PBS

7.3

Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright tells the story of the greatest of all American architects. Wright was an authentic American genius, a man who believed he was destined to redesign the world, creating everything anew. Over the course of his long career, he designed over eight hundred buildings, including such revolutionary structures as the Guggenheim Museum, the Johnson Wax Building, Fallingwater, Unity Temple and Taliesin. His buildings and his ideas changed the way we live, work and see the world around us. Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural achievements were often overshadowed by the turbulence of his melodramatic life. In ninety-two tempestuous years, he fathered seven children, married three times, and was almost constantly embroiled in scandal. Some hated him, some loved him, and in the end, few could deny that he was the one of the most important architects in the world.

9.2

Africans in America: America's Journey Through Slavery

Everything you thought you knew about slavery is about to be challenged. Africans in America: America’s Journey Through Slavery is the groundbreaking series that makes history by sharing it from a new perspective. Nearly ten years in the making, this landmark six-hour set exposes the truth through surprising revelations, dramatic recreations, rare archival photography and riveting first-person accounts.

Legendary Lighthouses

The program visit the remarkably beautiful places where the lighthouses are located and offers viewers the opportunity to rediscover the romance and history of these fabled structures.

In The Footsteps of Alexander the Great

In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great was a BBC documentary television series first shown in 1998. It was written and presented by British historian and broadcaster Michael Wood. Wood retraced the travels of Alexander the Great, from Vergina in Macedonia, where his father Philip II of Macedon died and Alexander was proclaimed king, through seventeen present-day countries to the borders of India and back to Mesopatamia, where he died. Whereas most of Wood's documentary series had titles beginning "In Search of...", the title of this series reflected a slightly different approach. The series was directed by David Wallace.

The Irish In America: Long Journey Home

The Irish in America: Long Journey Home is a 6 hour miniseries that chronicles the important role the Irish have played in shaping America. It explores the causes of one of the greatest human migrations in history, and traces the struggles and successes of these millions of immigrants. It has been filmed in Ireland and New York City and distributed by Walt Disney. The soundtrack, by Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains and Elvis Costello won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album in 1999, and features music from some of Ireland’s leading talents, including Elvis Costello, Sinéad O’Connor, Van Morrison, and the Chieftains.

A Science Odyssey

The Great Depression

Delves into the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and how it affected people, how the American public worked together to get through the massive hardships, and how the economy recovered with World War II. Examine the changes that swept the shaken nation during the first year - from the landslide victory of FDR in 1932 to Dust Bowl farmers. Americans sought release from the hard times wherever they could find it - from marathon dancing to going to the movies. As the Depression lingered and the New Deal failed to live up to people's expectations, some Americans fought back against the system. After years of crisis, WWII approached and did what all the protests and recovery programs failed to do - end the Depression. Includes photos, rare interviews, and footage of the culture, media, and politics of the times.

10.0

The Charlie Horse Music Pizza

The Charlie Horse Music Pizza is a children's television show that was shown on PBS in the United States from January to May 1998. Re-runs aired until late 1999, with infrequent airings throughout 2000. It is a spin-off of the series Lamb Chop's Play-Along and was hosted by Shari Lewis, whose strong belief in the benefits of music education for children led to the creation of the series. The show takes place around a pizzeria on the beach. Alongside the original cast of Lamb Chop, Hush Puppy, Charlie Horse, and Shari, Charlie Horse Music Pizza introduced four new characters – Take-Out, a big anthropomorphized orangutan who makes deliveries on roller skates; Fingers, a giant purple raccoon that lives in the dumpster behind the pizzeria; Cookie the soft-hearted, opera-loving cook; and Junior, who works at the pizzeria part-time, and plays musical instruments, such as the tuba for his high school marching band. The series was put on hiatus after the May 30 episode aired due to Lewis' treatment in a local hospital. It was then cancelled when she died on August 2.

Adventures with Kanga Roddy

U.S.-Mexican War 1846-1848

In 1845, President John Tyler signed a Congressional resolution to annex Texas, and by 1846, 4,000 troops were on the Rio Grande. Shortly thereafter, President James Polk proposed that Mexico sell its northern half to the U.S. Hostilities commenced and the U.S. crossed the border to occupy Matamoras, U.S. warships landed troops at Veracruz, who fought their way overland to Mexico City. Santa Anna led a defending army, but the Mexicans were overwhelmed. In the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico sold its northern territories to the U.S. for $15 million. For Mexico, the war was a traumatic event that resulted in the loss of many lives, half its territory, and a great deal of pride and hope for the future. However, it brought together a people who still were struggling with what it meant to be Mexican, just 20 years after achieving independence from Spain. This film examines both sides of a conflict that changed the shape of nations and left a legacy that endures to this day.

Mikhail Baryshnikov's Stories from My Childhood

7.8

Liberty!

Dramatic documentary about the birth of the American Republic and the struggle of a loosely connected group of states to become a nation.

7.5

Lewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of Discovery

Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery tells the remarkable story of the entire Corps of Discovery – not just of the two Captains, but the young army men, French-Canadian boatmen, Clark’s African-American slave, and the Shoshone woman named Sacajawea, who brought along her infant son. As important to the story as these many characters, however, was the spectacular land itself, and the promises it held.

Sessions at West 54th

Sessions at West 54th was an American television program that featured music performances, and was in some ways a pop music variation on the theme set by the long-lived Austin City Limits, though the featured musicians represented a number of musical genres. It was called Sessions at West 54th because it was taped at Sony Music Studios on West 54th Street in Manhattan. It was produced for public television syndicator American Program Service and was carried on many public television stations. It first aired in most places on July 5, 1997, when it was included in the Saturday late-night lineup of stations covering 85% of the country. After the program ended, an edited for commercial television version also aired on the commercial Trio cable television network.

American Visions

Time magazine critic and writer of the highly acclaimed study of modern art, The Shock of the New, Robert Hughes now addresses his largest subject: the history of art in America.

The Living Edens

The Living Edens was a Public Broadcasting Service series that began in 1997. Narrators included Peter Coyote and Linda Hunt. Its most recent episode was broadcast in 2003. It was partially funded by Reader's Digest in exchange for various marketing rights. Its state-of-the-art cinematography creates an intimate sense of place and captures a world of wonder, transporting viewers to isolated, undisturbed corners of the globe so pure they remind us of how the ancient world once was.

America's Historic Trails with Tom Bodett

Three gold strikes sent thousands scrambling for the frozen gold fields of the far north between 1896 and 1903. Driven by optimism and gullibility, many found only ruin. Tom retraces their eager steps from Seattle to the Inside Passage along the Alaskan coastline and Skagway.

Thomas Jefferson

The complex life of Thomas Jefferson, who wrote that "all men are created equal" yet owned slaves, is recounted by master filmmaker Ken Burns in this probing documentary. Covering Jefferson's diplomatic work in France, his two presidential terms, his retirement at Monticello and more.

Donna's Day