Historical Programming Archives - Page 13 of 14

TV specials and movies commemorate 100th anniversary of Titanic disaster

March 23, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

April 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the fateful and infamous maiden voyage of Titanic, which hit an iceberg late in the evening of April 14, 1912, and eventually sank into the icy depths of the North Atlantic early the next morning. In the weeks leading up to the exact anniversary date, various TV networks will remember the tragedy with premiere and encore specials and movies. Many of the documentaries offer promises of “the final word” or “mystery solved” regarding exactly what happened to the great ship. Whether they actually will or not may be beside the point. It might […]

Henry Louis Gates Jr. explores race, culture and identity in new “Finding Your Roots” series

March 22, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

In recent years, genealogy has enjoyed a renaissance as a trend on reality shows like NBC’s Who Do You Think You Are?, and that can be attributed in large part to Harvard scholar Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. (pictured), whose PBS specials African American Lives, African American Lives 2 and Faces of America helped shed a light on the fascinating ethnic backgrounds of many different people. This passion that Gates has to, as he says, “get into the DNA of American culture” now continues on a larger scale in the new 10-part PBS series Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis […]

Military Channel to engage audiences with “Combat Tech”

March 19, 2012 StayTuned Staff

As impressive and fascinating as military technology can be, the stories that drive the innovations are often just as compelling. The interplay between history and technology is at the heart of Military Channel’s new series Combat Tech, premiering tomorrow night. I talked with John Terp, executive producer of the show, to find out more. “Technology genres and history genres — they’re almost always treated as two separate entities,” Terp explains. “Where technology shows are all about the whiz-bang, marveling at cool technologies, the historical shows are the story of what happened in the past. I think what we’ve done — […]

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 […]

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 […]

PBS special explores “Custer’s Last Stand”

January 17, 2012 Tom Comi

Much of how we view history is based on interpretation, and perhaps no figure in American lore creates more diverse opinions than Gen. George Custer. To some, he was a military hero; to others, he was a controversial figure whose arrogance ultimately led to his infamous death at The Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. As part of its fantastic American Experience series, PBS tonight airs a two-hour biography of one of our countries most lauded and criticized icons of 19th century. Premiering at 8pm ET, Custer’s Last Stand documents his heroic Civil War battles while also exploring the narcissistic […]

“Secrets of the Manor House” looks at real-life homes that inspired “Downton Abbey”

January 11, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

Fans of Downton Abbey will be able to get a glimpse inside the real world of the Edwardian homes and English society that inspired the acclaimed drama when the documentary Secrets of the Manor House airs Jan. 22 at 8pm ET on PBS (check local listings). Shot on location at some of Britain’s finest estates and country houses, and featuring interviews with contemporary masters and servants, the special reveals that life in the manor house was a world unchanged for nearly a thousand years, until the 20th century entered its second decade, when mounting financial, political and social pressures altered […]

Discovery Channel’s “All Star Dealers” on deck

January 11, 2012 StayTuned Staff

It’s one of the most American of American dreams — finding a home run ball hit by a Lou Gehrig, a Mickey Mantle or a Hank Aaron and buying it for a song. And there was a time when the realization of that dream was tantamount to folklore. But in a world in which the market is flooded with collectibles, valuable and otherwise, there’s always the risk of counterfeit goods, forged signatures and other troublesome merchandise. It’s all part and parcel of the memorabilia game, and it’s at the heart of a new series, All Star Dealers, premiering on Discovery […]

PBS separates the man from the myth in “Billy the Kid” special

January 10, 2012 Tom Comi

Many people are familiar with the legend of Billy the Kid, but those who want to know how an Irish immigrant named Henry McCarty became one of America’s most storied killers ever should definitely tune into PBS tonight. Premiering at 9pm ET as part of the the network’s popular “American Experience” series, Billy the Kid goes behind the folklore and examines the developments in McCarty’s life that transformed him from a likable teenager into to a cold-blooded murderer. Born in New York without a father, he and his mother Catherine moved to New Mexico after the Civil War. According to those […]