Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with pbs

All Costs Considered

bbranden1 — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:16:22 -0800

Streaming radio production cost: what is the cost to a local radio station for internet streaming of one program to one listener? Not just the cost of paying the royalty cost of a national program (like Prairie Home Companion}, but the local costs incurred by the station, e.g. servers, software, staff time devoted to webcasting. Bonus question: is it more or less expensive than the cost of downloading a single podcast to a single listener?

Older Northwest Children's Travel Show

rotifer — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:17:02 -0800

Growing up in Washington state in the 70’s and 80’s I watched a PBS show about a grandma that visited sites of interest (Columbia Gorge, White Bird Pass, etc.) in the Northwest with her grandchildren. Production quality, as I remember it, was rather crude. Does anyone else remember this show? What was the name? Thanks!

Trying to remember the name of a PBS show from my childhood...

nickerbocker — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:48:36 -0800

What was the name of a bizarre kids show that aired on PBS when I was a child (mid-to-late 80's) that stared two kids who traveled to some warped universe to solve puzzles? Thinking back it was probably originally a British show, although I'm not sure. I remember that there was a "base" that they normally started and ended their adventures at that contained a talking computer with a really harsh sounding voice along with an intelligent typewriter that would type out responses to the children. Any ideas? It has been bothering me for awhile because I remember really liking the show but no one seems to remember it except for me. Maybe I dreamed it? I dunno..lol. But I would feel better if someone else out there knew what I was talking about.

Where to find these PBS documentaries?

macrowave — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 00:08:41 -0800

I'm looking to watch/rent/buy two particular PBS series that I can't for the life of me find online. I want to watch "An American Family" (plus all of the updates) and "Age [7/ 14-Up/ 21-Up] in America".

I'm down for streaming, downloading, or buying bootleg copies at a reasonable price. Any format is okay.

I know that clips are available on Google Video, but I've read enough spoilers and critical commentary already and want to actually see the whole shows.

Help!

Masterpiece Theater Airdates

Ian A.T. — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 19:38:54 -0800

Starting January 13th, the retooled Masterpiece Theater is showing adaptations of all six Jane Austen novels. Does anyone know in what order they're being shown, along with air dates? I thought it would be fun to read or re-read each novel in advance of the movie, but I can't figure out when each novel is going to be shown. There's http://pbs.org/janeausten (sorry, can't make links when posting from a Blackberry), but it doesn't say anything, as far as I can tell. The novels are listed on there, but they're just in alphabetical.order. I have a sinking suspicion the info I need is in the Reading Guide PDFs, but my Blackberry can't read them.

And yeah, I realize that not all PBS stations show things at the same time the way, say, NBC does.

Ahem: My most heartfelt thanks to all who attempt to answer this admittedly trifling query; in advance of your research, allow me to reiterate that I remain, as always,

your faithful friend and servant,
Ian A.T.

What magic machine put cherries on ice cream?

cmyk — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 12:08:52 -0800

Inspired by this answered question, I'm trying to remember another clip. It involved a Rube Goldberg type machine that eventually put cherries on ice cream sundaes. Here's what I remember: a little red ball on a track. Most of the clip was about the ball going through the track, setting off other things as it went. I don't think the ball itself was the cherry. There were little flags that would go up, one! two! three!, and I think there was powder involved at some point. I remember all the shots of the machine track had a black background, like it existed in some kind of void. It ended with a cherry being plopped onto an ice cream sundae, and a little girl picking it up and starting to eat the ice cream.

I know it was from my PBS-watching days, so it was either Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.

I've tried and TRIED to find video of this, and I've never been successful. At this point I'd be happy if someone else remembers it too -- I'm starting to think I made it up.

