PBS: Viewers Like You. Thank You.

[Sandman87]

Last night I watched a truly wonderful Nature episode called My Life As A Turkey. I balled my eyes out at the end, but I ball my eyes out watching Dr. K's Exotic Animal Hospital so... ymmv.

I've never tried having sex while watching a PBS nature show. Kinky!

[glowlights]

^^^^ I can't believe I made that typo!!! And now refuse to fix it because HELL YEAH we get down to the PBS. It's how we roll. ;)

[walnutqueen]

Anyone else watching the PBS series The Brain With David Eagleman?  Every single episode I've seen so far has been totally fascinating. 

 

Of particular interest was the part in last week's segment about the brain connection between emotion and decision making. and how our political leanings correspond so closely with our "ick factor" (i.e. the level of disgust and dismay we feel when presented with disturbing images).  Who knew?!  :-)

 

This week the botox experiment blew my mind.  The reduced ability to read others' facial expressions when one's own face is partially paralyzed with that shit explains a lot about The Real Housewives.  :-D

[chessiegal]

I'm surprised there is no thread for "This Old House". I'm really enjoying the current renovation. I like how they take time to show them carefully removing items that can be reused - as opposed to the smash out perfectly useful items on commercial reno shows.

[magdalene]

Anyone else watching the PBS series The Brain With David Eagleman?  Every single episode I've seen so far has been totally fascinating. 

 

Of particular interest was the part in last week's segment about the brain connection between emotion and decision making. and how our political leanings correspond so closely with our "ick factor" (i.e. the level of disgust and dismay we feel when presented with disturbing images).  Who knew?!  :-)

 

This week the botox experiment blew my mind.  The reduced ability to read others' facial expressions when one's own face is partially paralyzed with that shit explains a lot about The Real Housewives.  :-D

I watch it and like you am fascinated by it. I enjoy all these Nova and Nature programs, they are weekly appointment TV for me.

[walnutqueen]

I watch it and like you am fascinated by it. I enjoy all these Nova and Nature programs, they are weekly appointment TV for me.

 

magdalene - you might want to check out another excellent show on the National Geographic Channel called Breakthrough (airs Sunday nights).  Last week's episode featured Dr. Eagleman as a guest.

[pandora spocks]

Appalled and disturbed didn't even describe my feelings while watching Independent Lens' episode "India's Daughter."  Kyoti Singh was savagely raped by six men and lingered in the hospital for two weeks before succumbing to her internal injuries.  Singh's rape sparked an outrage leading to protests in Indian universities and eventually spread internationally.  The heartbreak of her parents recounting this tragedy was so palpable.   

 

Kyoti Singh's crime was being female and out late at night.  She was coming home from seeing a movie.  One of the rapists said she "needed to be taught a lesson."  The total lack of responsibility on the part of these animals was utterly sickening.  Their defense attorney defended their actions demonstrating that these beliefs aren't confined to one socioeconomic group.  A wife of a rapist vilified Singh as if she were to blame.  She wailed about what she was going to do now, even talking about strangling their son if he were hanged.  There was discussion from family members of the rapists about how they grew up in poverty.   Yada, yada, yada. People grow up in poverty all over the world but these animals shouldn't get a pass for such unspeakable behavior.

[walnutqueen]

Appalled and disturbed didn't even describe my feelings while watching Independent Lens' episode "India's Daughter."  Kyoti Singh was savagely raped by six men and lingered in the hospital for two weeks before succumbing to her internal injuries.  Singh's rape sparked an outrage leading to protests in Indian universities and eventually spread internationally.  The heartbreak of her parents recounting this tragedy was so palpable.   

 

Kyoti Singh's crime was being female and out late at night.  She was coming home from seeing a movie.  One of the rapists said she "needed to be taught a lesson."  The total lack of responsibility on the part of these animals was utterly sickening.  Their defense attorney defended their actions demonstrating that these beliefs aren't confined to one socioeconomic group.  A wife of a rapist vilified Singh as if she were to blame.  She wailed about what she was going to do now, even talking about strangling their son if he were hanged.  There was discussion from family members of the rapists about how they grew up in poverty.   Yada, yada, yada. People grow up in poverty all over the world but these animals shouldn't get a pass for such unspeakable behavior.

 

This was one of the most disturbingly horrific crimes I have ever seen covered.  I was almost glad my failing eyesight couldn't make out all the subtitles, because I really hated what the defendants and their defenders were saying. 

