This is a week for great voices on PBS. Friday has Audra McDonald; see previous blog. And Sunday has Katherine Jenkins and more, on the Capitol lawn. Here's the story I sent to papers:
By MIKE HUGHES
Katherine Jenkins has strayed so far
from her comfort zone that she's probably fogotten where it is.
Amazing things happen when Audra McDonald steps to the microphone. She flawlessly ranges from Broadway to classical, from whimsical or deeply emotional. Now she has a PBS concert special Friday; here's the story I sent to papers:
By MIKE HUGHES
Growing up a continent away, Audra
McDonald was sure she wanted to be in New York. She wanted to be on
Broadway and on the Lincoln Center stages.
PBS' "American Masters" Monday is a joyride through a busy life.Here's the story I sent to papers:
By MIKE HUGHES
You learn a lot, hanging out with
comedy masters. You also learn by hanging out a hotel window.
Mel Brooks – the focus of a jaunty
PBS profile Monday – has done both. He loved the writers' room of
Sid Caesar's TV shows; he was less happy with a writing session on a
top floor of the Palmer House in Chicago.
Life does this sometimes: A British farmgirl becomes a London celebrity ... while playing a gutsy midwife in a crowded neighborhood. That's what has happened -- quite quickly -- to Jessica Raine, the star of PBS' well-crafted "Call the Midwife." Here's the story I sent to papers:
By MIKE HUGHES
Show business thrives on culture
clashes and fish-out-of-water tales.
Yes, cable is still wrapping up its big week. Tonight (Sunday, April 14), National Geographic starts its richly detailed "The '80s" (see previous blog) and Showtime starts a new season for its lush "The Borgias."
Soon, however, it will be PBS' turn. "Central Park Five" on Tuesday is a compelling portait of a rush to judgment. Here's the story I sent to papers:
By MIKE HUGHES
In one of New York's darkest moments, a
single mindset seemed universal.
After a zillion or so March pledge breaks, PBS is suddenly on top of its game. On Friday (see previous blog), it has a superb profile of Philip Roth. On Sunday, it follows the "Call the Midwife" season-opener with a large and lush "Masterpiece Classic" miniseries, "Mr. Selfridge." Here's the "Selfridge" story I sent to papers:
By MIKE HUGHES
“Masterpiece” has lingered in
life's finest settings.
Now for something completely different.
My previous blog dealt with "penny can," which is ... well, the art of throwing pennies into a can. This one deals with writer Philip Roth, who exercises the art of exploring the human soul. Stories can cover quite a range, I guess.
Anyway, Roth is the subject of a superb "American Masters" special, Friday on most PBS stations. Here's the story I sent to papers:
By MIKE HUGHES
Lots of readers figure they know Philip
Roth.
A PBS documentary Tuesday is impressive in its size, its scope and its fairness. "Makers: Women Who Make America" captures a half-century that changed our society.
There's no way to catch it all in one story, so I focused on one small portion. Barbara Burns only gets a few minutes of these three hours, but her life is the sort that forged change. Here's the story I sent to papers:
By MIKE HUGHES
Lots of lists came out last month, offering TV's 10 best shows. They had the usual suspects -- cable dramas, mostly, plus (on the wiser lists) "Big Bang Theory." What they overlooked, however, were three PBS shows that are consistently top-quality -- "American Masters," "Frontline" and "American Exprience."
I'm back from Hollywood now and stuffed with interesting information.
One good thing about the Television Critics Association sessions is that it lets us meet all the key people in a hurry. This year's Hollywood (well, actually Pasadena) sessions were fascinating. Here's a story I sent to papers, about a PBS documentary Wednesday (Jan. 23):
By MIKE HUGHES
As “drones” patrol our war zones –
and non-war zones – people have mixed emotions.
