Before Dallas and Dynasty and Falcon Crest and Knots Landings captured the imaginations of American viewers, there was a British soap import that was even more compelling.
From 1971-75, PBS aired the British upper crust soap Upstairs Downstairs. And now Upstairs Downstairs is going to be remade. It'll be filmed and shown in England first before coming to America in 2011.
What made Upstairs Downstairs classic television – it won Emmys, BAFTAs and Golden Globes – was the way it depicted of the British class system. Upstairs you had the rich, privileged Bellamy family. Downstairs there were the servants who worked for them. The lives of all these characters intertwined in a well-written, brilliantly acted drama series.
If you haven't checked out Ken Burns' documentary The National Parks: America's Best Idea on PBS yet, now you can actually buy it. The 12-hour series hit DVD and Blu-ray on Oct. 6, and offers a stunning look at our national parks, including Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, the Everglades, and the Gates of Arctic in Alaska.
When you think about it, it's truly amazing how these natural wonders have become part of our lives, even if we've never been to them. Burns covers 150 years of the parks, starting with the concept in the mid-1800s and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks, Andy Garcia, Sam Waterston and others.
The cool thing about the DVD / Blu-ray sets is that you get three hours of bonus material, including a making-of featurette, Musical Journeys Through the National Parks, Contemporary Stories and Outtakes.
Sesame Street did a Mad Men spoof recently, and now they're spoofing another contemporary pop culture icon: the iPod.
In this clip, the Muppets are seen wearing headphones and dancing in silhouette a la various commercials for Apple's iPod. Steve Jobs called and is going to sue PBS. Just kidding!
[via Mashable]
I'm not surprised that there's no smoking or drinking in this Sesame Street parody of AMC's Mad Men, but I still think it could be a little sharper. And why are all of the characters wearing hats?
Jeez, here I am being hard on a kids' show. The line at the end about sycophants is funny and something for us adults.
I don't know where this "Autotuning" came from, but I like it. Sometimes it seems forced, but other times it's so spot on that it actually creates a good song and not just a goofy, funny curio.
The latest is from the PBS TV show Cosmos, something I really enjoyed years ago, and features Carl Sagan (with a cameo by another famous scientist and author). This is really well done, sort of techno meets progressive rock. I love how it's not just stringing his words together, but there's actually a chorus.
Here's one for Billy Mays.
Former Doctor Who lead actor (or current, depending on how you measure it) David Tennant did a quick television interview with PBS for the TV Critics Press Tour. He'll be taking over as host of their series Masterpiece Contemporary.
In the interview, he briefly glosses over his experience in Doctor Who (as well as the Harry Potter franchise) and discusses the relative importance of public television between England and America. He also discusses his Lou Reed t-shirt. I think Doctor Who has influenced David Tennant's fashion sense. In his personal television appearances, he always seems to sport a casual jacket similar to that of his former character (albeit over a t-shirt).
Any long-time Who fan is very familiar with the relationship between PBS and Doctor Who, as that was the channel that the program could be found on in the 1970's and 1980's. It's a nice interview. Tennant will be a terrific host for that program. The video follows.
WARNING: The following post contains images of a shocking nature and despite its source material, is not appropriate for anyone under the age of 18. And before you get all excited, no, it does not contain naked boobies.
We all remember lovable ol' Fred Rogers, aka TV's Mister Rogers, as a warm, cuddly and caring neighbor who never wore a frown and always had a smile for someone smaller than him.
But what if all those cheerful hellos, colorful sweater jackets and speeches about being special on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood were just a mask hiding something very dark and sinister? Specifically, a clown mask?
You know you've reached a certain place in pop culture when Sesame Street does a parody (Mad Men is getting one later this season). This one is a take-off on Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?
Did you watch Reading Rainbow yesterday? If you missed it, that's too bad, because PBS' third-longest running show (behind only Sesame Street and Mr. Roger's Neighborhood) ended its 26 year run on Friday.
According to NPR, the children's program is being cut from the PBS stable of educational programming because of ... wait for it ... the Bush administration.
Back in the Old Days, before cable ruled the air, Americans only got to see Brit television (most notably, Doctor Who, but also The Prisoner and Monty Python's Flying Circus) via their local PBS station.