Not the King Biscuit Flour Hour...

stefnet — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 11:47:32 -0800

I have a vague memory of some show airing during the early 1980s that I think was sponsored by Robin Hood Flour or maybe King Arthur Flour. I have little to no recollection of what happened on the show (some sort of baking challenge for kids maybe?) but I know that I would watch it around lunchtime when I had half-days of kindergarten. It could have been either a PBS or CBC show as we got CKWS out of Kingston, Ont. in my village in Upstate NY. Robin Hood Flour sounds right, so I'm leaning toward it being a Canadian show. Does this ring any bells with anyone?

Chicken Feet!

albernathy0 — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 21:01:07 -0800

Please help identify a children's horror program either on television or VHS (most likely) that I watched as a child in the early 90s. If it was a television program I have a feeling that it would have been on PBS. I am most confident however that it was a VHS video I rented from the library. I associate the words, "Chicken Feet" with what I remember. The scene I remember best is of a children's room, outside is rain and lightning, and suddenly you see this big monster chicken in the closet! That's really all I recall. The movie was live action. Thank you so much for the help!

Nineties nostalgia: kids in charge!

coolhappysteve — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 18:36:05 -0800

NostalgiaFilter: Early nineties kids show in which the kids ran the cameras, the sound booth, and possbily sang? Possibly on Saturday mornings on PBS? You know how it goes, I am caught up in a fury of trying to remember this show. It was like a news program, and the kids ran the whole thing, supposedly.

I know someone will be right on this - thanks!

What is this show I remember?

thelastpolarbear — Wed, 16 May 2007 05:11:07 -0800

Was anyone watching PBS in the early 90's? Help me find my childhood, and a Beauty and the Beast short television program! I have very few clear memories from when I was a kid. But one of them stands out distinctly in my mind.

One morning, I was watching a television show, on PBS. The show was an animated, black and white telling of Beauty and the Beast. It was the classic story, with a maze, a huge mansion, and a ring that can transport the girl around, and I believe the Beast died in the center of the maze at the end. If I remember correctly, the animation was done "Reading Rainbow" style, where there were still illustrations that the camera moved across dynamically. This actually led me to believe that I was remembering an episode of Reading Rainbow, but I can't find a book on Amazon that fits my memory.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about? I have become obsessed with finding this, and IMdB and Google are no help.

Looking for "voyage of the mimi" theme

Infernarl — Mon, 14 May 2007 12:00:51 -0800

Does anyone know where I can find the theme song to the '80's PBS show "The Voyage of the Mimi"? Here is a snippet of what it sounds like. Maybe it came from somewhere and wasn't made for the show?

What was the name of that Philip Glass Piece Played on PBS?

marxfriedrice — Sun, 06 May 2007 21:33:02 -0800

What is the name of Philip Glass' piece played this Sunday at the Gala for Alice Tully Hall on PBS? The Gala included a whole lineup and a rare appearance of (lookin good for his age) Philip Glass playing one of, I think, his Etudes for Piano. Does anyone know the name of the piece he played? Was it something that he made up on the spot? I mean, he didn't have any music in front of him, so maybe it was ALL IMPROV??? I've diverged a bit from the point here, so the question as posed: What was the name of Philip Glass' piece he played this Sunday at the Gala for Alice Tully Hall on PBS?

Remember "Our End of the Attic"?

jayder — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 10:52:05 -0800

Anybody recall a children's show called "Our End of the Attic," from the seventies or eighties? There seems to be no trace of its past existence, anywhere on the internets. I remember the show as a sort of grungy, low-budget version of Mr. Rodgers' Neighborhood, except without the puppets, and it also aired on PBS affiliates. At the beginning of the show, you'd follow the host up a dusty, old flight of wood steps (for some reason that sequence always delighted me) and the rest of the show took place in what appeared to be an attic room. During the show, viewers were treated to little educational documentaries. I seem to recall one about an urban factory.

I am pretty sure it was called "Our End of the Attic" ... but maybe it was "My End of the Attic." How can a show like this just disappear without a trace?

Missing Capa

aburd — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 21:32:06 -0800

How can I get access to a copy of the American Masters episode Robert Capa: In Love and War? My landlord, who is a professional photographer, asked if I could track down this episode of American Masters as he loves Capa's work. I have looked everywhere I can think of but am having no luck. He would prefer to own a copy but if he could just view it that would be great too. Any mefites have any ideas?

