Documentary Archives - Page 47 of 63

Exclusive footage from Costa Concordia disaster part of new Discovery Channel documentary

February 14, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

Discovery Channel will be airing exclusive footage of Capt. Francesco Schettino and his crew from inside the Costa Concordia bridge assessing what to do next as passengers fight for survival — taken during the Jan. 13 incident in which the Italian cruise ship ran aground and began to sink — in the world-premiere special Cruise Ship Disaster: Inside the Concordia, premiering on the network this Sunday, Feb. 19, at 10pm ET/PT. In the footage, Schettino is shown speaking by phone on the bridge, illuminated only by emergency lights after the power failed. He seems oblivious to the escalating emergency and […]

PBS’ “American Experience” examines the Clinton presidency

February 13, 2012 StayTuned Staff

PBS has announced that the first hour of its new, two-part American Experience documentary “Clinton” — which premieres on the network over two nights, Feb. 20 at 9pm ET and Feb. 21 at 8pm ET — will premiere exclusively on the free PBS apps for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch beginning today. This hour will also be available for free download on iTunes for one week before the broadcast. The full four-hour biography will be streamed on video.pbs.org, timed to the national broadcast. “With nearly one-third of our 148 million video streams in January coming from mobile apps, we […]

“Slavery By Another Name” documentary is a powerful look at a horrifying, little-known era in American history

February 10, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

The conventional wisdom regarding African-American slavery in the United States — that we all learned in school at some point, probably at a very young age — is that Abraham Lincoln, through victory in the Civil War and through the Emancipation Proclamation, freed the enslaved black people of the South. End of story. No more slavery. But like most things, the true story is far from being that simple, and former Wall Street Journal writer Douglas A. Blackmon chronicled incredibly disgusting breaks in the flow of this happy-sounding narrative in his 2008 book Slavery By Another Name, a terrific work […]

Discovery Channel after dark: Sexy specials for Valentine’s Day weekend

February 9, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

SEX! Now that I’ve got your attention … If you’re not getting any this Valentine’s Day weekend, at least you can watch a couple of rebroadcast Discovery Channel specials to help you understand why you want it so badly, and why you enjoy it so much when the opportunity finally comes along. And if you are lucky enough to be getting some — well, you’ll probably be DVRing these programs while you’re otherwise occupied, I suppose. Here are the sexy specials Discovery Channel will be running this Saturday night, Feb. 11: Curiosity: Why Is Sex Fun? — 9pm ET/PT. Maggie […]

PBS’ “Nature” visits “Raccoon Nation”

February 8, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

In tonight’s fascinating episode of the PBS series Nature called “Raccoon Nation,” filmmakers and scientists use night-vision cameras and radio collars to study the generally nocturnal world of those omnivorous title critters who have become remarkably adaptable to living in urban environments — as anyone who has ever woken up to a spilled-over trash can or other evidence of their handiwork can attest to. With their busy little hands, these animals can do what other city-dwelling creatures can’t, like open doors, get into attics and, of course, raid garbage containers. But would you expect any less from an animal whose […]

NGC airs first U.S. documentary detailing Costa Concordia disaster

February 7, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

National Geographic Channel (NGC) has announced that this Sunday it will be premiering the first U.S. documentary to detail, moment-by-moment, the disaster that took place on Jan. 13 aboard the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia when the vessel detoured off course, hit some rocks and began to sink. Italian Cruise Ship Disaster: The Untold Stories is told primarily through the eyes of those who experienced it. The documentary weaves together in-depth stories from passengers and staff on board as well as Coast Guard rescuers with stunning home video, some never before seen on U.S. television, and CGI to reconstruct the […]

“Michael Feinstein’s American Songbook” returns to PBS

February 2, 2012 StayTuned Staff

The American songwriting tradition gets another boost Friday with the Season 2 premiere of Michael Feinstein’s American Songbook. And if there’s one thing that can be said about the new season, according to its executive producer, Amber Edwards, it’s that this time, they had even greater access to America’s song treasures. Having established “the brand” of the series in Season 1, more collectors — both famous and unknown outside of collectors’ circles — came forward to share their collections and to work with them on American Songbook this time round. “The ‘street cred’ that we got from the first season […]

On Groundhog Day, Nat Geo Wild decides to give the beaver its due

February 1, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

This Thursday, Feb. 2, is Groundhog Day, when all eyes will be on a certain rodent in the superstitious hope that it will tell us whether or not we are in for more winter. But over at Nat Geo Wild, they will be celebrating another rodent — the American beaver — with a special aptly titled, American Beaver. And, just like Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day, you can relive this special over and over (and over) again, as the network will be running it for 20 hours straight, from 7am-3am ET/PT. American Beaver follows a beaver as she […]

Black History Month 2012 TV schedule

January 27, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

Here are some notable new and returning television programs profiling memorable people, themes and events in African-American history, in celebration of February’s Black History Month. Programs and times are subject to change; check back throughout the month for updates and additions. Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans (encore) — PBS, February (check local listings). Lolis Eric Elie, a New Orleans newspaperman, takes viewers on a tour of the city in what becomes a reflection on the relevance of history folded into a love letter to his storied neighborhood, Faubourg Tremé. Arguably the oldest black neighborhood in America and […]

On the reality of Discovery Channel’s “Combat Cash”

January 23, 2012 StayTuned Staff

There’s been a bit of discussion on this blog regarding the Discovery Channel series Combat Cash, including a few concerns about the veracity of some of the transactions seen in the series. (The series as we’ve seen it thus far ends Wednesday, Jan. 25.) To that end, and to get a better picture of the motives behind this series in general, I got on the phone with Rob Lihani, executive producer of the series, to discuss the show’s concept and what it means to him – as well as to ask about the allegations of staged transactions as encountered elsewhere […]