FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2009
CONTACT:
Meg Fullwood
214-740-9377
mfullwood@kera.org
THE ORIGINS OF MAN, THE MUSIC AND THE LAND DOMINATE
KERA-TV PROGRAMS FOR NOVEMBER
DALLAS/FORT WORTH – KERA-TV explores history of the land, the people and the nation in November with programs dedicated to science, nature and the contributions of the Greatest Generation.
KERA takes viewers to the river with Living with the Trinity, an original production that explores the geography, ecology and economic history of the Trinity River in North Texas. NOVA investigates what makes us human in the new three-part series Becoming Human and Nature examines the first days of life for other species. Ultimate Killers looks at the fastest, strongest and deadliest creatures on Earth and The Botany of Desire explores the human relationship with plants, from a plant’s perspective.
KERA honors Veterans’ Day with the independent documentary Tattooed Under Fire which examines the catharsis of tattoos on Fort Hood soldiers and special programs honoring the service of the Greatest Generation during WWII. The five-part series The 1930s examines the political and cultural life of one of America’s most tumultuous decades and shares the history of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the construction of Hoover Dam, the devastation of the Dust Bowl and an unlikely four-legged hero.
Music changed the world and it was the Beatles who ended communism according to the documentary How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin by Leslie Woodhead. John Fogerty Live by Request rocks the house Saturday night. Call in to request your favorite songs during the broadcast. Willie Nelson, Asleep at the Wheel and the inimitable Elvis Costello turn up the volume this month on Austin City Limits.
Sunday afternoons, relax with the encore broadcast of Ken Burn’s six-part series The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. And, share some laughs with funny man Bill Cosby when he receives the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, this month on KERA-TV.
The National Parks: America’s Best Idea
Sunday, November 1 at 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 8 at 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, November 15 at 3:00 p.m.
A rebroadcast of Ken Burns’ glorious six-part series that explores some of nature’s most spectacular locations, the documentary is a story about people of every background, their devotion to saving the land they love and in doing so, reminding other citizens about the meaning of democracy.
Nature – Born Wild: The First Days of Life
Sunday, November 1 at 7:00 p.m.
Experience the birth and the first days of life of several species as they emerge from safety to the dangerous first hours and days of life.
Masterpiece Contemporary – A Place of Execution, Part 1
Sunday, November 1 at 8:00 p.m.
A 13-year-old girl vanishes from an English village. Forty years later, a journalist arrives to make a film about it. What she finds shatters the lives of all involved.
South Dallas Pop
Sunday, November 1 at 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, November 4 at 10:00 p.m.
The summer of 1969 marked the beginning of pop music festivals as a cultural phenomenon. Rock fueled the imagination of youth through throughout the country, but in South Dallas, funk was king! KERA’s Rob Tranchin revisits the South Dallas Funk Festival of 1970, an event that would make local music history.
Civilian Conservation Corps: American Experience
Monday, November 2 at 8:00 p.m.
Part two of this five-part series revisits March 1933 when newly-inaugurated President Franklin Roosevelt sent legislation to Congress proposing the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps which created jobs in natural resource conversation and put one in four Americans back to work.
CEO – John Scott: Rosewood Hotels and Resorts
Monday, November 2 at 10:30 p.m.
An encore broadcast featuring Lee Cullum’s interview with John Scott, President and CEO of Dallas-based Rosewood Hotels and Resorts, who discusses global expansion and the operation of luxury hotels in 17 countries around the world.
NOVA: Becoming Human, Part 1
Tuesday, November 3 at 7:00 p.m.
The first part of this three-part series examines the factors that caused humans to split from the apes. NOVA captures the unveiling of the face, spine and shoulders of the oldest known child fossil.
Ultimate Killers – Speed and Strength
Tuesday, November 3 at 8:00 p.m.
The world’s most deadly natural born killers are categorized by speed, strength, toxicity, strategy, defense and capacity for man-eating to see which is the ultimate killer.
FRONTLINE – The Medicated Child
Tuesday, November 3 at 9:00 p.m.
The debate over medicating children continues as FRONTLINE confronts psychiatrists, researchers and big drug companies about the risks and benefits of prescription drugs.
Independent Lens – Power Paths
Tuesday, November 3 at 10:00 p.m.
Native Americans are turning to solar and wind sources to provide clean energy for cities across the west. Can their traditional values lead the way to offering solutions to America’s energy crisis?
Bill Cosby: The Mark Twain Prize 2009
Wednesday, November 4 at 7:00 p.m.
An all-star lineup of comedians salute comedian Bill Cosby as he receives the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in a ceremony that includes clips of Cosby’s career highlights.
Falsifyin’
Wednesday, November 4 at 10:30 p.m.
