Rachel Raney and David Murray set out to make a documentary about suburban sprawl, but became more interested in the story (and humor) of the town of Livermore and the people who live there. The result aired on Independent Lens on Tuesday night (check local PBS listings, many stations show it on a different night or repeat it - it is also available on DVD).
Just a few of the stories woven into the hour program include a search for a missing time capsule (which is what first attracted them to the place), a light bulb which has been on for over a hundred years,and a dispute over a totem pole.
I worked for Raney a decade ago when I was working on a Frontline documentary about General Motors as an intern at the Center For Investigative Reporting.
Article comments
1 - Richard Bennett
I didn't see this show, but I used to live in Livermore and I can attest to the fact that it's definitely a funny place.
They have great rodeo, apparently.
2 - ClubhouseCancer
This was a funny and engrossing doc that everyone should see. Livermore was of course the site of the "alternate" Los Alamos, a lab where much research into nukes was done.
Lots of interesting, quirky stuff happened there, the deatils of which I will leave to the film, which was great.
3 - JR
"Lots of interesting, quirky stuff happened there..."
Yeah, I once ran out of gas driving over the pass outside Livermore and coasted the three miles into town.
Anything about Altamont? That was near there too.
4 - ClubhouseCancer
Altamont did not figure in the doc, nor did JR's running out of gas incident (the boneheads missed that one), but the 1973 book Suburbia by Bill Owens (many will be familiar with this classic book of photographs) figures prominently.