PROGRAM LISTINGS April 8 - April 14, 2012
Arts, Drama, Culture
FINDING YOUR ROOTS
Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick
Sun., April 8, 7:00 pm
Tues., April 10, 11:00 pm
New
This 10-part series, with renowned cultural critic and Harvard scholar Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., journeys deep into the ancestry of a group of remarkable individuals and provides new understanding of personal identity and American history.
What do Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick have in common? They are both famous actors and both descend from prominent American families that have been in this country since its inception. But they share something else, too: Both had ancestors who were early opponents of slavery. Bacon's Quaker ancestors repudiated slavery long before the rest of the country, in 1780. And Sedgwick's ancestor Theodore Sedgwick argued the freedom case of Elizabeth Freeman, also known as "Mumbet," in 1781 - which helped bring an end to slavery in Massachusetts.
MASTERPIECE CLASSIC
Great Expectations, Part 2 of 2
Sun., April 8, 8:00 pm
New
An orphan boy meets an escaped convict, a crazed rich woman, a bewitching girl, and grows up to have great expectations of wealth from a mysterious patron in Charles Dickens' remarkable tale of rags to riches to self-knowledge. This all-new version stars Gillian Anderson, David Suchet, Ray Winstone and Douglas Booth.
The Art of the Possible
Sun., April 8, 10:00 pm
New
This program invites audiences into the worlds of five families living with cancer, its treatment, and what remains in the aftermath. At once humorous and haunting, the program presents a narrative portrayal of families creating a "new normal" in the midst of cancer, and the care providers that serve them. The film offers the public and medical communities-at-large a glimpse of cancer care that couples conventional therapies with humanizing communication practices.
NA MELE: TRADITIONS IN HAWAIIAN SONG
Nina Keali'iwahamana and Bill Kaiwa
Mon., April 9, 7:30 pm
Encore
The magic of Hawaii Calls is revived when Nina Keali'iwahamana joins Bill Kaiwa for some traditional Hawaiian classics in this special encore of a classic Na Mele. Nina and Bill are joined for this journey down memory lane by Martin Pahinui on bass, and Steven Hall and George Kuo on guitar.
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW
El Paso, TX, Part 3 of 3
Mon., April 9, 8:00 pm
New
Against the backdrop of Indian Cliff Ranch, host Mark L. Walberg and appraiser Bruce Shackelford discuss the styles and construction that distinguish Texas spurs and what collectors of vintage spurs are willing to pay for them. Highlights from the Roadshow floor include a 1775 Revolutionary War canteen; an 1834 last will of historic Alamo fighter Ben Milam, rescued from a basement; and a 1787 Debbe Poor sampler - the oldest sampler on record from Andover, Massachusetts - valued at $40,000.
INDEPENDENT LENS
Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey
Mon., April 9, 9:00 pm
Encore
Every day, millions tune in to SESAME STREET to see one of the world's most adored and recognizable characters - a furry red monster named Elmo. Yet, with all of Elmo's fame, the man behind the icon is able to walk down the street without being recognized. As a teenager growing up in Baltimore in the 1970s, Kevin Clash had very different aspirations from his classmates - he wanted to be a puppeteer. More specifically, he wanted to be part of Jim Henson's team, the creative force responsible for delivering the magic of SESAME STREET. With a supportive family behind him, Clash made his dreams come true. Combining archival footage with material from the present day, filmmaker Constance Marks explores Clash's story in vivid detail. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg and including interviews with Frank Oz, Rosie O'Donnell, Cheryl Henson, Joan Ganz Cooney and others, this insightful documentary offers up a rare, behind-the-scenes look at Elmo, SESAME STREET and the Jim Henson legacy.
LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER
Renée Fleming @ The Penthouse
Mon., April 9, 10:30 pm
Encore
Join celebrated soprano Renée Fleming for an intimate performance in Lincoln Center's Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse. Featuring the rarely performed operatic masterpiece "Knoxville Summer of 1915" by Samuel Barber, the program also marks the first television performance of songs from Fleming's new pop and rock album, Dark Hope. A favorite of the Emmy-winning series as both performer and host, Fleming will also perform Broadway favorites and a special duet with popular vocalist Josh Groban.
LONG STORY SHORT WITH LESLIE WILCOX
Ryan Higa
Tues., April 10, 7:30 pm
Encore
Leslie Wilcox talks story with Ryan Higa, also known as "Nigahiga" on YouTube. His self-produced online comedy videos led to the Hilo native's inadvertent, meteoric rise to national fame. Ryan reveals how he first started using video cameras, his thoughts on the entertainment business and a deal that tested his integrity.
This program is available in high-definition and will be rebroadcast on Wed., April 11 at 11:00 pm and Sun. April 15, at 4:00 pm.