A look at the 100-year history of boogie-woogie piano playing performed by contemporary pianists including Jerry Lee Lewis, Pinetop Perkins and Marcia Ball. The documentary concludes with a concert that brings old and new talent together.
Globe Trekker – Los Angeles City Guide
Thursday, November 5 at 8:00 p.m.
A trip to Tinseltown includes tours of the homes of the rich and famous, Paramount studios, Venice Beach and Rodeo Drive with stops at Capital Records, Grumman’s Chinese Theatre, a trip down Mulholland Drive and a close-up at the famous Hollywood sign.
Austin City Limits – M. Ward/Okkervil River
Thursday, November 5 at 10:00 p.m.
Indie songwriter Matthew Stephen Ward (aka M. Ward) takes the stage to perform some selections from his new solo album.
John Fogerty – Live by Request
Saturday, November 7 at 8:00 p.m.
Rock legend John Fogerty is one of the most revered artists to have emerged in the 1960s. As lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of Creedence Clearwater Revival and as a solo artist, Fogerty’s sound encompasses blues, country and southern swamp rock and roll. Call in to request your Fogerty favorites.
The Botany of Desire
Sunday, November 8 at 1:00 p.m.
Based on the best-selling book by Michael Pollan, the program is an eye-opening exploration of the human relationship with the plant world, as seen from the plants’ point of view.
Nature – Black Mamba
Sunday, November 8 at 7:00 p.m.
One of Africa’s most dangerous snakes, the black mamba is aggressive when disturbed, strikes with deadly precision and delivers venom that can kill 10 adult humans. Nature follows a team of snake handlers with a different perspective on the creatures.
Born to Be King: Charles at 60
Sunday, November 8 at 8:00 p.m.
A new look at the man who could be the next King of England, Prince Charles is the oldest heir to the British throne in history. As King-in-waiting, he has searched for a role that is both public, royal and has appeared to become wiser and happier with age.
Masterpiece Contemporary – A Place of Execution, Part 2
Sunday, November 8 at 9:00 p.m.
The officer, who conducted the investigation into the disappearance of a 13-year-old girl, pulls out of a documentary film about the case. Place of Execution interweaves the stories of an obsessed detective and an ambitious journalist resulting in shocking conclusions that challenges concepts of truth and justice.
Hoover Dam: American Experience
Monday, November 9 at 8:00 p.m.
The creation of Hoover Dam during the Great Depression brought men eager for work to a remote canyon near Las Vegas where they created one of the greatest engineering works in history. They battled heat, dust and dangerous heights to bring electricity and water to millions and transform the American Southwest. Peter Coyote narrates.
How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin
Monday, November 9 at 9:00 p.m.
This refreshing documentary offers a new perspective on the significance of the Beatles music and how it may have contributed to the collapse of the USSR. Their music was banned in the Soviet Union and bootlegged by teenagers, inspiring dreams of hope and freedom for a generation.
The Beatles: From Liverpool to San Francisco
Monday, November 9 at 10:00 p.m.
The lads from Liverpool conquer the world in this documentary that tracks their progress, week by week, with footage of fans, interviews, destinations and encounters, covering the good times and bad from their early days in Liverpool to San Francisco where they played their last concert together.
NOVA – Becoming Human, Part 2
Tuesday, November 10 at 7:00 p.m.
Part two of the series investigates the first skeleton that really looks human. The ancestors of Homo erectus are thought to have developed key innovations such as hunting, use of fire, social bonds and long-distance running which was crucial for survival.
Ultimate Killers – Chemical Killers and Pack Hunters
Tuesday, November 10 at 8:00 p.m.
The first episode in a new BBC series, Steve Leonard investigates animals that use venom to kill their prey and animals that hunt in packs, including wolves and piranhas.
FRONTLINE – Sick Around the World
Tuesday, November 10 at 9:00 p.m.
FRONTLINE investigates how five other capitalist democracies, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Taiwan and Switzerland, deliver health care and what the United States might learn from their successes and failures.
Independent Lens – D Tour
Tuesday, November 10 at 10:00 p.m.
Emerging indie rock musician Pat Spurgeon was about to realize his dreams when his kidneys began to fail. This documentary follows Pat’s search for a living organ donor and his quest to balance health with a rock and roll lifestyle.
Secrets of the Dead – Airmen and the Headhunters
Wednesday, November 11 at 7:00 p.m.
The survival story of a crew of airmen shot down over the jungles of Japanese-occupied Borneo during World War II, the film recounts the rescue of a U.S. bomber crew by Dayak tribesmen, known for taking the heads of their enemies.
Iwo Jima: Fifty Years of Memories
Wednesday, November 11 at 8:00 p.m.
The story of one of the last major battles of WWII fought on a tiny Pacific Island only eight miles square. When the battle was over, nearly 30,000 American and Japanese soldiers lay dead. Thousands more were wounded. The documentary is told through the voices of the survivors.
