Thursday, January 31, 2013

a last minute change in our program guide...

Rick Steves, America's leading authority on European travel, teams up with the Cascade Symphony Orchestra and maestro Michael Miropolsky for a musical journey that begins in the United States, and touches down in seven different European countries...7pm

And marking the 10th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Columbia, 2 programs delving into the astronauts and their passion for the last frontier...
SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA: MISSION OF HOPE...8pm,
and NOVA: SPACE SHUTTLE DISASTER...9pm

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Eyewitness to the golden years of natural history filmmaking...

Sir David Attenborough's 60 years on television focuses on three fields that he feels have been transformed most profoundly: filmmaking, science and the environment. With sequences re-mastered in HD along with new interviews, "Understanding the Natural World," features Sir David as he shares his memories of the scientists and the breakthroughs that helped shape his own career. He also recalls some of his more hair-raising attempts to bring new science to a television audience: standing in the shadow of an erupting volcano as lumps of hot lava crashed around him or being charged by a group of armed New Guinean tribesmen.  NATURE: ATTENBOROUGH'S LIFE STORIES, PT 2...7pm

Monday, January 28, 2013

And the Oscar nominated filmmaker is from Amarillo

In Austin, Texas, 15 people influence what is taught to the next generation of American children. Once every decade, the highly politicized Texas State Board of Education rewrites the teaching and textbook standards for its nearly 5 million schoolchildren. And when it comes to textbooks, what happens in Texas affects the nation as a whole.That's what makes this film so compelling...an elected board of education influencing the very basis of learning through their ideas and ideology - not scientific fact. Watch tonight and tell us what you think. 
INDEPENDENT LENS: THE REVISIONARIES...9pm

Friday, January 25, 2013

My weekend picks...

Wayne White is a nut. His off-kilter style and self-deprecating sense of humor offer a peek into an imagination that refuses to grow up, and is put to good use on his groundbreaking work on PeeWee's Playhouse. This film chronicles the vaulted highs and the crushing lows of this Tennessean commercial artist who literally changed the look of television for an entire generation...a fascinating look at an artist as he struggles to find peace and balance between work and art.  INDEPENDENT LENS...Saturday at 11pm

Rick Husband training for space is documented in a KACV production from a few years ago, and you'll come away rooting for a local boy who made good. A proper tribute to him as we approach the 10th anniversary of the Columbia Shuttle disaster...RICK HUSBAND: MAN WITH A MISSION...Sunday afternoon at 3pm. Followed by a special Face to Face program with his wife Evelyn who describes picking up the pieces after the tragedy.

Nashville's hottest ticket isn't the Grand Ole Opry but Monday nights at the tiny Station Inn with this all-star, 11-piece western swing outfit. With lead vocals provided by Dawn Sears, Kenny Sears, Vince Gill and two-time Grammy-winner "Ranger Doug" Green, this band features Music City's instrumental A-list...BLUEGRASS UNDERGROUND Sunday at 4pm

And of course, let's not forget the ongoing Downton Abbey, starting at 7pm on Sunday.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

When the Soaps moved to Prime Time...

PIONEERS OF TELEVISION goes back in time again to revisit our guilty pleasures...beginning with "Dallas" and "Dynasty" kicking off the nighttime soap frenzy in the late 1970s, followed by the long-lasting series "Knots Landing." Sometimes forgotten is the genre's grand daddy: 1964's "Peyton Place," starring Mia Farrow and Ryan O'Neal. We also hear from Larry Hagman, Joan Collins, Linda Evans, Diahann Carroll, Linda Gray, Patrick Duffy, Michele Lee, Joan Van Ark and Donna Mills. PIONEERS OF TELEVISION...7pm

Friday, January 18, 2013

Norah Jones, soul food and Office Space...

ACL features Norah Jones singing songs from her Dangermouse-produced album Little Broken Hearts...AUSTIN CITY LIMITS...Saturday at 10pm

Filmmaker Byron Hurt sets out to learn more about the African American love affair with soul food...including its benefits and consequences. After watching this documentary, you'll wonder if soul food has become an addiction in the black community. INDEPENDENT LENS: SOUL FOOD JUNKIE...Saturday at 11pm 


Texas-based filmmakers behind OFFICE SPACE, LONESOME DOVE, and EL MARIACHI are the focus for ON STORY, featuring Mike Judge, Bill Wittliff and Robert Rodriguez...Sunday at 5:30pm

And the DOWNTON ABBEY saga continues, with last week's episode airing at 7, and the new episode at 8pm on Sunday

Thursday, January 17, 2013

An eye-opening evening...

KACV takes a close look at the poverty issue here in the panhandle...first up is a special Face to Face with Dr. Donna Beegle. She describes growing up in generational poverty and the tricks her family used to get by in everyday life...7pm

Next we feature a Conversation with Don Baylor, Jr...he's the director of Opportunity Texas, an organization that studies data and trends in the state regarding poverty...8pm

And finally, a production by KLRU in Austin called A FIGHTING CHANCE, a documentary that follows 5 families and their efforts to keep their heads above water while raising their kids...8:30pm

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Did you know Koalas have pouches...and fingerprints?

