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- PBS Kicks Off the New Year With First-Rate American History Programming
PBS Kicks Off the New Year With First-Rate American History Programming
- By Best boy
- Published 12/6/2007
- Television
- Unrated
PBS Kicks Off the New Year With First-Rate American History Programming
ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- PBS, the leader in television programming about American history, kicks off 2008 with a
wide-ranging lineup of programs that explore our nation's past. PBS delves
into the stories of Americans' ancestors with two high-profile series:
AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2, featuring Henry Louis Gates Jr., who returns to PBS to lead a group of famous African Americans on a journey to discover their ancestry,
and THE JEWISH AMERICANS, which traces the history of a tiny minority as it made its way into the American mainstream. With these programs and an in-depth examination of America's PIONEERS OF TELEVISION, PBS helps viewers to understand the individuals and moments that define American history.
In addition to the great American history programming debuting in early
2008, including a new season of AMERICAN EXPERIENCE -- television's
most-watched history series -- and a profile of one of the country's most
controversial presidents in ANDREW JACKSON: GOOD, EVIL AND THE PRESIDENCY,
PBS provides invaluable online materials for educators. As always, PBS
Teachers (pbs.org/teachers) provide teachers with lesson plans, teaching
activities, on-demand video assets and interactive games and simulations
related to these new programs about American history and other PBS
programming.
Broadcast Premieres:
WORDS AND MUSIC BY JERRY HERMAN
Tuesday, January 1, 2008, 9:30-11:00 p.m. ET
This special chronicles the life and career of one of the American
musical theater's iconic figures: the composer and lyricist of the smash
hit shows Hello, Dolly!, Mame and La Cage aux Folles. Jerry Herman and an
all-star cast (including Angela Lansbury, Carol Channing and Michael
Feinstein, among others) chart his rise from witty, topical off-Broadway
revues in the 1950s to his first Broadway triumphs in the 1960s -- Milk and
Honey, followed by the record-breaking Dolly and then Mame -- through the
1970s (Dear World, Mack & Mabel, The Grand Tour) to his 1983 hit, La Cage
aux Folles, which made social and political history. The program features
never-before-seen stills and archival footage from the original shows --
and a great Jerry Herman score.
PIONEERS OF TELEVISION
Wednesdays, January 2-23, 2008, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET
PIONEERS OF TELEVISION, a four-part documentary series, melds
compelling new HD interviews with irresistible archival clips to offer a
fresh take on television's first stars. Each of the four one-hour episodes
focuses on a different genre: sitcoms, late-night, variety and game shows.
ANDREW JACKSON: GOOD, EVIL AND THE PRESIDENCY
Wednesday, January 2, 2008, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET
A biography of America's seventh president, ANDREW JACKSON: GOOD, EVIL
AND THE PRESIDENCY explores whether Americans should celebrate Jackson or
apologize for him. Viewers discover that Jackson fought in the
Revolutionary War when he was 13 years old and that he used the skills
learned in battle to kill a man over a gambling debt; that Jackson led the
American army to the most surprising victory in its history in the Battle
of New Orleans, but that he also launched an unauthorized invasion of
Florida; that Jackson was the first great champion of the common white man
and owned more than a hundred black Americans; that Jackson dramatically
expanded the United States and did so by brutally wresting vast regions of
the south from Native Americans; that Jackson, in one of the boldest
political strokes in history, founded the Democratic Party, yet was viewed
by his enemies as an American Napoleon. Martin Sheen narrates.
THE JEWISH AMERICANS
Wednesdays, January 9-23, 2008, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET
This three-part series examines the struggle of a tiny minority to make
its way into the American mainstream. While the story of Jewish life in
America is emblematic of the American immigrant story, it is also a unique
story of ongoing discrimination and stereotyping coupled with some of the
most remarkable accomplishments in American history, the arts, commerce,
science and academe.