P.O.V. – The Way We Get By
Wednesday, November 11 at 9:00 p.m.
On call 24 hours a day, this documentary tells the story of a group of citizens who made history by greeting some 800,000 American troops at a small airport in Bangor, Maine, and redefined the meaning of community in the process.
Tattooed Under Fire
Wednesday, November 11 at 10:30 p.m.
A unique and intimate character portrait of U.S. soldiers based in Fort Hood, in Killeen, Texas, who are bound for and returning from Iraq as they reveal their secrets and confess their fears while getting tattoos. The narrative moves from the high expectations of youth to the cynicism of experience as each soldier’s story reveals a personal look at the cost of war. A film by Nancy Schiesari.
Globe Trekker – Globe Trekker Special: WWII in Europe
Thursday, November 12 at 8:00 p.m.
A tour of the many sites that played important roles in WWII, the program takes viewers from the forests of northern France and the island of Crete to Nuremberg, Vienna, Dunkirk, the Normandy beaches, Dresden, Berlin and Auschwitz.
Austin City Limits – Elvis Costello
Thursday, November 12 at 10:00 p.m.
A return performance by songwriting genius, Elvis Costello, showcases songs from his latest recording, Secret, Profane and Sugarcane. Austin’s songwriting collective the Band of Heathens follows.
MOVIE 13: An Affair to Remember
Saturday, November 14 at 8:00 p.m.
A playboy and a night club singer find romance aboard a cruise ship, although they’re engaged to others. They agree to meet in six months at the top of the Empire State building to see if their love has a future or if it will pass them by.
One Star Theatre: Giant Gila Monster
Sunday, November 15 at 1:00 a.m.
A giant Gila monster turns on a small Texas town eating its hot-rod teen-agers, motorists and train passengers. The creature turns his sights on the big record hop party prompting a quick-thinking mechanic to try to save the day.
Nature – Fellowship of the Whales
Sunday, November 15 at 7:00 p.m.
This is the story of the first year in a humpback whale’s life and the lessons she learns from her mother as they make the long journey from the subtropical waters of Hawaii to the cold seas off Alaska’s southeast coast.
Masterpiece Contemporary – Collision, Part 1
Sunday, November 15 at 8:00 p.m.
A six-car collision leaves two dead. Detective Inspector John Tolin is called in to clean things up. The investigation only touches the surface of how the lives of those involved were transformed in surprising ways amid allegations of corporate crime, infidelity and murder.
Surviving the Dust Bowl: American Experience
Monday, November 16 at 8:00 p.m.
For 10 years, beginning in 1930, “Black Blizzards” ravaged the over-plowed southern plains. Dust storms turned bountiful wheat fields to desert leaving disease, hardship and death in their wake. Part four of the series is narrated by Leiv Schreiber.
Jonestown: The Life and Death of People’s Temple – American Experience
Monday, November 16 at 9:00 p.m.
The true, tragic story of preacher Jim Jones, whose promise of world economic and racial equality led to the largest mass murder-suicide in history.
NOVA – Becoming Human, Part 3
Tuesday, November 17 at 7:00 p.m.
The final program in the series examines the roots of our own species. New evidence indicates Homo sapiens were born in southern Africa some 200,000 years ago and that an intensely cold period may have reduced the human population to only a few thousand.
Ultimate Killers – Defenders and Man-Eaters
Tuesday, November 17 at 8:00 p.m.
Animals that kill in self defense, including cobras and rhinos, and animals that eat humans are featured in this week’s episode of Ultimate Killers.
FRONTLINE – A Death in Tehran
Tuesday, November 17 at 9:00 p.m.
The death of a young woman on the streets of Tehran during the Iranian presidential election last summer prompted international outrage. FRONTLINE investigates the life and death of the woman who became an important symbol to keeping the reform movement alive.
Independent Lens – No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo and Vilmos
Tuesday, November 17 at 10:00 p.m.
An intimate portrait of cinematographers Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond who took Hollywood by storm with the films Easy Rider, Deliverance, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and The Deer Hunter. The duo escaped the Hungarian Revolution and pioneered “American New Wave Cinema.”
Secrets of the Dead – Killer Flu
Wednesday, November 18 at 7:00 p.m.
This encore program includes updated information about the origin of the 1918 flu virus and its similarity to the H5N1 avian flu using genetic sequencing.
Secrets of Shangri-La
Wednesday, November 18 at 8:00 p.m.
In a remote corner of the Himalaya, explorers and scientists climb into human-carved caves for the first time to discover wall paintings, human remains and a hidden library of sacred texts that may reveal secrets about Shangri-La.
Lost Cave Temples of the Himalaya
Wednesday, November 18 at 9:00 p.m.
