TV Reviews : ‘Best Hotel’ a Cinema Verite Look at Skid Row

“The Best Hotel on Skid Row,” an “America Undercover” segment airing on HBO at 9:30 tonight, is a simple, straightforward look at the life led by a few of the residents of downtown L.A.’s Madison Hotel.

In this case, simple and straightforward is by no means bland--”Hotel” is an engrossing, cinema verite study of an ignored other world, a shadow culture within our city limits.

The Madison, an ugly, blocky building on the outside, features small, fairly clean rooms for $8.20 a night. The hotel is an oasis for some, a last stop before the almost inevitable fall to the streets for others. As poet Charles Bukowski--whose gravelly voice and streetwise air makes him a perfect narrator for this slice of grit--says at one point: “You can have a room for a day . . . or a lifetime.”

Bukowski’s narration sets the tone--and sets up the interviews with the tenants, all identified with their name and room number. There’s hooker and heroin addict Becky, Gary the lonely day laborer, the lovesick John and the less-than-thrilled object of his affection, Debbie. We see Becky working the street and Gary on a pick-up job as a truck swamper, but mostly we see the residents, drifters all, sitting in their rooms, with their 25-cents-per-15-minutes TVs droning on in the background.

There is little relief beyond the comfort they sometimes give each other; all yearn for companionship to ease their pain.

One caveat: “Hotel” is skillfully done but one man’s cinema verite can be another’s shallow voyeurism. “Hotel” feeds off of its subjects at the same time it celebrates them.

‘On Fire’: Solid Primer on Surviving One

“On Fire: A Family Guide to Fire Safety,” airing at 10:30 tonight on KCET Channel 28, finds Henry Johnson, a fire and safety specialist in the Los Angeles Fire Department, doing for fires what he did for earthquakes in last year’s “Surviving the Big One”: delivering an entertaining, comprehensive primer on how to cope with a disaster.

Johnson’s low-key style is perfect for this type of documentary, which could easily become a dry lecture. Although he’s more restrained than he was in “Big One,” writer-narrator-host Johnson delivers a great deal of valuable information. (Valuable information in a poor time slot: Why did KCET schedule this so late at night?)

And, as he did in “Big One,” Johnson repeatedly stresses that the key to survival lies in proper preparation. “On Fire” examines coping at three different locations: home, work, travel. The show uses fire re-creations to make dramatic points. Less-dramatic, but equally necessary, are the home, office and hotel walk-throughs--just when you think you’ve heard all this before, Johnson will mention some fact or tip that rings true for your individual situation.

Although choppy at times, “On Fire” is a solid guide to preventing, controlling and surviving a fire. It’s not a pretty topic but it is a must-see--and might just help you and your family survive a nightmare.