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE "Oswald's Ghost"
Monday, January 14, 2008, 9:00-10:30 p.m. ET
The assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas on November 22, 1963,
left a psychic wound on America that remains today. Few Americans then or
now accept that a lone, inconsequential gunman could bring down a president
and alter history. That event gave rise to a culture of conspiracy that
points to sinister forces at work in the shadows. This film features
interviews with authors Norman Mailer and Edward J. Epstein, politician
Gary Hart, news anchor Dan Rather, activist Tom Hayden, attorney Mark Lane
and others. Drawing upon these interviews and rarely seen archival footage,
"Oswald's Ghost" takes a fresh look at Kennedy's assassination, the
public's reaction to the tragedy and the government investigations that led
to a widespread loss of trust in the institutions that govern American
society. http://www.pbs.org/amex
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE "The Lobotomist"
Monday, January 21, 2008, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET
The lobotomy was hailed by The New York Times as a "surgery of the
soul" and "history making," a groundbreaking medical procedure that
promised hope to the most distressed families and desolate mentally ill
patients. Championed by a young and ambitious neurologist named Walter J.
Freeman, what began as an operation of last resort was soon being performed
at some 50 state asylums, often with devastating results. Only a decade
after his rise to fame, Freeman was decried as a moral monster and the
lobotomy as one of the most barbaric mistakes of modern medicine. Through
interviews with medical historians, psychiatrists who worked with Freeman
and the desperate families who sought his help, this program tells the
gripping tale of medical intervention gone awry. Campbell Scott narrates.
http://www.pbs.org/amex
AMERICAN IDEALIST: THE STORY OF SARGENT SHRIVER
Monday, January 21, 2008, 10:00-11:30 p.m. ET
This is a biographical documentary about Robert Sargent Shriver, the
founder of the Peace Corps, VISTA, Community Action, Head Start, Legal
Services for the Poor, Youth Corps, Job Corps and more. All but forgotten
today, Shriver initiated social programs during the 1960s that helped shape
an era that dared millions of young Americans to live out their ideals.
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE "Buffalo Bill"
Monday, January 28, 2008, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET
William "Buffalo Bill" Cody's legendary exploits helped create the myth
of the American West -- one that endures today. Born in an Iowa log cabin
in 1846, he fought Indians, worked as a Pony Express rider and earned his
nickname while hunting buffalo to feed the construction crews of the Kansas
Pacific Railroad. After the Civil War, he scouted for the U.S. Army along
America's vast western frontier. In 1883, just as that frontier was
disappearing, he transformed himself into a master showman, creating and
starring in a world-famous traveling show that brought the "real" Wild West
to life. Part circus, part history, "Buffalo Bill's Wild West" toured for
three decades, playing to enthusiastic crowds across the United States and
Europe. Though Cody made a fortune from the show's success, he was nearly
bankrupt when he died in 1917. This program draws upon rich archival
materials of the period to explore the man behind the legend, revealing the
complexity of Buffalo Bill's extraordinary life. Richard Ben Cramer
narrates. http://www.pbs.org/amex
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE "Grand Central"
Monday, February 4, 2008, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET
On the morning of January 8, 1902, a southbound commuter train
traveling through a smoky, congested tunnel in New York City's Grand
Central Depot slammed into the rear of another train, instantly killing 17
people and injuring 38. Screams filled the darkened tunnel as firemen
arrived on the scene to search for survivors. The tragedy in New York that
day, and a self-taught engineer's innovative response to the crisis that
ensued, ultimately gave birth to one of America's greatest architectural
and technological monuments: Grand Central Terminal. This program recounts
the dramatic story of the famous landmark's construction. When Grand
Central Terminal opened on February 12, 1913, the press heralded it as the
greatest railway terminal in the world. By 1947, more than 65 million
people -- the equivalent of 40 percent of the population of the United
States -- had traveled through the station. Today, it remains one of New
York's and America's most famous spaces and a living monument to the
nation's great railway age. http://www.pbs.org/amex
AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2
Wednesdays, February 6-13, 2008, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET
The critically acclaimed PBS broadcasts AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES (2006)
and OPRAH'S ROOTS (2007) shone a national spotlight on the powerful process
of discovering one's family history. In February 2008, Harvard scholar
Henry Louis Gates Jr. will guide an all-new group -- poet Maya Angelou,
actor Morgan Freeman, theologian Peter Gomes, publisher Linda Johnson Rice,
athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee, radio host Tom Joyner and rock 'n' roll
legend Tina Turner -- on a journey to discover their ancestry in AFRICAN
AMERICAN LIVES 2. The new four-part series will draw on DNA analysis,
genealogical research and family oral tradition to trace the lineages of
the participants down through U.S. history and back to Africa.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/
INDEPENDENT LENS "Banished"
Tuesday, February 19, 2008, 10:00-11:30 p.m. ET (check local listings)
This is the story of three counties that forcefully banished
African-American families from their towns 100 years ago - and the
descendents who return to learn a shocking history. Co-production of
ITVS in association with NBPC. By Marco Williams.
