Stopped by the station recently to grab something out of my office (still working primarily from home – the story of our times) and saw this in the break room. This is definitely new. My best guess is that some of the HVAC work that’s been ongoing this summer maybe stirred up some particles that had the chance of activating the sprinklers. Not sure. But I guarantee that if you have need of this tool you better be 100% certain you know where to find it.
“Hello again to all my friends. I’m glad you came to play. Our fun and learning never ends. Here’s what we did today.” – Barney the Dinosaur, BARNEY & FRIENDS
Who was the first FLOTUS to appear on SESAME STREET?
The number of celebrities who have appeared on SESAME STREET number in the hundreds. Some have portrayed characters in ongoing bits or sketches and some have appeared as part of a storyline. Many just appear once or twice to promote a cause or to showcase a talent. It has been estimated that 86 million Americans watched SESAME STREET as a child and 95% of preschoolers have viewed it before they are three years old. With a show as long-running and beloved as SESAME STREET, you can easily imagine how cool it must be for an actor, athlete or singer to do a segment. The same can be said for other celebrities. Ralph Nader, Kofi Anan, Sonia Sotamayor are notable guests who may be better known from the political arena. In addition to these, four First Ladies of the United States have appeared on SESAME STREET. Depending on your age, you may have watched them make the Muppet scene. But who was the first FLOTUS to appear on the show? That’s the question!
Continue readingThe four-part MASTERPIECE series FLESH AND BLOOD ended its run on the Explorer Channel last week. If you caught this gripping drama, you enjoyed a juicy crime thriller about the perils of late-life romance. There were also quite a few familiar faces from previous MASTERPIECE series as well as other PBS NC programming we’ve broadcast. Let’s check them out, shall we?
Imelda Staunton starred as Mary. While Staunton may be best known for her role in the Harry Potter franchise, here on public broadcasting she’s played multiple Masterpiece roles including Miss Pole in Cranford, Mother in My Family And Other Animals, Barge Lady in The Wind In The Willows and Mrs. Micawber in David Copperfield. She was also Stella Phelps on the fantastic Britcom Is It Legal?
Francesca Annis also starred as Vivien. She may be best remembered for her roles of Joyce Cameron in Home Fires or Lady Ludlow in Cranford. However, Annis has other Masterpiece appearances of note – she was Lady Ingram in Jane Eyre, Mrs. Gibson in Wives And Daughters, Anna Fairley in Reckless, Katharine O’Shea in Parnell And The Englishwoman, Emma Bovary in Madame Bovary and the titular role in Lillie. She was also Tuppence Beresford in Partners In Crime on Mystery!
Continue readingWhat’s happening, what’s on and what’s interesting this week …
Dive into the career of a legendary blues guitarist as AMERICAN MASTERS profiles BUDDY GUY on THE BLUES CHASE THE BLUES AWAY – Tuesday night at 9 on PBS NC.
Twitter responds to the debate: Who has the more iconic voice – James Earl Jones (Long Ago & Far Away) or Morgan Freeman (The Electric Company). Hmmm. Perhaps it’s a tie.
52 years after Neil Armstrong took his one small step, relive Apollo 11’s historic journey. Tune in as mission audio, archive footage and stunning CGI recreate 8 DAYS: TO THE MOON AND BACK – Wednesday at 9pm on the North Carolina Channel.
Continue readingRead-A-Roo is the mascot for our children’s programming at PBS NC. She’s been around for decades, delighting kids on air and in person at station events. For many years, we sponsored a book club that viewers could join and those members were often rewarded with gatherings in which the beloved well-read marsupial would make appearances. Here’s an old sign I found in a recording booth welcoming book club members to just such an event. My guess is some of the children at this event back in 1999 may now have kids of their own.
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced the remaining Daytime Emmy® Awards winners over the weekend and PBS along with PBS Kids took home six awards. Congratulations to all the winners!
Outstanding Instructional and How-to Program
Outstanding Short Form Daytime Non-Fiction Program
Outstanding Instructional and How-to Program
PBS KIDS TALK ABOUT
Outstanding Educational and Informational Series
Outstanding Lighting Direction Daytime Emmy Award
Outstanding Art Direction/ Set Decoration/ Scenic Design Daytime Emmy Award
“Her name ain’t Judith Bernstein – it’s Janine Butcher. I should know, I’m her stepmother. And she’s about as Jewish as a bacon sandwich!” – Pat Evans (Pam St Clement), interrupting a Jewish wedding ceremony, EASTENDERS
What then future Oscar winner starred as Stephen Wraysford in the MASTERPIECE CLASSIC series BIRDSONG?
One of the wonderful things about programs like MASTERPIECE is that many series feature actors who go on to become critically-acclaimed major stars. Quite often, we viewers might see a such a show repeated years later and be astonished that someone who has since become quite famous was the unknown we watched in its first run.
Continue readingThe fourth series of UNFORGOTTEN on MASTERPIECE kicked off earlier in the month and I thought it might be a good time to explore the actors who make up this fine drama series. Do we know them? (Many, yes.) Where have we seen them? (I’ll tell you.) Any more questions? No, great, then let’s meet the cast of UNFORGOTTEN series four…
Nicola Walker has played DCI Cassie Stuart for all four series. Of course you recognize her – she’s been Gillian in Last Tango In Halifax, Helen Bartlett in Scott & Bailey, DC Sue Upton in A Mother’s Son, Ruth Evershed in MI-5, Sally in Oliver Twist and DI Susan Taylor in Touching Evil (gee, she’s portrayed a lot of cops!).
Sanjeev Bhaskar has also co-starred since the beginning as DI Sunil “Sunny” Khan. Bhaskar has guested on a few series (Midsomer Murders, Indian Summers, Inspector Lewis) but he gets major cool points for voicing Shankar on Thomas & Friends.
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