[magdalene]

magdalene - you might want to check out another excellent show on the National Geographic Channel called Breakthrough (airs Sunday nights).  Last week's episode featured Dr. Eagleman as a guest.

Thank you for the rec! I didn't even realize that I get this channel.

 

I have also been enjoying the Nova program that aired in the hour before the Brain with Dr. Eagleman  program - about the geological history of North America. I learned some surprising to me facts from it - for example: the camel originated on the North American continent.

[Sharpie66]

My local PBS station alternate channel (WTTW Prime), one of many alternates that WTTW has on cable now, is rerunning the three-parter Your Inner Fish/Reptile/Mammal on the weekend for the next few weeks. It's probably my favorite evolution doc in recent years--entertainingly told, with stuff I hadn't heard before (like "Sonic Hedgehog," a gene that controls the production of digits on the hands of every species type from tetrapods like newts all the way to humans), and good animation, all hosted by the evolutionary biologist who wrote the book of the same name, Neil Shubin. (He was on the Colbert Report twice, and is very comfortable on camera.)

[walnutqueen]

Sharpie66, on 23 Nov 2015 - 11:06 AM, said:

My local PBS station alternate channel (WTTW Prime), one of many alternates that WTTW has on cable now, is rerunning the three-parter Your Inner Fish/Reptile/Mammal on the weekend for the next few weeks. It's probably my favorite evolution doc in recent years--entertainingly told, with stuff I hadn't heard before (like "Sonic Hedgehog," a gene that controls the production of digits on the hands of every species type from tetrapods like newts all the way to humans), and good animation, all hosted by the evolutionary biologist who wrote the book of the same name, Neil Shubin. (He was on the Colbert Report twice, and is very comfortable on camera.)

 

I don't remember if I learned this here, or somewhere else on PBS, but the whole "raccoon washing their food" hypothesis doesn't hold water.  Apparently, their paws are super sensitive and soften when dipped in water, which is why they obsessively remove my backyard drainplugs to wet their paws before eating the same "free range" catfood I put out every night.  :-)

[DownTheShore]

If anyone watches Nick Stellino's cooking shows over on Create, he's giving away free his "Cooking With Nick Stellino" cookbook to celebrate his 20th anniversary on public tv. I just caught the advert for it after a Cook's Country episode.

http://www.nickstellino.com/Store/Download/15APT0421.aspx

I've watched him for years whenever I could catch his show. I think the offer ends shortly.

It's in PDF format.

[whatsatool]

The Pilgrims was very well done. I learned a lot.

[pandora spocks]

The Pilgrims was very well done. I learned a lot.

 

There were a lot of things that were never mentioned in the history books.  Miles Standish's murder of the chiefs of two indigenous tribes with their heads displayed on spikes, Dorothy Bradford's more than possible suicide, and William Bradford's accounts in his journal being less-than-realistic.  It was tragic that European colonists' progress proved detrimental to Native Americans.

 

Mimi and Dona had me in tears at the end.  It was very well done.

Edited November 25, 2015 by pandora spocks

[whatsatool]

I thought the tie in with Lincoln and the Civil War was interesting. Yankee propaganda. Guess Custer didn't get the Thanksgiving memo. So New England owes a lot to the beaver.

And following we learn that as catastrophic as settling was to these idealistic Pilgrims, it was worse for the Jamestown Gentry. Soldiers carpenters and doctors and farmers and trappers were what they needed in the colonies. What a death trap.

PBS also has a fascinating program on North Carolina and the history of the native peoples called Birth of a Colony.

Edited November 26, 2015 by whatsatool

[applecrisp]

The Pilgrims was very well done. I learned a lot.

 

I was surprised about them not burying their dead and propping up very sick men to die in the wilderness while carrying muskets.  I actually think maybe Ed Winslow was the more candid writer of the Pilgrim's saga.  Bradford left out a lot of key details.  I am trying to watch Saints and Strangers on NatGeo.

[pandora spocks]

Ah, fundraising is upon us again.  I'm curious about whether PBS viewers all get to experience Suze Orman and Dr. Wayne Dyer during the same time period.

[chessiegal]

Ah, fundraising is upon us again.  I'm curious about whether PBS viewers all get to experience Suze Orman and Dr. Wayne Dyer during the same time period.

They do in my market (DC area). And I have to say I'm miffed at MPT (Maryland Public Television), they are apparently fund raising on weekends 3 weeks out of every month. Dammit - I want my Saturday cooking shows!