Now, thanks to the magic of YouTube, we can revisit those days when the only on-air Comic Cons or Cosplays were the folks at PBS (or whatever public access station was available) dressing up and embarrassing themselves in front of a camera in an effort to get donations. The most interesting aspect is that the low-cost special effects they used to get donations were the same as those used on Doctor Who at the time.
I sincerely hope the folks behind these videos are watching them right now and cringing, praying for the ground to swallow them up. More likely, the people behind them are the ones who put them on YouTube in the first place.
Having trouble staying awake today? This high-spirited trailer for Spike Lee's vibrant documentary/musical, Passing Strange, should help get you going.
We told you about Passing Strange back in May when PBS picked it up as part of its Great Performances series. Lee's doc is a filmed version of the theatrical stage production of the Tony nominated Broadway musical of the same name. It's about a young black man who travels to Europe in the 1970s to become an artist and live a bohemian lifestyle.
One of the things that never gets old about the press tour is that at any moment, you could be in the middle of a blow-your-mind, surreal pop culture moment. That's exactly what happened to me yesterday evening, as the PBS sessions were wrapping up.
Patti Smith had the last session, to promote her biographical movie on POV called Patti Smith: Dream of Life. It was fascinating, as she was pretty open with the reporters about why she let filmmaker Steven Sebring into her life for eleven years, what she likes to watch on YouTube (Maria Callas for one) and all sorts of fun stuff. But I had to leave to interview another legend, Norman Lear, who was there with producer Mark Johnson to promote the documentary Playing For Change: Peace Through Music.
When we were done with the interview, Lear, Johnson, the publicists and I were about to walk our separate ways when we heard music coming from the ballroom. When we open it, we see Patti Smith playing her guitar for the critics, in the middle of her second song. So imagine me and Norman Lear, standing there, listening to Patti Smith.
It says something about the quality of the economy when PBS can no longer afford the salary of a man who has been dead for six years. The repeats of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood on PBS currently runs daily but will be dropping to once a week in the fall due to monetary concerns.
I don't know the contract details of this show, but since when are re-runs more expensive than original content? That must be one terrific fee that the heirs of Fred Rogers get if it makes PBS balk at the idea of paying for it on a daily basis. Why can't the heirs just produce new content like Brian Henson is trying to do with the Muppets franchise?
To me, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is one of those shows that is synonymous with PBS, right up there with Sesame Street. Given the change in programming for the show, I suspect that the upcoming generation with think otherwise (if they don't think that way already). Sorry Fred.
I was a recent convert to watching BBC comedies on PBS. Although I love all the comedies that PBS offers, I was awed by the show Are You Being Served? The show went places with double entendres and physical comedy that you would never see in American television.
I found out that Mollie Sugden, who plays the infamous Mrs. Slocombe, died on the first of July at the age of 86.
Wheel of Fortune isn't the only TV show that can have a million dollar payday.
A woman who brought in some carved Chinese jade to PBS' Antiques Roadshow probably didn't know how valuable her inheritance was. The jade is worth $1 million, and it's the highest price given to an item on the show. She got the jade from her dad, who bought it in China when he was in the military in the 1930s or 40s. The episode won't be shown until next year.
Before Dallas and Dynasty and Falcon Crest and Knots Landings captured the imaginations of American viewers, there was a British soap import that was even more compelling. 
If you haven't checked out Ken Burns' documentary 
WARNING: The following post contains images of a shocking nature and despite its source material, is not appropriate for anyone under the age of 18. And before you get all excited, no, it does not contain naked boobies. 
Did you watch Reading Rainbow yesterday? If you missed it, that's too bad, because PBS' third-longest running show (behind only Sesame Street and Mr. Roger's Neighborhood) ended its 26 year run on Friday.
Back in the Old Days, before cable ruled the air, Americans only got to see Brit television (most notably, 
One of the things that never gets old about the press tour is that at any moment, you could be in the middle of a blow-your-mind, surreal pop culture moment. That's exactly what happened to me yesterday evening, as the PBS sessions were wrapping up.
It says something about the quality of the economy when PBS can no longer afford the salary of a man who has been dead for six years. The repeats of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood on PBS currently runs daily but will be 
I was a recent convert to watching 
Wheel of Fortune isn't the only TV show that can have a million dollar payday.
The TV Squad Podcast: Linda Purl talks about The Office, we talk spoilers, and more
Ask TV Squad: Ghost Whisperer and more!
The TV Squad Podcast: Bill Scheft of The Late Show, Cake Boss, Mad Men and more