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens
Encore Presentations:
AMERICAN MASTERS "Bob Newhart: Unbuttoned" (Repeat)
Tuesday, January 1, 2008, 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET
In the late 1950s, a shy Chicago accountant who was trying to pick up
some extra cash began doing local radio sketches. By 1960, The Button-Down
Mind -- recorded before he even stepped onto the stand-up circuit -- hit
gold as Album of the Year and won a Grammy for Best New Artist. Engaging
the average guy in all of us, Bland Bob's deadpan and mildly nervous humor,
exemplified in "The Driving Instructor," helped spearhead the explosion in
American comedy -- at clubs, on records and television variety shows -- and
by permanently pushing the boundaries of the sitcom genre. "The Bob Newhart
Show" and, later, "Newhart," portraying the quintessential sane man caught
in a world of zany characters gone mad, were among the most popular viewing
staples throughout the 70s and 80s. Newhart still performs up to 40
stand-up dates and was recognized with a 2004 Emmy nomination for his first
dramatic role on "ER." With a legacy particularly familiar today in the
routines of Jerry Seinfeld and Ellen DeGeneres, his appeal was always
seminal: Richard Pryor once bragged, "The first album I ever stole was Bob
Newhart's!" http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters
OPRAH'S ROOTS: AN AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES SPECIAL (Repeat)
Thursday, January 3, 2008, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET
When AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES premiered on PBS in February 2006, the
series was hailed by The New York Times as "the most exciting and stirring
documentary on any subject to appear on television in a long time."
Audiences and critics were especially drawn to the powerfully moving
discussions between Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., series host and
executive producer, and TV pioneer and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey, which
revealed the struggles and accomplishments of Winfrey's ancestors. Now,
combining new genealogical and historical research with state-of-the-art
DNA analysis, Winfrey and Professor Gates continue their dramatic and
illuminating quest to discover a fuller history of Winfrey's ancestry.
SLAVERY AND THE MAKING OF AMERICA (Repeat)
Fridays, January 11-February 1, 2008, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET
This groundbreaking series chronicles the institution of American
slavery from its origins in 1619 -- when English settlers in Virginia
purchased 20 Africans from Dutch traders -- through the arrival of the
first 11 slaves in the northern colonies (in Dutch New Amsterdam), the
American Revolution, the Civil War, the adoption of the 13th Amendment and
Reconstruction. With such unprecedented breadth come entirely new
perspectives on and facts about slavery. These new perspectives challenge
many long-held notions (such as the idea that slavery was strictly a
southern institution; it was, in fact, a national institution) and
highlight the contradictions of a country that was founded on the principle
of "liberty and justice for all" but embraced slavery. Morgan Freeman
narrates. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/
THE MARCH OF THE BONUS ARMY (Repeat)
Monday, January 14, 2008, 10:30-11:00 p.m. ET
In 1932, a remarkable event occurred in Washington, DC. In the darkest
days of the Depression, thousands of unemployed World War I veterans
marched to the capital city, looking to Congress for an advance on the
bonus compensation promised to them years earlier. After camping and
lobbying throughout Washington for two months, the veterans were driven out
by force, as rising military figures General Douglas MacArthur, Major
Dwight Eisenhower and Major George Patton cleared out the "Bonus Army" and
burned their camps. By the time the clash was over, two marchers were dead,
thousands were tear-gassed and countless homeless veterans, many with
families, were driven violently from the capital. The Bonus Army incident
had become a political liability for President Herbert Hoover. Still, it
laid the groundwork for later social legislation, including the
all-important GI Bill for WWII veterans.