[glowlights]

Did anyone see Love In The Animal Kingdom on Nature? It aired Nov 6 but my DVR recorded it last week as a repeat. The entire ep was outstanding, but the segment on the male bird of paradise was just incredible to me. Full ep is here, the bird of paradise segment starts around 6:40. The dance music is perfect lol

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/love-in-the-animal-kingdom-love-in-the-animal-kingdom/8501/

[walnutqueen]

glowlights, on 02 Dec 2015 - 09:41 AM, said:glowlights, on 02 Dec 2015 - 09:41 AM, said:

Did anyone see Love In The Animal Kingdom on Nature? It aired Nov 6 but my DVR recorded it last week as a repeat. The entire ep was outstanding, but the segment on the male bird of paradise was just incredible to me. Full ep is here, the bird of paradise segment starts around 6:40. The dance music is perfect lol

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/love-in-the-animal-kingdom-love-in-the-animal-kingdom/8501/

 

I watched it, glowlights (of course!) and loved it.  Bird dances are my everything.  Did you ever see the moonwalking dance?  http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=bird+of+paradise+moonwalk+dance&FORM=VIRE2#view=detail&mid=FE14C895A4B4F1934439FE14C895A4B4F1934439

Edited December 2, 2015 by walnutqueen

[glowlights]

^^ Oh my god! THANK YOU for that link! I'm laughing but in total admiration for their moves.

 

Btw my husband and I had a good laugh over the way that female silverback gorilla flirted. That's pretty much what I do - saunter into his office and stare at him. hahaha

[Maizie131]

For anyone interested, there's a special on tonight @ 9:30, "The Carpenters: Close to You".  I watched it the other night and thought it was very well-done, with much footage I'd never seen before.  Heartbreaking, of course, but still worth it.  Gawd I loved The Carpenters...still do. 

[Sharpie66]

They showed that on my local station over the weekend. Karen's death really hit me hard--I was a huge Carpenters fan, and they were a big part of my early childhood (born in '66). I remember that my Brownie troop did a little skit while singing "Top of the World". After my voice changed, it turns out that it's in the same range as Karen (but nowhere near her tone and emotion), so I can sing along with her note for note.

 

That special pointed out the significance of her death, since it was really the event that pushed anorexia into the medical spotlight and gave it a legitimacy as an illness it never had before.

[Spunkygal]

I've had such an enjoyable and low-key afternoon! After watching It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World on TCM for the umpteenth time, my PBS station had two of my favorite Vicar of Dibley episodes. One was Geraldine being invited to four Christmas luncheons, and at the Hortons, had the hilarious brussel sprout contest with David! The next episode was heavily pregnant Alice acting as Mother Mary in the live Nativity....only it took some time for those dolts to realize she really was in labor!

I know it's highly unlikely, but I wish they would do a reunion special with Geraldine married to Richard Armitage and what their life is like. And what has happened with the other main characters. Sadly, Roger Lloyd Pack has passed but aren't most of the others still around? I just never got the closure from this show that I needed!!

[whatsatool]

Fantasy is Karen Carpenter singing with Ricky Nelson. I also liked ITVs The Great Fire.

[SmithW6079]

My local PBS station is on its umpteenth re-cycling of "As Time Goes By." Not that I mind, although at this point, I'm extremely selective about which episodes I watch again. However, I do wish they'd show some of the other Britcoms again, like "To the Manor Born."

 

This is probably unpopular, but I thought Geraldine and David Horton would have made an interesting match. I think they were fairly well-matched intellectually, if not politically and socially, and I liked the interplay they always had. I thought her courtship story for the man she eventually married was entirely too quickly done, and I was never invested in that relationship.

[StaceyNotStacie]

Watched In Defense of Food last night. Very interesting and very informative. I highly recommend it if you catch a replay.

[pandora spocks]

 Prohibition was a very fascinating documentary.  It proved that morality couldn't be legislated.  My mother told me stories about my great grandfather operating a still in the 1920's and being sent to jail for a year.  He would have been sentenced longer but he had young kids to support.

Edited January 2, 2016 by pandora spocks

[whatsatool]

So many mysteries. Aussie vets, Aussie flappers,Midsummer, and also The Great Fire of London.

[Trini]

Watched In Defense of Food last night. Very interesting and very informative. I highly recommend it if you catch a replay.

