Monday Montage

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

Follow eight talented home cooks from different regions of the country as they compete weekly with their most memorable recipes. Find out who will create THE GREAT AMERICAN RECIPE – tonight at 9 on PBS NC.

Eric Idle (Monty Python) is going on tour! His “Always Look On the Bright Side Of Life” musical one-man show kicks off in September – sadly, West Coast only.

Meet the extraordinary people and animals on the front line of climate change. See how science, nature and tradition can prepare us for a fast-changing future on DYNAMIC PLANET – Wednesday at 8pm on PBS NC.

Wednesday Trivia Question

What NC band performed Will You Return? which was used as the theme song for A CHEF’S LIFE?

A CHEF’S LIFE was a documentary style cooking show featuring Vivian Howard, head chef at the Chef & The Farmer restaurant in Kinston, North Carolina. It ran for five seasons (plus one series finale special) from 2013 to 2018. The series was a Peabody, Emmy and James Beard Foundation winner and is a fan favorite for North Carolina viewers.

The song “Will You Return?” is used as the theme to the program and that tune was recorded by a North Carolina musical group and featured on their 2007 album. The recording act has been active for a few decades and produces music in genres described as folk, folk rock, indie folk, bluegrass and Americana. It also has ties to PBS North Carolina.

So who was it? What group gave us “Will You Return?” – the song used as the theme song to A CHEF’S LIFE?

Wednesday Trivia Question

What PBS cooking series did chef Jeff Smith host?

Hey, It’s Photo Friday!

I often feature in this blog items that are produced to promote public television series within the world of public television. That means if you have produced a show and you want other stations to carry it, you might create some cool swag or souvenir that you can hand out at a PBS conference or send to programming directors throughout the system. This way, you help them remember your program so when it comes time to create the next schedule they might consider you. Some could call it a bribe or payola but trust me when I say no one in public television has enough money to call it either of those things. It’s promotion, pure and simple.

So check out this item produced by KEVIN BELTON’S NEW ORLEANS CELEBRATION…

Hey, It’s Photo Friday!

I’ve mentioned before the archive I inherited a few years back when a staff member retired. It contains press clippings, magazine articles, slides, negatives- and loads of photos! Many of the pics are press photos designed to inform about PBS shows and series. Some offer a deeper look into PBS’ history. Some have zero context and just present a photo with no caption or explanation.

This one seemed to be of the latter ilk but I found one name written on the back – Julia Child. I must admit I didn’t recognize the longtime culinary queen when I first looked at the photo but, yes, that’s her. Where the picture was taken or why it is in the archive, I can’t say for certain. I would guess it was included in a press packet as a publicity still for one of her many cooking shows.

Hey, It’s Photo Friday!

Chef Ricky Moore is the proprietor of Saltbox Seafood Joint in Durham, North Carolina. We profiled Moore and his restaurant in the 2019 half hour program THE HOOK. I spied this little item the other day in a walkabout around the building. It is obviously tied to the Chef Ricky special. At first I thought it was a mouse pad but it’s much thinner so I’m assuming it’s a jar opener. Makes sense that a restaurateur might need something to get those tight lids off, eh?

Flashback: 20 July 1983

If you’re a longtime viewer of PBS North Carolina in its many and various incarnations, you may have been watching our airwaves back in 1981. If so, here’s what you would have seen on that particular Monday…

The evening began at 6pm with DOCTOR WHO, followed by WILDLIFE ADVENTURE. THE MACNEIL/LEHRER REPORT was at 7 with a repeat of NORTH CAROLINA PEOPLE after.

The night’s main fare were shows and series that have long been forgotten by anyone but the most savvy of PBS viewer. WAR AND PEACE was at 8pm. This was a 19-part adaptation of Tolstoy’s masterpiece and was originally broadcast on PBS stations in 1973! DANCE OF TWO COUNTIES: CHINA AND AMERICA was at 9 with HOT STUFF: THE RESTAURANTS OF NEW ORLEANS at 10.

Rod Serling’s classic TWILIGHT ZONE aired at 11pm with a special called THE URBAN LEAGUE’S NATIONAL CONFERENCE at 11:30.

And that’s what we aired 42 years ago today!

Monday Montage

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

FRONTLINE and ProPublica investigate deadly truck accidents and the fight over measures that could save thousands of lives. Don’t miss AMERICA’S DANGEROUS TRUCKS – Tuesday night at 9 on PBS NC.

It’s been a wild week for Jodie Comer (Remember Me) – a few days before winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (yay!), she had to stop mid-performance of Prima Facie due to the poor air quality from to the Canadian wildfires.

Sounds Familiar

“Let me explain the order of things for you. There’s the aristocracy, the upper class, middle class, working class, dumb animals, waiters, creeping things, head lice, people who eat packet soup, and then you.” – Gareth Blackstock (Lenny Henry), dressing down a subordinate, CHEF!

Monday Montage

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

Relive the cooking competition that took PBS by storm as ten contestants share heartfelt stories and signature dishes to win the national search for the GREAT AMERICAN RECIPE – beginning tonight at 9 on PBS NC.

Hugh Laurie (Jeeves And Wooster) leads the voice cast of the animated feature The Amazing Maurice, based on the Pied Piper tale. Himesh Patel (EastEnders) and Gemma Arterton (Tess Of The D’Urbervilles) also appear.

Discover the enduring friendship between television personality Dick Cavett and his mentor iconic comedian Groucho Marx. Tune in as AMERICAN MASTERS presents GROUCHO & CAVETT – Tuesday night at 8 on PBS NC.

Anya Taylor-Joy (The Miniaturist) took in a performance of The Nutcracker while in Alabama for the holidays.