AMERICAN MASTERS "Marilyn Monroe: Still Life" (Repeat)
Wednesday, January 30, 2008, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET
There are the movie roles, but it is the still images -- the iconic
face, the expressions and poses -- that make up our collective memory of
Monroe. She was, arguably, the most photographed person ever. This program
tells her story through such artists as Richard Avedon and Henri
Cartier-Bresson, Inge Morath and Andy Warhol -- her relationship with their
cameras produced an enduring body of work that still dazzles and moves us,
evoking both desire and pathos. These photographs are an ageless testament
to her grace, guts and sexiness -- her humor and vulnerability. She
understood their power and she exploited it. She created, and curated, her
own image -- lips puckered to the lens, she invited the viewer to kiss her
back. She would have turned 80 in 2006. She died more than 40 years ago,
but Marilyn persists in her image.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/monroe_m.html
THE MORMONS (Repeat)
Monday-Tuesday, February 11-12, 2008, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of America's
fastest growing religions, and its influence circles the globe. The church
has more than 12 million members today and more than half of them live
outside the U.S. Yet the birth of Mormonism and its history is one of
America's great neglected narratives. This four-hour documentary brings
together FRONTLINE and AMERICAN EXPERIENCE in their first co-production to
provide a searching portrait of this fascinating but often misunderstood
religion. Produced by award-winning filmmaker Helen Whitney ("Faith and
Doubt at Ground Zero," "John Paul II: The Millennial Pope"), the film
explores the richness, the complexities and the controversies of the
Mormons' story as told through interviews with leaders and members of the
church, with leading writers and historians and with supporters and critics
of the Mormon faith. http://www.pbs.org/mormons/
About PBS
PBS is a media enterprise that serves 355 public noncommercial
television stations and reaches nearly 73 million people each week through
on-air and online content. Bringing diverse viewpoints to television and
the Internet, PBS provides high-quality documentary and dramatic
entertainment, and consistently dominates the most prestigious award
competitions. PBS is a leading provider of digital learning content for
pre-K-12 educators, and offers a broad array of other educational services.
PBS' premier kids' TV programming and Web site, PBS KIDS Online
(http://www.pbskids.org), continue to be parents' and teachers' most trusted
learning environments for children. More information about PBS is available
at http://www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org Web sites on the Internet.
Source link
wide-ranging lineup of programs that explore our nation's past. PBS delves
into the stories of Americans' ancestors with two high-profile series:
AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2, featuring Henry Louis Gates Jr., who returns to PBS to lead a group of famous African Americans on a journey to discover their ancestry,
and THE JEWISH AMERICANS, which traces the history of a tiny minority as it made its way into the American mainstream. With these programs and an in-depth examination of America's PIONEERS OF TELEVISION, PBS helps viewers to understand the individuals and moments that define American history.
In addition to the great American history programming debuting in early
2008, including a new season of AMERICAN EXPERIENCE -- television's
most-watched history series -- and a profile of one of the country's most
controversial presidents in ANDREW JACKSON: GOOD, EVIL AND THE PRESIDENCY,
PBS provides invaluable online materials for educators. As always, PBS
Teachers (pbs.org/teachers) provide teachers with lesson plans, teaching
activities, on-demand video assets and interactive games and simulations
related to these new programs about American history and other PBS
programming.
Broadcast Premieres:
WORDS AND MUSIC BY JERRY HERMAN
Tuesday, January 1, 2008, 9:30-11:00 p.m. ET
This special chronicles the life and career of one of the American
musical theater's iconic figures: the composer and lyricist of the smash
hit shows Hello, Dolly!, Mame and La Cage aux Folles. Jerry Herman and an
all-star cast (including Angela Lansbury, Carol Channing and Michael
Feinstein, among others) chart his rise from witty, topical off-Broadway
revues in the 1950s to his first Broadway triumphs in the 1960s -- Milk and
Honey, followed by the record-breaking Dolly and then Mame -- through the
1970s (Dear World, Mack & Mabel, The Grand Tour) to his 1983 hit, La Cage
aux Folles, which made social and political history. The program features
never-before-seen stills and archival footage from the original shows --
and a great Jerry Herman score.
