Thursday , March 28 2024
Halloween is done; time for Christmas?

PBS Primetime Programming for the Week of November 1

I complained about this around Labor Day, and now that we're post-Halloween I'm going to complain about this again. See, before Labor Day there was Halloween stuff out and now, I kid you not, I actually saw Christmas stuff out before Halloween. Please, tell me that's not excessive. You can't, can you?

Sunday, November 1:

8:00 – 9:00PM

Nature – "Born Wild: The First Days of Life." Head out on the highway. Looking for adventure. And whatever comes our way. Yeah, darlin' go make it happen. Take the world in a love embrace. You're a marmoset and you've just been born. Or a moose or an elephant or a gorilla. How you gonna live your life? Born to be wild.

9:00 – 10:30PM

Masterpiece Contemporary – "Place of Execution." Juliet Stevenson as a high-profile TV journalist. Doctor Who is still around to host. The story deals with the journalist looking into the issues surrounding the 40-year-old disappearance of a 13-year-old girl. It's based on Val McDermid's novel, and did I mention that the Doctor is hosting, because he is.

10:30 – 11:00PM

Yellowstone: Land to Life. Forget the land, it's all about the pic-i-nic baskets (provided that darn Ranger doesn't stop Yogi and Boo Boo from getting them). Actually, I shouldn't jest, this special was filmed over the course of two years and covers every season (perhaps twice) in the park.

Monday, November 2:

8:00 – 9:00PM

Antiques Roadshow – "Louisville (Hour One)". I imagine that this city is going to be a home run for the series. They're really going to knock one out of the park here. They're going to put a few runs on the board by going yard. They're going to, unquestionably, get the long ball working here. In short, they're going to be Sluggers.

9:00 – 10:00PM

American Experience – "The 1930s – Civilian Conservation Corps" In the second bit of a five-part American Experience experience, the 1930s continue, most specifically with the CCC, it was one of Roosevelt's New Deal dealie-os, the expansion of the government thing. Learn all about the CCC, the good and the possibly not so good.

10:00 – 11:30PM

The People V. Larry Frank. I thought Woody Harrelson was great in this role. I mean, sure, you really do have to not mind hearing all about the pornographic aspects of his empire, but… oh, Larry Frank! Larry Frank was the factory supervisor accused of murdering 13-year-old Mary Phagan back in 1913. Woody Harrelson was not involved.

Tuesday, November 3:

8:00 – 9:00PM

Nova – "Becoming Human (Part 1)." Alan Thicke stars in this… I do that too often, don't I? Sometimes I can't help it, I apologize. This three-part special is all about all the various discoveries currently taking place that are changing the picture we have of how we became human. And no, the evolution is still present in that picture, mostly because evolution is a reality. I'd say I'm sorry about that, but I'm not.

9:00 – 10:00PM

Frontline – "The Medicated Child." Did you know that more than four million children are now on behavior medication medicine? Wow. That's incredible. Are we over-diagnosing? Are we just being silly? Have we given up on parenting completely? Quite possibly.

10:00 – 11:00PM

Independent Lens – "Power Paths." How exactly should we go about cutting our dependence on fossil fuels (and don't kid yourself, we have to). Native American tribes have been using solar and wind energy in the West. Is that something that the country at large could possibly do? How would we go about it? What can we learn from what they're doing? Watch.

Wednesday, November 4:

8:00 – 9:30PM

Bill Cosby: The Mark Twain Prize. Bill Cosby is the 12th recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Watch him receive the award at the Kennedy Center. Nice folks like Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock are there to salute the master. I wonder if he minds all those kids being in the house, because I know that back in the day, when he was Cliff Huxtable, he was always trying to get the young'uns out.

9:30 – 11:00PM

Bill Cosby: The Mark Twain Prize. Bill Cosby is the 12th recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Watch him receive the award at the Kennedy Center. Nice folks like Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock are there to salute the master. I wonder if he minds all those kids being in the house, because I know that back in the day, when he was Cliff Huxtable, he was always trying to get the young'uns out.

Thursday, November 5:

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 – "Louisville (Hour One)". I imagine that this city is going to be a home run for the series. They're really going to knock one out of the park here. They're going to put a few runs on the board by going yard. They're going to, unquestionably, get the long ball working here. In short, they're going to be Sluggers.

10:00 – 11:30PM

Medal of Honor. How exactly, I ask you, did the Medal of Honor come about? At what point did it come into existence? Who has won it? Why? What's the deal with the Medal of Honor? Watch and learn, young one, watch and learn.

Friday, November 6:

8:00 – 8:30PM

Washington Week with Gwen Ifill and National Journal #4918. 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 Double Dutch Chocolate ice cream.

8:30 – 9:00PM

NOW on PBS #545. It's the Emmy award-winning weekly news magazine. 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 #1329 It's Bill Moyers. It's his 1,329th 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

Hallowed Grounds. Outside of the United States there are 22 World War I and II American military cemeteries. They are all over the world, from Europe to the Philippines to Tunisia. This hour will examine those cemeteries, where they are, the servicemen who are there, and how they passed away.

Saturday, November 7:

9:00 – 11:00PM

John Fogerty: Live by Request. John Fogerty performs… live! John Fogerty performs… by request! John Fogerty plays songs that viewers want to hear as they call in and text. That's right, he's going to perform stuff that people want him to play… live. I wonder if we could fill the request queue with nothing but "Centerfield," that would be fun, wouldn't it?

11:00PM – 12:00AM

Austin City Limits – "Elvis Costello." You know him, and I imagine that you love him (who doesn't). It's Elvis Costello and he's going to perform songs from his latest record, Secret, Profane and Sugarcane. I, myself, love sugarcane, I had some in a mojito the other week… good stuff, I tell you, good stuff.

I remember, back in the day, someone at Nordstrom explained to me about how that store celebrated each holiday for itself, that they didn't allow one holiday to bleed into another. Doesn't that sound like a good plan? I'm not sure if they still do that or not, but doesn't it sound like a great idea? I can tell you that I insist upon holding off on Christmas music all the way until the day after Thanksgiving.

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.

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