NATURE takes us into the day-to-day dramas of an extended family of koalas, seen through the eyes of the scientists studying their every move and vocalization. Fascinating social dynamics include territorial displays, vicious fighting and the surprising life and loves of a "traveling salesman," a rogue male who truly plays the field...and you just thought they were cute and cuddly.
NATURE: CRACKING THE KOALA CODE...7pm  

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Lucy's got some "splainin'" to do...

PIONEERS OF TELEVISION is back with 4 new episodes reminding us of the magic of real laughter on TV...featuring legends such as Phyllis Diller, Joan Rivers and Mary Tyler Moore.
It also looks at Lucille Ball's breakthrough on "I Love Lucy" and covers television's
most enduring variety star, Carol Burnett...PIONEERS OF TELEVISION...7pm



Drawing on FRONTLINE’s rich archive of films and hundreds of interviews, Inside Obama’s Presidency serves as an intimate look at the president’s first term and offers a revealing glimpse into his final four years in office.The film, produced by the award-winning investigative team that delivered The Choice 2012, goes behind closed doors and presents an unflinching view of the sometimes painful political realities of governing in modern-day Washington. FRONTLINE: INSIDE OBAMA'S PRESIDENCY...9pm

Monday, January 14, 2013

Fast food is about money...Soul Food is about flavor...

The African American love affair with soul food is deep-rooted, complex, and in some tragic cases, deadly. This film puts this culinary tradition under the microscope to examine both its benefits and consequences. Baffled by his dad's reluctance to change his traditional soul food diet in the face of a health crisis, filmmaker Byron Hurt sets out to learn more about this culinary tradition and it's relevance to black cultural identity. INDEPENDENT LENS: SOUL FOOD JUNKIE...9pm

Friday, January 11, 2013

Telling the truth can be deadly...

In Mexico, more than 40 journalists have been slain or have vanished since December 2006, when President Felipe Calderon came to power and launched a government offensive against the country's powerful drug cartels and organized crime. "Reportero" follows a veteran reporter and his colleagues  as they ply their trade in one of the deadliest places in the world for members of the media.
POV: REPORTERO...Saturday 11pm

And of course, Sunday brings more DOWNTON ABBEY, as PBS re-airs the first episode from last week at 6pm, then premieres episode 2 of season 3 at 8pm...cheers!

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Pretty good cigars as well...

For decades, Cuba's wild landscapes lay untouched while its Caribbean neighbors poisoned or paved over their ecological riches. Now, Cuba's priceless treasures are about to face an onslaught. Tourism is already on the rise and most experts predict tourism will double once the U.S. trade embargo ends. What will happen to Cuba's stunning biodiversity? NATURE presents CUBA: THE ACCIDENTAL EDEN...7pm

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

The movement that inspired Uncle Tom's Cabin...

Shared beliefs about slavery bring together people from all walks of life, including author Harriet Beecher Stowe, whose first trip to the South changes her life and her writing, and Frederick Douglass, a young slave who becomes hopeful when he hears about the abolitionists. Tonight PBS premieres part 1 of THE ABOLITIONISTS and the story of these and others who helped change a nation...8pm

Monday, January 7, 2013

$1,000,000 find on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW...

In Corpus Christi, Texas, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW discovers a million-dollar item when a guest brings in a Diego Rivera oil painting created in 1904 when the artist was just 18 years old! 7pm

In Mexico, more than 40 journalists have been slain or "vanished" since December 2006.
"Reportero" follows a veteran reporter and his colleagues at Zeta, a Tijuana-based independent newsweekly, as they work in one of the deadliest places in the world for members of the media.
As the drug war intensifies and the risks to journalists become greater, will the free press be silenced? POV delves into the story, tonight at 9pm 

Friday, January 4, 2013

He's got diamonds on the souls of his shoes...

Paul Simon's Graceland album is now a quarter-century old...an experiment in cross-cultural collaboration that sold 14 million albums worldwide, produced three Top 40 singles, and won Grammys for both "Album of the Year" and "Song of the Year" for its title track. In 2011, acclaimed filmmaker Joe Berlinger accompanied Simon on his return to South Africa to reunite and perform with several of the musicians involved in the original album, capturing Simon's unique homecoming journey as he reflects on the landmark events as well as looks to the future.  GREAT PERFORMANCES: PAUL SIMON'S GRACELAND JOURNEY...Friday at 8pm

It's a real castle. People really do live there. SECRETS OF HIGHCLERE CASTLE is the behind the scenes story of one of the England's most spectacular country houses, and home to television's DOWNTON ABBEY...Sunday at 7pm

Then of course, DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 3 begins right after at 8pm...cheers!