PIONEERS OF TELEVISION
Wednesdays, January 2-23, 2008, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET
PIONEERS OF TELEVISION, a four-part documentary series, melds
compelling new HD interviews with irresistible archival clips to offer a
fresh take on television's first stars. Each of the four one-hour episodes
focuses on a different genre: sitcoms, late-night, variety and game shows.
ANDREW JACKSON: GOOD, EVIL AND THE PRESIDENCY
Wednesday, January 2, 2008, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET
A biography of America's seventh president, ANDREW JACKSON: GOOD, EVIL
AND THE PRESIDENCY explores whether Americans should celebrate Jackson or
apologize for him. Viewers discover that Jackson fought in the
Revolutionary War when he was 13 years old and that he used the skills
learned in battle to kill a man over a gambling debt; that Jackson led the
American army to the most surprising victory in its history in the Battle
of New Orleans, but that he also launched an unauthorized invasion of
Florida; that Jackson was the first great champion of the common white man
and owned more than a hundred black Americans; that Jackson dramatically
expanded the United States and did so by brutally wresting vast regions of
the south from Native Americans; that Jackson, in one of the boldest
political strokes in history, founded the Democratic Party, yet was viewed
by his enemies as an American Napoleon. Martin Sheen narrates.
THE JEWISH AMERICANS
Wednesdays, January 9-23, 2008, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET
This three-part series examines the struggle of a tiny minority to make
its way into the American mainstream. While the story of Jewish life in
America is emblematic of the American immigrant story, it is also a unique
story of ongoing discrimination and stereotyping coupled with some of the
most remarkable accomplishments in American history, the arts, commerce,
science and academe.
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE "Oswald's Ghost"
Monday, January 14, 2008, 9:00-10:30 p.m. ET
The assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas on November 22, 1963,
left a psychic wound on America that remains today. Few Americans then or
now accept that a lone, inconsequential gunman could bring down a president
and alter history. That event gave rise to a culture of conspiracy that
points to sinister forces at work in the shadows. This film features
interviews with authors Norman Mailer and Edward J. Epstein, politician
Gary Hart, news anchor Dan Rather, activist Tom Hayden, attorney Mark Lane
and others. Drawing upon these interviews and rarely seen archival footage,
"Oswald's Ghost" takes a fresh look at Kennedy's assassination, the
public's reaction to the tragedy and the government investigations that led
to a widespread loss of trust in the institutions that govern American
society. http://www.pbs.org/amex
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE "The Lobotomist"
Monday, January 21, 2008, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET
The lobotomy was hailed by The New York Times as a "surgery of the
soul" and "history making," a groundbreaking medical procedure that
promised hope to the most distressed families and desolate mentally ill
patients. Championed by a young and ambitious neurologist named Walter J.
Freeman, what began as an operation of last resort was soon being performed
at some 50 state asylums, often with devastating results. Only a decade
after his rise to fame, Freeman was decried as a moral monster and the
lobotomy as one of the most barbaric mistakes of modern medicine. Through
interviews with medical historians, psychiatrists who worked with Freeman
and the desperate families who sought his help, this program tells the
gripping tale of medical intervention gone awry. Campbell Scott narrates.
http://www.pbs.org/amex
AMERICAN IDEALIST: THE STORY OF SARGENT SHRIVER
Monday, January 21, 2008, 10:00-11:30 p.m. ET
This is a biographical documentary about Robert Sargent Shriver, the
founder of the Peace Corps, VISTA, Community Action, Head Start, Legal
Services for the Poor, Youth Corps, Job Corps and more. All but forgotten
today, Shriver initiated social programs during the 1960s that helped shape
an era that dared millions of young Americans to live out their ideals.
