Thursday , March 28 2024
This year for Thanksgiving -- pecan pie.

PBS Primetime Programming for the Week of November 8

For Thanksgiving this year I'm planning on making a pecan pie… perhaps a chocolate pecan pie. I love pecan pie, not like I love apple pie, but a good pecan pie is something special. For some reason though I've never actually made a pecan pie before. I'm trying to get into all that sort of homey stuff though for my daughter.

 

Sunday, November 8:

8:00 – 9:00PM

Nature – "Black Mamba." Seriously, snakes? I hate snakes! Why'd it have to be snakes?!? And, for that matter, why did Jacques put a snake on the plane? Even if the snake has a name, Reggie, it's not like snakes belong on a plane (that's right, Samuel Jackson, I said it). The specific snake in this case is the black mamba, a snake that some say is misunderstood. That's right, misunderstood.

9:00 – 10:00PM

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.

10:00 – 11:00PM

American Experience – “The Berlin Airlift”. How egocentric of us. This is part of the “American” experience, not, you know, the German experience, or the European experience. It’s funny, because I always thought Berlin was in Germany. Oh, I don’t disagree that the U.S. played a major role in the airlift, but it still seems odd.

 

Monday, November 9:

8:00 – 9:00PM

Antiques Roadshow – "Louisville (Hour Two)." 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 – Hoover Dam." In the second bit of a five-part American Experience experience, the 1930s continue and with a damn good episode. Okay, fine, that's a horrible joke and an old joke and a damn bad one. At least it'll be a clean episode.

10:00 – 11:00PM

How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin. Learn all about how the rock band rocked the Kremlin… back in the U.S.S.R. While John, Paul, George, and Ringo never played in Russia (at least not together), they apparently made quite an impact on the culture. Kind of like they did in the rest of the world, but in this case the folks they were impacting were behind some sort of metallic drapery.

 

Tuesday, November 10:

8:00 – 9:00PM

Nova – "Becoming Human (Part 2)." 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 – "Alaska Gold." In one corner you've got the sockeye salmon. In the other corner you've got mining companies. Needless to say, a massive fight has to result from such a thing. Oh, and for those of you who care, the listing tells me that the mining companies are "foreign." The way I see it, it's "our" earth, so unless their aliens… (I know, clearly there's more to it than that).

10:00 – 11:30PM

Independent Lens – "D Tour." In this case, "D" stands for kidney. At least it does in my world. You see, there's this indie rocker whose career was just getting started… and then he needed a new kidney. Maybe "D" stands for donor. That would actually make more sense than kidney, wouldn't it? Yeah, I don't care what might make sense, I'm sticking with kidney.

 

Wednesday, November 11:

8:00 – 9:00PM

Secrets of the Dead – "Airmen and the Headhunters." We've already gotten the story of Guadalcanal on this series, and now we're traveling to Japanese-occupied Borneo to learn all about what went down there. There was apparently a U.S. bomber crew which was rescued by Dayak tribesmen… the Dayaks were headhunters. Would the crew survive? You'll have to watch and see.

9:00 – 10:30PM

POV – "The Way We Get By." Today is Veteran's Day (or, it is if this is the first airing of this episode, or any subsequent airings that air on Veteran's Day) and for Veteran's Day we're getting the story of a group of senior citizens in Maine who have greeted nearly 800,000 veterans. Rather than focusing on all the seniors though, this is a look at three of them and their own struggles.

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.

 

Thursday, November 12:

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 Two)." 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

The Story of India – "Beginnings." Michael Woods heads on a journey – and takes us along – through the history of the subcontinent. He examines the people, the place, and the culture. The first episode of this repeat series deals with the first migrations to the subcontinent.

 

Friday, November 13:

8:00 – 8:30PM

Washington Week with Gwen Ifill and National Journal #4919. 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 #546. 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 #1330 It’s Bill Moyers. It’s his 1,330th 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 – "Airmen and the Headhunters." We've already gotten the story of Guadalcanal on this series, and now we're traveling to Japanese-occupied Borneo to learn all about what went down there. There was apparently a U.S. bomber crew which was rescued by Dayak tribesmen… the Dayaks were headhunters. Would the crew survive? You'll have to watch and see.

 

Saturday, November 14:

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 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 – "Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel." On the road again. On the road again. I can't wait to get back on that road again. The only real worry that I have about getting back on that road again is falling asleep at the wheel. It's actually a real danger and something we should all be concerned with. And, for the record, the Willie and the Wheel perform together because that's what they did on their record.

 

I think it's nice – passing down traditions. Not religious traditions necessarily, more family traditions, no matter how goofy. I've managed to carve pumpkins the last two years, last year I did a gingerbread house (and am going to do another one this year), why not add a pecan pie to that list? I can't imagine doing the innards of a pumpkin pie not from a can and I'm not into doing it that way, so pecan seems like a good way to go. Right?

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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