How do PBS shows animate children's books?

Nedroid — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 12:59:19 -0800

How do PBS shows like Reading Rainbow or Between the Lions animate existing children's books? I'm not talking about the ones where the camera simply pans across the page or zooms in while the narrator reads the story. I'm talking about the ones where the characters in the story will move around the scene and change poses and whatnot, sometimes in ways that were not illustrated in the original book. For example, it seems to me that if they were just cutting and pasting the Tooth-Gnasher Superflash as it zoomed across the car lot, there would be a big Tooth-Gnasher Superflash-shaped hole in the background where the car was in the original picture, but there is not.

Do these shows have their own animators who mimic the style of the original book? Do they work with the book illustrators? Or what?

Name That Tune :: PBS ThirteenHD Promo

Jhaus — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 23:18:32 -0800

Name that tune please :: PBS is great, and the songs in their promos are actually just as good. Currently running is a promo that ends with the words; "Be More ~ ThirteenHD" (this is PBS Thirteen's High-Def channel which they broadcast in NYC & possibly elsewhere?). The music which accompanies it is a piece that I'd classify as sort of a Blues/Rock/Jazz instrumental. My Question: Name that tune!?! If someone knows where to get this song online, that would be great too! I haven't had any luck, but I did find these sites containing some different PBS promos:
- http://www.kqed.org/help/tv/music.jsp#bemore

- http://www.tv-ark.org.uk/international/us_pbs.html

- http://www.fallon.com

Some additional info:
The promo in question has some scenes of an old guy in a hat jamming on an electric guitar...he looks like your typical blues musician. The clip runs about 30 seconds, or so, long. Sorry for the limited info, but thanks so much for any help you can provide!

Direct links to PBS' Frontline

Item — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 19:03:44 -0800

Is there a way I can find a direct link to the Windows Media files for the PBS program "Frontline"? In particular, this program.

Is this possible? I'd like to download and play them in my own player. I tried viewing the page source with no luck. I'm a bit lousy with html.

Physics guy on PBS in 70's

sydnius — Mon, 18 Jul 2005 15:59:24 -0800

When I was a kid, back in the '70s, our PBS stations would show physics demonstrations by a white haired old guy with an overbite. I loved everything about this guy and his demonstrations. He'd get so excited by predicted results that were observed in experiment. What is his name? Can I find these on video in any form?

Spanish-language claymation on Sesame Street w/brother & sister?

WCityMike — Mon, 18 Jul 2005 05:40:24 -0800

When I was a child, I remember a Spanish-language claymation short consistently airing with one of the English-speaking PBS educational series. It was almost certainly Sesame Street, but possibly The Electric Company (and an outside chance it was Mr. Rogers or Reading Rainbow, but I doubt it). I was born in 1974, so I'm imagining that this was something that aired in the late 1970s and/or early 1980s.

The shorts featured two characters, a brother and sister. My name wants to say that their names, and the name of the shorts, was something very close to "Sancho and Pokio," but I don't think that's really correct.

My Google-fu has entirely failed on this one. Anyone have an idea what the title was, and whether there's any information on the 'Net about it? I've had the melody of the theme song running through my head for decades now, and decided in a nostalgia kick to see if Ask MeFi could help me uncover this weird little memory locked away in my brain cells.

Looking for an old sound from PBS

fake — Fri, 20 May 2005 12:32:13 -0800

Looking for a specific PBS show, uh... filter. I produced a sound for an in-game video, and one of my coworkers thinks I sampled it from an old (70's, early 80's) PBS show. I *did* create the sound with old PBS educational programming in mind, but not a specific show or sound. I want to find the "original" sound, or the name of the show it was from to prove that my sound was not sampled. My coworker doesn't know the name of the show, but he's certain that's where it's from.

Here is the sound.
Wave Format.