 

My mom has the book, so I already knew much of what was discussed. Although, I wondered if the author would amend anything since that WHO statement about red meat was released.

[ebk57]

I don't know if there's another thread for In Performance at The White House, but I'm watching the new one with Buddy Guy, Audra McDonald, Keb Mo', Smokey Robinson and on and on... and it's wonderful.  I'm amazed they fit so many people into an hour show.  But it's a quality hour!  

 

The only thing I'm not fond of, and I found that to be true for the Gershwin Prize show, is the shots of the audience.  They look so...awkward...bopping around in their seats.

 

Try to catch this one at some point if you can.

[SmithW6079]

I just caught one of the final episodes of As Time Goes By, right after Judy and Alastair have married and Harry and Sandy go to Canada. I wonder if the young girl they discover on their stoop was supposed to be a new character that would let Jean be a "mother" to a new generation (before grandchildren).

Edited January 11, 2016 by SmithW6079

[Ohwell]

I don't know if there's another thread for In Performance at The White House, but I'm watching the new one with Buddy Guy, Audra McDonald, Keb Mo', Smokey Robinson and on and on... and it's wonderful.  I'm amazed they fit so many people into an hour show.  But it's a quality hour!  

 

The only thing I'm not fond of, and I found that to be true for the Gershwin Prize show, is the shots of the audience.  They look so...awkward...bopping around in their seats.

 

Try to catch this one at some point if you can.

I saw it and enjoyed it but the one thing I'll admit is that I don't get the fuss over Keb Mo'.  I'd heard of him but he's no BB King, IMO.   I love the shots of the audience.   

[Milz]

I just caught one of the final episodes of As Time Goes By, right after Judy and Alastair have married and Harry and Sandy go to Canada. I wonder if the young girl they discover on their stoop was supposed to be a new character that would let Jean be a "mother" to a new generation (before grandcildren).

 

I thought the same thing too. And don't forget---Lionel's Kenyan son is a physician who was working at a London hospital.

 

I liked ATGB. It's too bad they aren't making any more of them.

Edited January 11, 2016 by Milz

[whatsatool]

Good show about building Rockefeller Center in the Great Depression.

[glowlights]

Did anyone else see the episode of Nature about honey badgers? Because I didn't really know much about them before, and after this show I am completely in love with their bad-ass little selves. I'm not saying I'd be thrilled if a band of honey badgers broke into my hosue and pillaged the kitchen... but I wouldn't be mad, either. :)

 

Look how smart they are!

[walnutqueen]

Honey badgers are fierce and fascinating, and I really enjoy watching shows about them.  Thanks for the smile ^^^, glowlights!

 

Remember that bit about "honey badger - he don't care"?  My version is "honey badger gives zero fucks".  ;-)

 

Oh, and last night's Frontline on Supplements and Safety should be a wake-up call to everyone (I know, it has  dedicated forum, but hardly anyone post there anymore).

Edited January 21, 2016 by walnutqueen

[SmithW6079]

Oh, and last night's Frontline on Supplements and Safety should be a wake-up call to everyone (I know, it has dedicated forum, but hardly anyone post there anymore).

I was just looking for that thread, because the episode had me going, "Holy shit!"

The FDA guy who became a lobbyist was a dick -- regurgitating the bullshit that the revolving door between industry and government is a good thing for consumers, or snarking to the reporter about how many fraudulent supplement companies she had closed down.

Intriguing (but not unexpected) how many people declined to be interviewed to get called on their lies.

Kudos to Nature's Way. I'm going to look for their products.

Edited January 21, 2016 by SmithW6079

[walnutqueen]

SmithW6079, on 20 Jan 2016 - 5:25 PM, said:

I was just looking for that thread, because the episode had me going, "Holy shit!"

The FDA guy who became a lobbyist was a dick -- regurgitating the bullshit that the revolving door between industry and government is a good thing for consumers, or snarking to the reporter about how many fraudulent supplement companies she had closed down.

Intriguing (but not unexpected) how many people declined to be interviewed to get called on their lies.

 

FDA lobbyist was slimy.  I loved the other guy who tried to provide scientific proof for his fish oil/heart disease claims, and the studies he cited actually refuted his claims.  His response "Well, that's just the abstract you're reading, the full report hasn't been released" was neatly countered by the interviewer "Well, the conclusions would be the same, right?".   Snap!   :-)

[Sharpie66]

My grandma was sucked in by an infomercial about high dosages of vitamins being mega-good for you, and ended up with what they initially thought was a stroke. It took them a day or two to figure out that it was, in fact, a vitamin overdose.