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE "Buffalo Bill"
Monday, January 28, 2008, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET
William "Buffalo Bill" Cody's legendary exploits helped create the myth
of the American West -- one that endures today. Born in an Iowa log cabin
in 1846, he fought Indians, worked as a Pony Express rider and earned his
nickname while hunting buffalo to feed the construction crews of the Kansas
Pacific Railroad. After the Civil War, he scouted for the U.S. Army along
America's vast western frontier. In 1883, just as that frontier was
disappearing, he transformed himself into a master showman, creating and
starring in a world-famous traveling show that brought the "real" Wild West
to life. Part circus, part history, "Buffalo Bill's Wild West" toured for
three decades, playing to enthusiastic crowds across the United States and
Europe. Though Cody made a fortune from the show's success, he was nearly
bankrupt when he died in 1917. This program draws upon rich archival
materials of the period to explore the man behind the legend, revealing the
complexity of Buffalo Bill's extraordinary life. Richard Ben Cramer
narrates. http://www.pbs.org/amex
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE "Grand Central"
Monday, February 4, 2008, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET
On the morning of January 8, 1902, a southbound commuter train
traveling through a smoky, congested tunnel in New York City's Grand
Central Depot slammed into the rear of another train, instantly killing 17
people and injuring 38. Screams filled the darkened tunnel as firemen
arrived on the scene to search for survivors. The tragedy in New York that
day, and a self-taught engineer's innovative response to the crisis that
ensued, ultimately gave birth to one of America's greatest architectural
and technological monuments: Grand Central Terminal. This program recounts
the dramatic story of the famous landmark's construction. When Grand
Central Terminal opened on February 12, 1913, the press heralded it as the
greatest railway terminal in the world. By 1947, more than 65 million
people -- the equivalent of 40 percent of the population of the United
States -- had traveled through the station. Today, it remains one of New
York's and America's most famous spaces and a living monument to the
nation's great railway age. http://www.pbs.org/amex
AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2
Wednesdays, February 6-13, 2008, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET
The critically acclaimed PBS broadcasts AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES (2006)
and OPRAH'S ROOTS (2007) shone a national spotlight on the powerful process
of discovering one's family history. In February 2008, Harvard scholar
Henry Louis Gates Jr. will guide an all-new group -- poet Maya Angelou,
actor Morgan Freeman, theologian Peter Gomes, publisher Linda Johnson Rice,
athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee, radio host Tom Joyner and rock 'n' roll
legend Tina Turner -- on a journey to discover their ancestry in AFRICAN
AMERICAN LIVES 2. The new four-part series will draw on DNA analysis,
genealogical research and family oral tradition to trace the lineages of
the participants down through U.S. history and back to Africa.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/
INDEPENDENT LENS "Banished"
Tuesday, February 19, 2008, 10:00-11:30 p.m. ET (check local listings)
This is the story of three counties that forcefully banished
African-American families from their towns 100 years ago - and the
descendents who return to learn a shocking history. Co-production of
ITVS in association with NBPC. By Marco Williams.
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens
Encore Presentations:
AMERICAN MASTERS "Bob Newhart: Unbuttoned" (Repeat)
Tuesday, January 1, 2008, 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET
In the late 1950s, a shy Chicago accountant who was trying to pick up
some extra cash began doing local radio sketches. By 1960, The Button-Down
Mind -- recorded before he even stepped onto the stand-up circuit -- hit
gold as Album of the Year and won a Grammy for Best New Artist. Engaging
the average guy in all of us, Bland Bob's deadpan and mildly nervous humor,
exemplified in "The Driving Instructor," helped spearhead the explosion in
American comedy -- at clubs, on records and television variety shows -- and
by permanently pushing the boundaries of the sitcom genre. "The Bob Newhart
Show" and, later, "Newhart," portraying the quintessential sane man caught
in a world of zany characters gone mad, were among the most popular viewing
staples throughout the 70s and 80s. Newhart still performs up to 40
stand-up dates and was recognized with a 2004 Emmy nomination for his first
dramatic role on "ER." With a legacy particularly familiar today in the
routines of Jerry Seinfeld and Ellen DeGeneres, his appeal was always
seminal: Richard Pryor once bragged, "The first album I ever stole was Bob
Newhart's!" http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters
OPRAH'S ROOTS: AN AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES SPECIAL (Repeat)
Thursday, January 3, 2008, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET
When AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES premiered on PBS in February 2006, the
series was hailed by The New York Times as "the most exciting and stirring
documentary on any subject to appear on television in a long time."