MP3 Format

Bonus points if you can find a sample online. Thanks!

What's up with Reading Rainbow?

punishinglemur — Sat, 30 Apr 2005 19:58:55 -0800

The TV Tome entry for Reading Rainbow is an extended attack on the show and those involved with it. What gives? I never realized the thing was a source of so much controversy. And after reading the whole thing, I still don't understand the controversy.

* What is the "ITV industry"?

* How did the show's main focus become "increasingly more pessimistic starting on Tuesday, September 11, 1990"? Why did this result in the show being "increasingly identified with mood swings"?

* What "outdated material" did the show hold on to for "far too long"?

* How did Reading Rainbow manage to destory the "opportunity for other consistently-good children's television series to enjoy long lives on PBS"?

* What's the meaning of the quote in this paragraph: "And then there who those who blamed PBS affiliates for not picking up consistently-good series for the wrong reasons. Always their conversations would include words to the effect of, "It's a miracle anything gets on the air unmolested because of Reading Rainbow! And you're saying it's my fault?""

* Why is Reading Rainbow described as being a victim of "spectacular self-corruption"?

* What sins did "GPN" commit to deserve this: "Still, it is apparent that GPN, whether it will ever realize it or not (and chances are it won't) did everything in their power not to improve their show or PBS Kids."

* Anything else that helps explain the Reading Rainbow hate...

meow meow

pieoverdone — Wed, 20 Apr 2005 19:32:17 -0800

Once upon a time in the early 80s we were shown these videos in grade school. I believe this show was also on PBS occasionally, but no one else remembers it. The host was a woman, and I believe she had long blond hair and may have had them in braids. Her companion was this white puppet cat. There was also a song at the beginning of the show and the only one I specifically remember watchine was one about the 4th of July. The whole series may have been about holidays. I don't know. What is the name of this show? Does anyone else remember it?

I'm looking for the Whirl-A-Way restaurant?

user92371 — Fri, 01 Apr 2005 08:59:34 -0800

I have seen archival footage of a strange restaurant called the "Whirl-A-Way" and I am trying to dig up that footage or any other information about the establishment. Around 1987-1989, I saw a documentary on the (if memory serves) Capitol Street housing projects (perhaps by PBS, perhaps called "Capitol Street") in Washington DC (though I had thought for a long time that it was in Chicago for some reason). During the standard "hey, the fifties were crazy whitebread fun" montage, they showed a restaurant which I believe was called "Whirl-A-Way." The restaurant had tracks shooting out from it in a spoke. Little cars shaped sort of like breadboxes rode the tracks and carried food out to your car. When I do searches for "Whirl-A-Way" or "Whirl-Away" I'm swamped by helicopter part manufacturers and the like. I can't find evidence of the restaurant nor the documentary, which I wouldn't mind seeing again, not just 'cause, you know, of the restaurant footage.

Please, ask.metafilter, pimp my question.

Question number 14607

scazza — Mon, 31 Jan 2005 12:16:14 -0800

I love some of the commercials for PBS. There is one playing currently that is constructed around the story of Little Red Riding Hood's wolf. Philip Glass' music from The Hours is throughout, a father is reading the story to his daughter, then gets interrupted by Lara Spencer, Charlie Rose ("In my interview with the wolf, he said he does his own stunts to add more realism to the story"), Jim Lehrer, Bernadette Peters and a couple others who I don't know, who all have comments about the wolf. Is this commercial available online? Does anyone know who made this?

Question number 12577

rxrfrx — Mon, 06 Dec 2004 14:20:17 -0800

Does anyone remember the PBS series "On Tour?" It was on late Saturday nights when I was in high school, and I remember it being sponsored by IBM. Each 60-minute program was composed entirely of different rock bands doing live performances (usually at very large venues). It was usually one or two songs per band. There was an occasional interview with a roadie, but otherwise it was all music. The show's page has been "retired" from PBS.org. Did these shows ever get put on VHS or DVD?