The Titanic with Len Goodman
Tues., April 10, 8:00 pm
New
Join host Len Goodman as he examines the 100-year legacy of the Titanic, exploring the human stories that unfolded in the years after the ship sank. He meets descendants of passengers and crew and hears how, for the families of many on board, the sinking was just the start of the story. He visits Belfast, the city where Titanic was built, and journeys to other towns left scarred by the tragedy.
Saving the Titanic
Tues., April 10, 9:00 pm
Encore
Follow a dramatic interpretation of the Titanic's final hours, told from the point of view of the engineers below deck as they struggle to maintain power and keep the ship afloat to save as many lives as possible.
LEAHEY & LEAHEY
Wed., April 11, 7:30 pm
New
Jim and Kanoa Leahey, Hawaii's father and son sports reporting duo, prove that the liveliest discussions happen with family and friends at the kitchen table. Join them as they talk story with special guests about "sports and other living things."
This program is available in high-definition and will be rebroadcast on Wed., April 11, at 11:30 pm and Sun., April 15, at 3:30 pm.
AMERICA REVEALED
Food Machine
Wed., April 11, 10:00 pm
New
AMERICA REVEALED takes viewers on a four-hour journey high above the American landscape to reveal the country as never seen before.
Technology expert and communications attorney Yul Kwon (winner of Survivor: Cook Islands) hosts this exciting new PBS series that travels through time, space and systems to reveal a nation of interdependent and intricately interwoven networks that feed and power the nation, produce millions of goods, transport people great distances and still come together to make America work. These networks all rely on vast, complex and precisely calibrated systems, yet most Americans have never had the chance to observe or understand them--until now.
Food Machine: Over the past century an American industrial revolution has given rise to the biggest, most productive food machine the world has ever known. Join host Kwon to learn how this machine feeds nearly 300 million Americans every day. Discover engineering marvels created by putting nature to work, and consider the toll our insatiable appetites take on our health and environment. Embark with Kwon on a trip that begins with a pizza delivery route in New York City, then goes across the country to California's Central Valley, where nearly 50 percent of America's fruits, nuts and vegetables are grown, and into the heartland for an aerial look at our farmlands. Meet the men and women who keep us fed - everyone from industrial to urban farmers, crop-dusting pilots to long-distance bee truckers, modern-day cowboys to the pizza deliveryman.
PBS HAWAII PRESENTS
Great Grandfather's Drum
Thurs., April 12, 9:00 pm
Encore
This film celebrates Japanese American culture and history on Maui, told by descendents of plantation workers and by elders who lived this history. Experience the Maui Taiko drum ensemble's powerful performances and travel with them to rural Japan in search of their ancestral roots.
INDEPENDENT LENS
When the Drum is Beating
Thurs., April 12, 10:00
New
This documentary explores Haiti's complex past and present through the music of the country's oldest and best-known band and the memories of its founder and leader, Ulric Pierre-Louis. As Haiti disintegrates around them, the three generations of musicians who make up Septentrional struggle to persevere and prevent this national treasure from being lost forever.
GLOBE TREKKER
Mid-Atlantic States
Thurs., April 12, 11:00 pm
New
Host Brianna Barnes begins her travels in New Jersey with a visit to Atlantic City and Wildwoods on a 1950s-themed weekend. Next it's on to Delaware, with stops in Lewes and Annapolis, followed by crabbing on the Chesapeake Bay. Brianna journeys through the Brandywine Valley, which stretches through Delaware and Pennsylvania, on her way to Philadelphia for a taste of the famous cheesesteaks and a look at the Art Museum. She continues west through Amish country, takes in the new Flight 93 memorial in Shanksville and checks out the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. Brianna makes her way to Virginia, where she encounters a replica of Stonehenge made entirely from Styrofoam and concludes her trip at Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson.
ART IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Change
Fri., April 13, 9:00 pm
New
ART IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, the only primetime national television series to focus exclusively on contemporary art and artists, returns to PBS for a sixth season. Through in-depth profiles and interviews, the series reveals the inspiration, vision and techniques behind the creative works of some of the most accomplished contemporary artists.
Change: Artists Ai Weiwei, El Anatsui and Catherine Opie bear witness, through their work, to transformation - cultural, material, and aesthetic - and actively engage communities as collaborators and subjects.
CRAFT IN AMERICA
Messages
Fri., April 13, 10:00 pm
Encore
This episode explores the ways many craft artists go beyond skill to personal and political expression. The artists selected express many different interests and points of view and include Wisconsin glass artist Beth Lipman, New Mexico santero Charles Carrillo, Baltimore bead artist Joyce J. Scott and New Orleans metal artist Thomas Mann.
