Wednesday Trivia Question

Who did PBS call “the spark that ignited our fledgling broadcast service?”

I can give a lot of hints and give it away or I can be vague and make you guess so I’ll split the difference and say the question refers to a quote oft attributed to PBS (although I honestly cannot find the original source) referring to a deceased person who contributed to the Public Broadcasting Service in ways that are still being measured long after his death. His is a name that is frequently mentioned when talking about PBS and/or the history of the public broadcaster. And that more than likely narrows down your choices to a well deserving handful, I’d wager.

So who was it? What beloved creator did PBS call “the spark that ignited our fledgling broadcast service?”

Our Speaker Today

Charlayne Hunter-Gault is a civil rights activist and journalist, known to many PBS viewers as a correspondent for the PBS NEWSHOUR (in its various incarnations). She was one of the first African-American students to enroll in the University of Georgia in 1961 and there she studied journalism. In her decades-long career, Hunter-Gault worked for the New York Times and NPR, as well as PBS, and received two Emmys and a Peabody for her reporting. In 2016, Charlayne Hunter-Gault delivered the commencement speech at the University of Richmond in Virginia. Enjoy this address from a celebrated, talented and learned member of the extended PBS family…

Monday Montage

What’s happening, what’s on and what’s interesting this week …

A year after a devastating school shooting, witness one community’s struggle to heal. Don’t miss AFTER UVALDE: GUNS, GRIEF & TEXAS POLITICS on FRONTLINE – Tuesday night at 10 on PBS NC.

Alan Cumming (Masterpiece Mystery) will be headlining the fall arts fundraiser in Chattanooga.

Follow four ordained ministers as they navigate life in North Carolina as transgender. Watch PROPER PRONOUNS – Thursday at 10pm on PBS NC.

Hey, It’s Photo Friday!

A simple pin this week spied in a colleague’s cubicle. Nice sentiment, eh? Certainly those of us who work for public broadcasting have a love of PBS. And those who watch and support (viewers like you) are enamored of the service. So why not wear your pride? Or show off that devotion with a button or badge placed prominently in your workspace? I Heart PBS, indeed.

Flashback: May 2002

EGYPT’S GOLDEN EMPIRE was the cover story on our May 2002 Centerpiece monthly program magazine. That was 21 years ago.

Other shows referenced on this particular cover were STATE BUDGET CRISIS: CUTS & CONSEQUENCES, LOUIS RUKEYSER’S WALL STREET (the program he created when he suddenly exited the long-running PBS financial series WALL $TREET WEEK) and THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT (plus other related Memorial Day programming).

Sounds Familiar

“I plan to surround our niece with a tonier class of person, show her some better options than that beggarly bastard.” – Lady Bellaston (Hannah Waddingham), explaining her plans to keep Sophia (Sophie Wilde) away from Tom (Solly McLeod), TOM JONES on MASTERPIECE

Wednesday Trivia Question

What was Rimmer’s middle name on RED DWARF?

The sci fi comedy RED DWARF is an amazing entity in that 12 series have been broadcast over the course of 30+ years (PBS NC has only aired the first eight). Created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, the galactic Britcom has achieved cult status and beyond and seems to keep on coming back in one form or another.

The plot centers on the last human alive, Dave Lister, who survived on the mining ship Red Dwarf after being placed in stasis for 3 million years. His companions, by and large, tend to be a being that evolved from the ship’s cat, a hologram of Lister’s bunkmate (Arnold Rimmer) and an android named Kryten. The ship had the capability to create only one hologram at a time and Rimmer was chosen by the ship’s computer because of his antagonistic relationship with Lister in hopes that he might help keep Lister sane.

Arnold Rimmer (as played by Chris Barrie) was a fussy, neurotic, bureaucratic coward. Before the accident that killed the crew (save Lister), Rimmer was the second-lowest ranked crew member – only Lister ranked lower. He desperately desired to better his rank and class. He was a fantastic character that could have been unbearable if portrayed by a lesser comedic talent.

Although he is mostly called Rimmer throughout the series, Rimmer is his surname. His first name is Arnold. But what is the character’s middle name?

Our Speaker Today

As we enter the graduation season, I like to take time to look up commencement speeches given by those with PBS ties. This year, I’ll start with the celebrated author and historian David McCullough. His ties to public broadcasting include hosting AMERICAN EXPERIENCE and narrating multiple Ken Burns films. McCullough passed away last summer but back in 2008 he delivered the commencement address at Boston College. It’s a good speech about learning and knowledge and, despite a few too many cutaways of an antsy and possible hungover student body, the words still ring true.

Monday Montage

What’s happening, what’s on and what’s interesting this week …

They were the first all-women band to release an LP with a major record label yet their groundbreaking impact in music was written out of history… until now. Tune in for the FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK – tonight at 10 on PBS NC.

Ruth Wilson (Mrs. Wilson) just gave an incredible performance in which she played the same seven-minute scene 100 times in 24 hours.

Twenty years after the invasion of Iraq, soldiers, journalists and ordinary Iraqis recount one of the defining episodes of the war. Don’t miss ONCE UPON A TIME IN IRAQ: FALLUJAH on FRONTLINE – Tuesday at 10pm on PBS NC.

Hey, It’s Photo Friday!

It’s not quite a tote bag but I spied this nifty PBS NEWSHOUR satchel a while back in an office used by folks who run our on-air fundraisers. It may have been a premium available with a pledge or it just may have been something a staff member picked up somewhere along the line. Regardless, an impressive item.

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