[Hyacinth B]

Did anyone else see the episode of Nature about honey badgers? Because I didn't really know much about them before, and after this show I am completely in love with their bad-ass little selves. I'm not saying I'd be thrilled if a band of honey badgers broke into my hosue and pillaged the kitchen... but I wouldn't be mad, either. :)

 

Look how smart they are!

 

There's a novel called The Honey Badger written by Robert Ruark back in the 60's that starts with a great quote:

"There is a bloody brave little animal called the honey badger in Africa. It may be the meanest animal in the world. It kills for malice and for sport, and it does not go for the jugular-it goes straight for the groin. It has a hell of a lot in common with the Modern American woman"

 

I kept thinking of that quote while watching that program. 

Edited January 22, 2016 by Hyacinth B

[Hyacinth B]

I was just looking for that thread, because the episode had me going, "Holy shit!"

The FDA guy who became a lobbyist was a dick -- regurgitating the bullshit that the revolving door between industry and government is a good thing for consumers, or snarking to the reporter about how many fraudulent supplement companies she had closed down.

Intriguing (but not unexpected) how many people declined to be interviewed to get called on their lies.

Kudos to Nature's Way. I'm going to look for their products.

 

Yep, another politician / political appointee who was probably offered an OBSCENE amount of money when their term was up to come over to the Dark Side. You have to wonder how some of these sleazos sleep at night, but I guess all those C-notes make a very comfy pillow. 

[ennui]

Last night I watched a truly wonderful Nature episode called My Life As A Turkey. I balled my eyes out at the end, but I ball my eyes out watching Dr. K's Exotic Animal Hospital so... ymmv.

I've never tried having sex while watching a PBS nature show. Kinky!

I know these are old, but I got an image of Gerald Arthur from The Full Monty, talking about how nature programs get him excited.

[glowlights]

There's a novel called The Honey Badger written by Robert Ruark back in the 60's that starts with a great quote:

"There is a bloody brave little animal called the honey badger in Africa. It may be the meanest animal in the world. It kills for malice and for sport, and it does not go for the jugular-it goes straight for the groin. It has a hell of a lot in common with the Modern American woman"

 

Hey, I haven't read that one! Off to browse the library catalog. :) I think honey badgers (the furry animals, not the characters in Ruark's book) have been sort of maligned, much like wolverines and weasels. They're tough and confrontational, but they also have complex relationships and fun sides. Or so I am learning courtesy of PBS...

[whatsatool]

I feel about Australians the way y'all feel about honey badgers. Loved the PBS one on the Aussie railroad.

[StaceyNotStacie]

Watched American Experience last night. The topic was the assassination of James Garfield. Such an interesting story, and somewhat infuriating watching how close his killer was able to get to him on multiple occasions and how isolated his doctor kept him, especially from other medical professionals. That never would have happened today.

[Dirtybubble]

Watched American Experience last night. The topic was the assassination of James Garfield. Such an interesting story, and somewhat infuriating watching how close his killer was able to get to him on multiple occasions and how isolated his doctor kept him, especially from other medical professionals. That never would have happened today.

 

 

I have that saved in DVR--glad to hear it was good.  I wonder with President's Day coming up are they gonna air more American Presidents episodes-I hope so.

[Sharpie66]

I have it on my dvr, too. I've got the book the show was based on in my tablet, but I've only read a few chapters before I got distracted. What I did read was interesting, though!

[Crs97]

We stumbled across the Garfield experience and found ourselves googling information to get caught up. Really interesting time in our history. Dr. Bliss really was a piece of work, and the assassin was creepy, but sad. Hard to believe they thought Lincoln's assassination was a fluke. I really enjoyed this episode, but not so interested in the next "kill for fun" episode.

[Sharpie66]

Charles Guiteau has a prominent role in Stephen Sondheim's musical Assassins, which is where I first learned about him and the shooting of Garfield. His song in the play is, um, interesting, ending with him doing a kick-step up the stairs to the gallows.

 

BTW, did the show talk at all about how Robert Todd Lincoln was an eyewitness to the shooting? He was also in DC at the time of his father's assassination, attending the deathbed, and happened to be at the Pan American Exhibition at the same time as McKinley's shooting there, although he didn't witness it personally. Just a really interesting coincidence in American history!