LIVE FROM THE ARTISTS DEN
The Fray
Fri., April 13, 11:00 pm
New
The Angel Orensanz Center, a magnificent landmark in the heart of New York City's Lower East Side, hosts a stunning performance by multi-platinum rockers The Fray. The Denver-based band plays a mix of such fan favorites as the Top 10 hits "How to Save a Life," "Over My Head" and "You Found Me," alongside new material from the album Scars and Stories.
SIMPLY MING
Masuhara Morimoto and Lightly Cooked Fish
Sat., April 14, 5:30 pm
New
SIMPLY MING returns for its ninth season with 26 brand-new episodes featuring more mouthwatering recipes, celebrity appearances and road trips to visit some of host Ming Tsai's favorite chefs. Each episode features a technique demonstration, followed by two dishes - one prepared by a guest chef and one by Ming, who must create a meal "on the fly" using cooking staples found in Ming's kitchen and with an unknown secret ingredient.
On this episode of SIMPLY MING, Ming Tsai is back in beautiful Napa Valley visiting his good friend, Iron Chef Morimoto who, of course, knows how to demonstrate his magic with all things fish. Morimoto shows us how to first break down a fish and then cook it to maintain its pristine flavor.
BURT WOLF: TRAVELS AND TRADITIONS
Atlantic Crossing
Sat., April 14, 7:00 pm
Encore
In 1911, Burt's grandmother and her one-year old daughter, Burt's mother, boarded a ship in Hamburg, Germany and immigrated to the United States. To mark this anniversary, Burt and his family sailed back to Europe on Cunard's Queen Mary -- same route, different accommodations. This program covers the history of transatlantic passenger ships and introduces you to what it is like today.
RUDY MAXA'S WORLD
South Africa Safari
Sat., April 14, 7:30 pm
New
The 2010 World Cup put South Africa on the map for travelers in a major way, and a South African safari is a wonderful way to visit the country. The opportunity to see lions, giraffes, elephants, and dozens of other animals close up in their natural habitat is a special experience. This brilliantly shot episode by award-winning wildlife photographer Joe Pontecorvo brings the excitement of the wild into the homes of viewers.
GREAT PERFORMANCES
San Francisco Symphony at 100
Sat., April 14, 8:00 pm
Encore
The San Francisco Symphony is celebrating its centennial season. From the ashes of the great San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906 rose the passionate desire of a community to embrace music and build an orchestra to restore its spirit. The San Francisco Symphony, born a few years later, has become a cultural gem over the past century in one of the most interesting and progressive cities in America and the world. This centennial gala concert program, hosted by acclaimed writer and San Francisco native Amy Tan, features SFS music director Michael Tilson Thomas with guest artists Itzhak Perlman and Lang Lang performing works by Copland, Mendelssohn and Britten. Concert footage is interwoven with short video stories highlighting unique moments in the symphony's history, as well as interviews with the performers and luminaries in the audience.
GREAT PERFORMANCES
The Thomashefskys: Music and Memories of a Life in Yiddish Theater
Sat., April 14, 10:00 pm
New
This program brings to life the words and music of the American Yiddish theater. The story's lead characters - Bessie and Boris Thomashefsky - are the grandparents of San Francisco Symphony music director Michael Tilson Thomas. Bessie and Boris immigrated to the United States from Eastern Europe in the 1880s, and while still in their teens, they began to play major roles in the development of New York City's Yiddish theater. For Jewish immigrants who settled on the lower East Side of Manhattan, the Yiddish theater was central to their lives, and provided a stage for the new ideas that were shaping the transition to an American way of life.
Michael Tilson Thomas serves as guide through the lives and repertoire of his grandparents. His grandfather died before he was born, but his grandmother lived until he was 17. His close relationship with her is a source of much of the performance material. Performing at the New World Symphony's spectacular new Frank Gehry-designed home in Miami, Tilson Thomas shares the stage with a 30-piece orchestra and ensemble cast to bring the repertoire and words of Bessie and Boris to life. With time, aspects of klezmer and cantorial sounds became more integrated and more American, as Jewish composers became immersed in their new surroundings, greatly influencing composers like Irving Berlin and George Gershwin.
Public Affairs
MOYERS & COMPANY
Sun., April 8, 5:00 pm
New
Bill Moyers returns to public television with MOYERS & COMPANY, a weekly hour of compelling and vital conversation about life and the state of American democracy, featuring some of the best thinkers of our time. A range of scholars, artists, activists, scientists, philosophers and newsmakers bring context, insight and meaning to important topics. The series also occasionally includes Moyers' own timely and penetrating essays on society and government.
