A portrait of an unrelenting rocker at 65, the documentary "Lemmy" (11:30 p.m., VH1, VH1 Classic and Palladia) reaches levels of poignance and even pathos. And it has some "Spinal Tap" moments of comedy as well.
Never married and rather proud of avoiding domesticity, Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister lives in a rent-controlled apartment near the Sunset Strip surrounded, if not entombed, by a lifetime of collectibles and trash.
He spends hours at a stretch playing a trivia video game at the rock-and-roll bar while milking Jack Daniels and Cokes.
A gruff-looking troll of a man with an gravelly delivery and a nearly incomprehensible Welsh accent, Lemmy maintains an unchanging style that is a grab-bag blend of greaser, biker, cowboy and showman. His influences are as disparate and deep as those of rock 'n' roll.
He has inspired generations of musicians and many are on hand here to sing his praises and jam with the godfather, if not the inventor, of heavy metal and thrash metal.
The film is crowded with interviews with musicians Dave Grohl, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Joan Jett, Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osborne, Slash, The Clash's Mick Jones, Joy Division/New Order's Peter Hook, IceT, David Navarro, Pulp's Jarvis Cocker, as well as actor/musician Billy Bob Thornton and professional wrestler Triple H.
All contend that he's not only a musical inspiration but a living embodiment of the rock-'n'-roll lifestyle. His ability to keep performing while maintaining a staggering appetite for sex, drugs, nightlife and gambling leave even these hard-livers astounded by his endurance, not to mention his survival.
For his part, Lemmy does not like to celebrate choices that took the lives of so many of his friends, including Jimi Hendrix, who was Lemmy's boss back when he was a roadie for the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
A veteran of several hard rock and psychedelic bands, who knew the Beatles and saw them play at the Cavern Club, Lemmy never succumbed to the glitz and glamour that made so many of his contemporaries so respectable.
He'll never be knighted like Mick Jagger or Sir Paul, but he's already got a title. "(Blank) Elvis and Keith Richards," says the Foo Fighters Dave Grohl. "Lemmy's the king of rock and roll."
Viewers get a chance to affect the outcome of the new cosmic series "Bar Karma" (10 p.m., Current TV). In each episode a character walks into a bar set at the end of the universe, a cosmic purgatory where they take stock of their pasts and decide their next step in a life of endless possibility.
Audience members are invited to a website ( www.current.com/studios ) where they can throw in their own two cents about the next step and even the music on the bar's jukebox. The 12-episode series starring William Sanderson ("Lost") was created by Will Wright (creator of the Sims and SimCity).
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