In the forbidden Kingdom of Mustang high in the Himalaya, adventurers and scientists search for the nine legendary cave temples of “kabum.” As the filmmakers begin their quest, local horsemen arrive to protect the sacred site and demand payment.
Boyfriends
Wednesday, November 18 at 10:00 p.m.
KERA’s original documentary Boyfriends follows the lives of five teenage girls from North Texas over a year as they make difficult decisions about love, sex and commitment. The project focuses on helping girls develop healthy relationships. The documentary can also be viewed online at www.BoyfriendsWeb.com where educational materials are available for download.
Globe Trekker – Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef
Thursday, November 19 at 8:00 p.m.
The Globe Trekkers’ trip to an Australian paradise includes surfing on the Gold Coast, a ferry ride to Fraser Island, a trip to the Whitsunday Islands to scuba dive in Blue Pearl Bay and tips from Bushmen about how to survive a confrontation with a crocodile.
Austin City Limits – Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel
Thursday, November 19 at 10:00 p.m.
Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel team up to celebrate their collaborative LP, Willie and the Wheel.
MOVIE 13: An American in Paris
Saturday, November 21 at 8:00 p.m.
Jerry Mulligan is a struggling American artist who is “discovered” by an influential French heiress. She’s interested in more than his art while he falls in love with a cabaret singer. Complications abound in this delightful 1951 romp starring Gene Kelly and directed by Vincent Minnelli.
One Star Theatre: Little Shop of Horrors
Sunday, November 22 at 1:00 a.m.
A nerdy orphan working at a flower shop develops a crush on a co-worker and is berated by the owner. He finds a mysterious plant with a craving for blood. A struggle ensues to see who will get the girlfriend first.
JFK: Breaking the News
Sunday, November 22 at 6:00 p.m.
This moving documentary offers one of the first examinations of how broadcast journalists delivered breaking news of the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas and the technical obstacles they overcame to deliver the tragic story. This original KERA production is narrated by Jane Pauley.
Nature – The Cheetah Orphans
Sunday, November 22 at 7:00 p.m.
A veteran filmmaker adopts two cheetah cubs after their mother is killed, leading to an emotional two-year cycle as he prepares to return them to the wild.
Masterpiece Contemporary – Collision, Part 2
Sunday, November 22 at 8:00 p.m.
Part 2 of the investigation into a multi-vehicle accident reveals a government cover-ups, smuggling and murder.
Seabiscuit: American Experience
Monday, November 23 at 8:00 p.m.
A boxy horse with stumpy legs and short straggly tail, Seabiscuit was one of the most remarkable thoroughbred racehorses in history, although he didn’t look the part. American Experience tracks the story of the four men who turned a frumpy racehorse into a national hero at a time when Americans longed to escape the realities of the Depression.
Living with the Trinity
Monday, November 23 at 9:00 p.m.
The Trinity River is a source of hope, conflict and a vital water resource for the people of North Texas. For more than 150 years, floods, drought and pollution have influenced local attitudes towards the river. This original KERA production explores the geography, ecology and economic history of the Trinity River. A film by KERA’s Rob Tranchin.
NOVA – What Are Dreams?
Tuesday, November 24 at 7:00 p.m.
NOVA joins the leading dream researchers to witness the experiments used to investigate the world of sleep.
FRONTLINE – The Card Game
Tuesday, November 24 at 9:00 p.m.
Industry insiders, lobbyists, politicians and consumer advocates square-off over new regulation and the possible creation of a consumer finance protection agency as FRONTLINE examines the future of the consumer loan industry and its impact on the national economy.
Independent Lens – Objectified
Tuesday, November 24 at 10:00 p.m.
A look at manufactured objects and the people who design them, the documentary examines the creative process behind their work and how their creations influence us, sometimes without our knowledge.
MOVIE 13: The Great Escape
Wednesday, November 24 at 8:00 p.m.
Based on a true story, a group of allied prisoners of war are put in an 'escape proof' camp. The first half of the film is played for comedy as they outwit their jailers. The second half is high adventure as they escape occupied Europe. The 1963 film stars Steve McQueen.
Globe Trekker – Globe Trekker Special – Best Dives
Thursday, November 24 at 8:00 p.m.
The Trekkers visit the top 15 scuba diving sites in the world, from the turquoise waters of the Caribbean to the spectacular seas in Fiji, concluding in Borneo where they examine a huge school of barracuda
Austin City Limits – Pearl Jam
Thursday, November 24 at 10:00 p.m.
Pearl Jam takes the stage this week on Austin City Limits.
CEO – Larry Young, Dr. Pepper
Friday, November 27 at 7:30 p.m.
Host Lee Cullum talks with Larry Young, President and CEO of Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. about leading one of the world’s biggest soft drink companies.
