The Heart of Gold is off to its first stop on the fabulous, fun, freewheeling Hitchhiker's ride, and as the ship approaches its destination, I think we probably have time to discuss our (the audience) part in the ride. If you haven't figured it out by now, the audience has a very special part to play.
Sunday, May 3:
8:00 – 9:00PM
Nature – “Eagles of Mull.” Don't worry, you don't have to think about it for a while, you don't have to spend all your time contemplating it, you don't have to ruminate on your questions. In short, you don't have to mull it over. Mull is in Scotland and there's a ton of wildlife there, wildlife including eagles.
9:00 – 10:30PM
Masterpiece Classic – "The Old Curiosity Shop." The Dickens' classic is brought to life. Little Nell and good old gramps are here as is the less than amiable Daniel Quilp. Boy, Dickens knew how to write them. Me? I read them and I watch them. I figure there's no reason to discriminate against one medium.
10:30 – 11:00PM
From the Top at Carnegie Hall: Special Edition – "Music is Where the Heart is." Well, I guess if the heart is the drum then that's very true. Then music wouldn't only be where the heart is, it would be the heart. I guess if your heart were on a stage where songs are playing the saying would be true again. Thank goodness all musicians have hearts (literally speaking, of course).
Monday, May 4:
8:00 – 9:00PM
Antiques Roadshow “Grand Rapids (Hour Three).” I have to imagine Grand Rapids has a ton of flotsam and jetsam floating through it. I honestly believe tons of older items will be surfing on through the stop. Without a doubt there will be water damage from the rapids, but the stuff will be there. Who cares if the oil painting has run a little.
9:00 – 10:30PM
We Shall Remain: American Experience – “Geronimo." The massive multi-part American Experience that PBS has been previewing for months on end is here! It examines in great detail over the course of five 90-minute documentaries the history of this country from the Native-American perspective. In this, the second to last episode, we learn all about the Apache leader.
10:30PM – 12:00AM
We Shall Remain: American Experience – “Geronimo." The massive multi-part American Experience that PBS has been previewing for months on end is here! It examines in great detail over the course of five 90-minute documentaries the history of this country from the Native-American perspective. In this, the second to last episode, we learn all about the Apache leader.
Tuesday, May 5:
8:00 – 9:00PM
Nova – “Cracking the Maya Code”. A few brave souls spent years figuring out the Mayan system of hieroglyphs. It was not an easy task. It was not a simple task. It is not a task that ever needs to be duplicated. That's because it's been done. These guys did it and these guys did it right (I hope).
9:00 – 10:00PM
Frontline – "Sex Slaves." A half-million women are apparently trafficked annually. They are sold (this group anyway) specifically for the purposes of sexual slavery. This episode, a rebroadcast from 2006, delves into the seedy world of human trafficking.
10:00 – 11:00PM
Independent Lens – "Wings of Defeat." A niece follows the footsteps (but not in them) of her uncle. He was a Kamikaze pilot during his youth and she has opted to learn more about his doings. She actually interviews surviving Kamikaze pilots in an attempt to learn more.
Wednesday, May 6:
8:00 – 9:00PM
Secrets of the Dead – “Dogfight Over Guadalcanal.” The World War II hits just keep on coming as this special rebroadcast of a Secrets of the Dead episode focuses on the Battle of Guadalcanal and a dogfight between a Japanese and an American pilot in the summer of 1942.
9:00 – 11:00PM
WWII Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, The Nazis and the West – "Unlikely Friends (Summer 1939 to Autumn 1941)." As you may know, prior to working with the west, Stalin was more than friendly with Germany. He would eventually be betrayed by Hitler (much to Hitler's later chagrin), but initially Stalin backed him. Learn about all the backroom dealings.
Thursday, May 7:
8:00 – 9:00PM
The This Old House Hour – Episode TBA. It’s This Old House and Ask This Old House. It’s like maintenance… for your home. Wait, no, that’s exactly what it is. That doesn’t mean it’s not awesome though. Seriously, The This Old House Hour is one of the finest home improvement hours on PBS. No joke.
9:00 – 10:00PM
Antiques Roadshow “Grand Rapids (Hour Three).” I have to imagine Grand Rapids has a ton of flotsam and jetsam floating through it. I honestly believe tons of older items will be surfing on through the stop. Without a doubt there will be water damage from the rapids, but the stuff will be there. Who cares if the oil painting has run a little.
10:00 – 11:00PM
Adventure Lodges of North America – "Canadian Adventure Lodges." And the summer doldrums clearly have set in over at PBS. Pledge Week is clearly over. The boss is almost certainly out of town. I kid, I kid, just because I would associate this with the Travel Channel and not PBS doesn't mean that looking at a bunch of historic inns and chalets across North America will be less exciting than watching paint dry.
Friday, May 8:
8:00 – 8:30PM
Washington Week with Gwen Ifill and National Journal #4844. Another whole week has gone by and good old Gwen Ifill and National Journal are here to fill us in. For the record, I like to pretend the National Journal is a sidekick, like Robin to Batman, Starsky to Hutch, or chocolate sauce to chocolate ice cream.
8:30 – 9:00PM
NOW on PBS #519. It’s the Emmy award-winning weekly newsmagazine. It looks at issues facing our democracy. The show is hosted by David Brancaccio. And, even better, they still send me e-mails (I think that makes me cool and them nice). Thanks, Now, you guys are awesome!
9:00 – 10:00PM
Bill Moyers Journal #1304. It’s Bill Moyers. It’s his 1,304th journal (not really, but I’m not going to explain to you the way in which TV shows are numbered at this point in time, maybe later if you’re nice). He’s a good journalist so I assume this will be good journalism (at least the odds are it will).
10:00 – 11:00PM
Secrets of the Dead – “Dogfight Over Guadalcanal.” The World War II hits just keep on coming as this special rebroadcast of a Secrets of the Dead episode focuses on the Battle of Guadalcanal and a dogfight between a Japanese and an American pilot in the summer of 1942.
Saturday, May 9:
9:00 – 10:00PM
Austin City Limits – "Lyle Lovett & Friends: A Songwriters Special." I'm told everyone singing this evening is an "acclaimed tunesmith." I like that word, tunesmith. It reminds me of Toonces. You know, Toonces, the driving cat. And, if you recall Toonces, you'll also recall the pretty swell song that went with the sketches, it was probably written by a tunesmith.
One of the things that makes so many of the rides at Disney so great is the part the audience plays. Yes, there are the rides where one just observes, but in so many of them, the audience participates – they're off hunting dinosaurs, going to space, going to hell with Mr. Toad, any number of things. Here, in the Hitchhiker's ride, the audience is the one and only Arthur Dent, the last human.