Category: default || By jt3y

I can find a lot to dislike about public television these days. With its diet of pop culture tributes (concerts by aging Motown stars and "Antiques Roadshow"), threadbare British sitcoms, and thinly-disguised infomercials (Suze Orman, Gary Null, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, et al, ad nauseam), it is increasingly difficult to defend PBS's status as a non-profit organization. In Pittsburgh, WQED is sadly typical of most (but not all) big city PBS affiliates.

One thing PBS does right, however, are its marquee programs. There is nothing on CNN, MSNBC or Fox to match the quality of "Frontline," and I'm not even going to bother counting what passes for "investigative journalism" on CBS, ABC and NBC. "NOVA"'s science segments are 10 times as detailed as anything you'll see on the Discovery Channel, and yet they do a better job of explaining complex topics.

I've just finished (Tuesday night) watching a "NOVA" hour explaining the recent Mars Rover expedition. It was as gripping as a blockbuster movie but gave me a whole new understanding of the technology involved in going to Mars. "The American Experience" should be required viewing for every taxpayer and registered voter.

And note that despite conservative claims to the contrary, there is nothing overtly political about any of these shows. "Frontline" speaks truth to power, but it's just as likely to attack the failures of the Clinton administration as it is to question the war in Iraq.

Another of my favorite PBS programs is "American Masters." An installment I saw a couple of weeks ago about Ella Fitzgerald was both entertaining (how could a program featuring Ella singing not be?) and educational. I had often wondered why Fitzgerald always looked so uncomfortable on stage; "American Masters" explained, in sometimes heartbreaking detail, the emotional pain that she went through off-stage. A&E's "Biography" is sometimes very good, but I have yet to see an episode that matches any given episode of "American Masters."

So I was delighted when I learned on Monday (entirely by accident) that Bob Newhart, one of my all-time favorite comedians, is being featured tonight on "American Masters."

I happen to think that Newhart's comedy albums are some of the funniest routines ever recorded. If you only know him through his sitcom work, you've missed a lot. A great introduction to his sometimes sarcastic, always deadpan comedy is "Button-Down Concert," a fairly recent (1997) performance done in front of a live audience in California.

On the album, Newhart talks between the tracks about his life, and the process of writing the routines, and his commentary is often as funny as the monologues. The audience is also made up of hardcore Newhart fans; at one point, he jokes, "Please stop mouthing the routines along with me, because it really screws me up."

I wouldn't say that Newhart had the societal impact of a Lenny Bruce or Richard Pryor, but he was able to be a little subversive simply because he looked, and sounded, so dull and establishment. (He was trained, and worked for a while, as an accountant.) He didn't comment on sexual and societal foibles as graphically as Bruce, or explore racial politics with the passion of Pryor.

Still, there was nothing respectful in Newhart's treatment of the U.S. Navy in "The Cruise of the U.S.S. Codfish" (a submarine's commanding officer lambastes the crew for stealing the door off of his office as the sub is surfacing off of "the familiar skyline of either New York City, or Buenos Aires?") or the rituals of corporate life (an outgoing middle-manager veers away from his prepared retirement speech to complain about the "crummy watch" he's been presented with, then blackmails his co-workers by threatening to sell tapes of the office Christmas parties).

I don't know for sure if Newhart is as important to American culture as Ernest Hemingway, Richard Rodgers, or F. Scott Fitzgerald --- who are also subjects of "American Masters" this year --- but I'm sure the program will make a compelling argument.

I'm not sure if the 10 or 12 hours a week that PBS airs things like "American Masters," "Frontline," "NOVA," "NewsHour," etc. justifies the 20 to 40 hours a week of crud that it runs. But I guess I am grateful that there is still some quality educational programming on PBS. It's hard to find sometimes amid the dross, but it's there.

...

In other news, is McKeesport "Fun City, U.S.A.," or Sodom-on-the-Mon?

McKeesport Magisterial District Judge Thomas Brletic said he wants to make an example of two people charged with open lewdness.

Jamar McGriff, 23, of N. Charleston, S.C., and Taren Roberts, 19, of West Mifflin, were arrested earlier this month after they allegedly had sexual intercourse on a picnic table in the No. 5 Pavilion at Renziehausen Park. ...

Brletic said the alleged incident occurred July 10 at 7:42 p.m. "It was in clear view of everyone in the area," the judge said. "We can't have that Sodom and Gomorrah stuff going on here." (David Whipkey, Daily News)

I'm with the judge here, to a point. At 7:42 p.m.? For crying out loud, get a room, you two. Or at least go off in the weeds somewhere, or wait until it gets dark, like generations of McKeesport kids have done at Renzie. Not that we're endorsing that.

On the other hand, the Sodom-and-Gomorrah comparison is a little bit harsh. I mean, it wouldn't be sodomy unless they were ... well ... you know ... oh, never mind. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, ask Rick Santorum.