FRONTLINE
Nuclear Aftershocks
Tues., April 10, 10:00 pm
Encore
In March 2011, a devastating earthquake and tsunami crippled Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, leaving the country's once-popular energy program in shambles. In response, Germany decided to abandon nuclear energy entirely. Should the U.S. follow suit? FRONTLINE correspondent Miles O'Brien examines the implications of the Fukushima accident for U.S. nuclear safety and asks how this disaster will affect the future of nuclear energy around the world. In particular, he visits one emerging battleground: the controversial relicensing of the Indian Point nuclear plant, located only 38 miles from Manhattan. What lessons can be learned from the disaster in Japan?
HIKI NŌ: The Nation's First Statewide Student News Network
Thurs., April 12, 7:30 pm
New
Students from Kamehameha Schools - Maui, Waialua High and Intermediate School, Kapaa High School and Keaau High School host this season two recap episode of HIKI NŌ. In this special edition, HIKI NŌ takes a look back at some of the most exceptional stories from the past season.
Schools featured in this episode: Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School, Kapaa High School (Kauai); Kamehameha Schools - Maui, Maui High School (Maui); Kainalu Elementary School, Kapolei High School, Moanalua High School, Saint Francis School, Waianae High School, Waianae Intermediate School (Oahu).
This HIKI NŌ newscast encores Saturday, April 14 at 12:30 pm and Sunday, April 15 at 3:00 pm. You may also view this newscast and past episodes on our website, www.pbshawaii.org/hikino
INSIGHTS ON PBS HAWAII
Affordable Housing
Thurs., April 12, 8:00 pm
New
Dan Boylan moderates a discussion on affordable housing in Hawaii. Representatives from nonprofit groups will talk about various steps being considered and taken to address Hawaii's affordable housing shortage for renters and homeowners. After this discussion, Richard Borreca, political columnist at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, joins Dan for an update on key legislative topics.
Scheduled guests include: Victor Geminiani, Executive Director, Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice; Betty Lou Larson, Legislative Liaison, Catholic Charities Hawaii; Karen Seddon, Executive Director, Hawaii Housing Finance & Development Corporation; and Claudia Shay, Executive Director, Self-Help Housing Corporation of Hawaii.
INSIGHTS is also available online via live streaming. We want to hear from you! Your questions and comments are welcome via phone, email, Twitter or live blogging. You may also email your questions ahead of time to insights@pbshawaii.org
WASHINGTON WEEK
Fri., April 13, 7:30 pm
New
For 40 years, WASHINGTON WEEK has delivered the most interesting conversation of the week. The program, hosted by Gwen Ifill, is the longest-running public affairs program on PBS and features a group of journalists participating in roundtable discussion of major news events.
NEED TO KNOW
Fri., April 13, 8:00 pm
New
This weekly current affairs series covers the issues being considered by candidates and voters - from immigration to education to health care, environment, jobs and the economy - from Main Street's point of view.
The program also profiles up-and-coming political leaders and will report regularly from the road, hosting the program from key states whose issues are important to the national election. Essays, many from Jon Meacham and from a diverse group of other journalists and big thinkers, are a weekly feature.
A rotation of respected and experienced media professionals will both anchor the program and report from the field. They include: Jeff Greenfield, a seasoned political, media and culture reporter and commentator who has worked for CNN, CBS and NBC; Maria Hinojosa, host and managing editor of NPR's Latino USA and former senior correspondent of NOW On PBS; Scott Simon, longtime host of NPR's Weekend Edition; and Ray Suarez, co-anchor of the PBS NEWSHOUR.
THE MCLAUGHLIN GROUP
Fri., April 13, 8:30 pm
New
THE MCLAUGHLIN GROUP is an unscripted forum featuring some of the greatest political analysts in the nation.
Science and Nature
NATURE
Ocean Giants: Voices of the Sea
Wed., April 11, 8:00 pm
Encore
Whales and dolphins remain a constant source of fascination. But how much do we really know about them? Whales and dolphins, known as cetaceans, may appear to be totally alien to us, but with their mental ability, group communication and the recent discovery that dolphins have individual names, they are closer to us than we ever imagined. NATURE provides new insights into the lives of whales and dolphins in a visually powerful, engaging and entertaining format. Teams of intrepid scientists equipped with the latest technology are making extraordinary breakthroughs in their understanding of these intelligent life forms that may safeguard their survival.
This episode reveals a surprising underwater world where sound takes the place of sight. Humpback whales' songs carry thousands of miles, while a sperm whale scans the ocean depths with a sonar laser beam louder than a thunderclap.
NOVA
Deadliest Tornadoes
Wed., April 11, 9:00 pm
New
In April 2011, the worst tornado outbreak in decades left a trail of destruction across the U.S., killing more than 360 people. This episode looks at the science behind last year's outbreak, meeting those affected and the scientists striving to understand the forces behind the outbreak.