Thursday , March 28 2024
More Hitchhiker's! We're aboard our ship, we're there with our paranoid android. But, who are we?

PBS Primetime Programming for the Week of May 3

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.

About Josh Lasser

Josh has deftly segued from a life of being pre-med to film school to television production to writing about the media in general. And by 'deftly' he means with agonizing second thoughts and the formation of an ulcer.

Check Also

GalaxyCon Richmond: Tara Strong

"Perfect is boring and you're going to make mistakes. If you learn from them, let them go."