PBS Primetime Programming for The Week of March 11

Once again, PBS is doing their pledge drive thing, so all times here are incredibly subject to being different in your local market. I cannot and will not stand behind the times I’ve given you. I’ve given you what they’ve given me and we are both telling you that they are subject to change. That’s just the way it is. Please do not call and rant and rave at me about times being different, I’m telling you right now that they may be different.

Oh come on people, I’m just playing with you, not about the times being different, because they will be different, it’s just that I’m feigning about not wanting to hear from you. I always want to hear from you. Please call me with your thoughts.

Sunday, March 11:

8:00 – 9:00PM

Nature – “Ireland”. It’s a country. Some would call the island itself two countries though it should only be one country and that’s a fight I’m not going to get into. It is, I’m told, a verdant island and full of luck.  

9:00 – 10:20PM

Great Performances – “Jerry Lee Lewis: Last Man Standing”. The “Killer” performs some of his hit songs and does duet performances with the likes of Willie Nelson, Norah Jones, John Fogerty, and Kris Kristofferson, among others. 

10:30 – 11:00PM

Back Care Basics: Yoga For the Rest of Us. A presumably very nice lady named Peggy Cappy demonstrates the right exercises and yoga poses for individuals with back problems. Up first, the lazy frog.

 

Monday, March 12:

8:00 – 9:00PM

Antiques Roadshow –  “St. Paul (Hour Two)”. I’m standing by this summary from last week: how great would it be if this was at the Cathedral? The experts could go around looking at ancient artifacts and declare them good, bad, or ugly. It’d be really, really funny. 

9:00 – 10:000PM

Visions of Ireland. I get it now! St. Patrick’s Day must be this week. Probably towards the end. It just struck me. An old episode of Nature and now this. Can you wait to see what else PBS has cooked up (maybe some corned beef and cabbage!)?

10:00 – 11:00PM

Heavenly Voices. Take three sopranos and a countertenor and what do you have? Wait, don’t answer, we’ll also thrown in the Tim Janis Ensemble. Pretty heavenly. That’s what I say, pretty heavenly. And voices.    

 

Tuesday, March 13:

8:00 – 9:00PM

Nova – “China Revs Up”. Nova takes an in-depth look at China and its fast-growing economy that is “revving up.” That’s why this episode is called “China Revs Up” and not “China – Still Mostly Agricultural” or “China – We’ve got Well Over a Billion People, What Have You Got?”  

9:00 – 10:00PM

Brenda Watson’s Fiber 35: Nature’s Weight Loss Secret. Without reading the description of the episode, this sounds suspiciously like a paid program that shills something at the end. After reading the synopsis it sounds like a paid program that shills something at the end. It doesn’t say that’s what it is, but that is what is sounds like.

10:00 – 11:00PM

Dr. Andrew Weil’s Guide to Eating Well. Great, apparently we’re all fat. That’s what PBS’s lineup is telling me today. China, they have a revving up economy, or perhaps great metabolism, the rest of us, we need weight loss and to eat well. Thanks. No corned beef and cabbage for me.

  

Wednesday, March 14:

8:00 – 9:20PM

Daniel O’Donnell: Can You Feel The Love. No harm in not knowing this, Daniel O’Donnell is a singer and that’s what he’ll be doing here, in his seventh appearance on PBS. Please note the “O’” in his name, and of course, he’s singing from Killarney, in IRELAND.

9:30 – 10:50PM

Loreena McKennitt: Nights from the Alhambra. I have been to the Alhambra. I did a phenomenal nighttime tour of the Alhambra, heck I stayed at the Alhambra for three nights. It is phenomenal. It is incredible. It is outstanding. I have no idea who Loreena McKennitt is, but let me tell you, if you ever get the chance to stay at the Parador Hotel there, you NEED to. Do not pass up the chance.

 

Thursday, March 15:

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.

9:00 – 10:00PM

The South Beach Heart Program. PBS’s themes for the week: Ireland and the fact  that you’re not healthy. Seriously. You are not a healthy individual.

10:00 – 11:00PM

You on a Diet with Dr. Michael Roizen. Must I tell you this again?

 

Friday, March 16:

8:00 – 8:30PM

Washington Week with Gwen Ifill and National Journal #4637. 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 #311. 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!

9:00 – 10:00PM

Elvis Lives: The 25th Anniversary Concert. This is the footage of a concert that commemorated the 25th anniversary of Elvis’s death. Correct me if I’m wrong, but if the concert commemorates Elvis’s death he doesn’t so much live. Just a thought.

10:00PM – Lengths Vary

Monty Python’s Flying Circus – #103. This week the boys teach you how to recognize different types of trees from a long way away. Funny, wacky, zany other things. They are the Pythons after all.

 

Saturday, March 17:

8:00 – 9:15PM

My Music: Movie Songs. Ah, memorable movie songs from the '50s, '60s, and '70s. Again, it’s got full-length performances. It’s really a good thing, because those half-length ones are always so disappointing. 

9:30 – 10:45PM

My Music: The British Beat. The show travels to London and around the UK. It’s got new performances, old performances, and full-length performances.  Woo-hoo!  Performances!

 

Well, happy St. Patrick’s Day to you and yours. Please don’t let this week’s PBS programming schedule convince you to not eat like a pig at all times, not just this week.  Eat, I encourage it. I love to eat, I feel bad about eating, but I love to eat, I’m trying, actually, to cut down on the feeling bad, but I don’t know if it’ll take. Oh yeah, remember that this is a pledge drive week for PBS, so all times are subject to change.