Audiences and critics were especially drawn to the powerfully moving
discussions between Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., series host and
executive producer, and TV pioneer and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey, which
revealed the struggles and accomplishments of Winfrey's ancestors. Now,
combining new genealogical and historical research with state-of-the-art
DNA analysis, Winfrey and Professor Gates continue their dramatic and
illuminating quest to discover a fuller history of Winfrey's ancestry.
SLAVERY AND THE MAKING OF AMERICA (Repeat)
Fridays, January 11-February 1, 2008, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET
This groundbreaking series chronicles the institution of American
slavery from its origins in 1619 -- when English settlers in Virginia
purchased 20 Africans from Dutch traders -- through the arrival of the
first 11 slaves in the northern colonies (in Dutch New Amsterdam), the
American Revolution, the Civil War, the adoption of the 13th Amendment and
Reconstruction. With such unprecedented breadth come entirely new
perspectives on and facts about slavery. These new perspectives challenge
many long-held notions (such as the idea that slavery was strictly a
southern institution; it was, in fact, a national institution) and
highlight the contradictions of a country that was founded on the principle
of "liberty and justice for all" but embraced slavery. Morgan Freeman
narrates. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/
THE MARCH OF THE BONUS ARMY (Repeat)
Monday, January 14, 2008, 10:30-11:00 p.m. ET
In 1932, a remarkable event occurred in Washington, DC. In the darkest
days of the Depression, thousands of unemployed World War I veterans
marched to the capital city, looking to Congress for an advance on the
bonus compensation promised to them years earlier. After camping and
lobbying throughout Washington for two months, the veterans were driven out
by force, as rising military figures General Douglas MacArthur, Major
Dwight Eisenhower and Major George Patton cleared out the "Bonus Army" and
burned their camps. By the time the clash was over, two marchers were dead,
thousands were tear-gassed and countless homeless veterans, many with
families, were driven violently from the capital. The Bonus Army incident
had become a political liability for President Herbert Hoover. Still, it
laid the groundwork for later social legislation, including the
all-important GI Bill for WWII veterans.
AMERICAN MASTERS "Marilyn Monroe: Still Life" (Repeat)
Wednesday, January 30, 2008, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET
There are the movie roles, but it is the still images -- the iconic
face, the expressions and poses -- that make up our collective memory of
Monroe. She was, arguably, the most photographed person ever. This program
tells her story through such artists as Richard Avedon and Henri
Cartier-Bresson, Inge Morath and Andy Warhol -- her relationship with their
cameras produced an enduring body of work that still dazzles and moves us,
evoking both desire and pathos. These photographs are an ageless testament
to her grace, guts and sexiness -- her humor and vulnerability. She
understood their power and she exploited it. She created, and curated, her
own image -- lips puckered to the lens, she invited the viewer to kiss her
back. She would have turned 80 in 2006. She died more than 40 years ago,
but Marilyn persists in her image.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/monroe_m.html
THE MORMONS (Repeat)
Monday-Tuesday, February 11-12, 2008, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of America's
fastest growing religions, and its influence circles the globe. The church
has more than 12 million members today and more than half of them live
outside the U.S. Yet the birth of Mormonism and its history is one of
America's great neglected narratives. This four-hour documentary brings
together FRONTLINE and AMERICAN EXPERIENCE in their first co-production to
provide a searching portrait of this fascinating but often misunderstood
religion. Produced by award-winning filmmaker Helen Whitney ("Faith and
Doubt at Ground Zero," "John Paul II: The Millennial Pope"), the film
explores the richness, the complexities and the controversies of the
Mormons' story as told through interviews with leaders and members of the
church, with leading writers and historians and with supporters and critics
of the Mormon faith. http://www.pbs.org/mormons/
About PBS
PBS is a media enterprise that serves 355 public noncommercial
television stations and reaches nearly 73 million people each week through
on-air and online content. Bringing diverse viewpoints to television and
the Internet, PBS provides high-quality documentary and dramatic
entertainment, and consistently dominates the most prestigious award
competitions. PBS is a leading provider of digital learning content for
pre-K-12 educators, and offers a broad array of other educational services.
PBS' premier kids' TV programming and Web site, PBS KIDS Online
(http://www.pbskids.org), continue to be parents' and teachers' most trusted
learning environments for children. More information about PBS is available
at http://www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org Web sites on the Internet.
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