a single image, how a photographer can see the moments we can't, even if they are often right in front of us. Hetherington's work overseas reinforced our universal humanity.

In that sense, although "Which Way Is The Front Line From Here?" celebrates Hetherington, it also celebrates Hondros and other photographers who do this courageous, powerful work.

North Carolina is getting plenty of exposure on "American Idol" this season.

2011 winner Scotty McCreery performed on "Idol" last week, and the show welcomes back 2003 runner-up Clay Aiken (left) and 2004 winner Fantasia Barrino tomorrow night.

Both Barrino and Aiken are scheduled to perform. Barrino has a new single out called "Lose to Win."

"American Idol" airs on Fox at 8 p.m. on Thursday.

Our "Dancing with the Stars" correspondent Lenni G has thoughts on the latest dancer sent home from the show.

Lenni G: Really fantastic opening to the show last night featuring pros and the troupe in an "outer space" routine choreographed by Mark and Derek. The staging was amazing as was the dancing.

We also had entertainment from The Band Perry, Selena Gomez and Kerli. Yep, that Kerli! And Kerli's hit song also got the benefit of some great choreo from one of the best choreo people around, the incomparable Stacy Tookey who we first met on "So You Think You Can Dance."

On to the results - Kellie and Derek, Zendaya and Val, Jacoby and Karina, Aly and Mark, Sean and Peta, and Andy and Sharna were declared safe, leaving Ingo and Kym, Victor and Lindsay, and D. L. and Cheryl in jeopardy.

After Ingo and Kym went to safety, Victor and Lindsay (again) and D. L. and Cheryl (first time) were in the bottom two. And then, somewhat surprisingly, D. L. and Cheryl were eliminated from the competition. Have to say that, though his "dancing" never really improved from the first week, his attitude certainly did. Super turnaround, my friend, and, glad "you had a ball."

I'm really looking forward to next week when we have the first team dances. Team captains, Kellie and Zendaya, will each choose three other couples and then each team will dance together to either a paso doble or a samba. And, since it's Stevie Wonder week, the music for the paso will be "Higher Ground," and the music for the samba will be "Superstition."

Clearly, next week's show is appointment television!

-Lenni G