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Featured Programs - 2006

November 2006

Sundays, November 12 and 19 at 9 p.m.
Masterpiece Theatre
"Prime Suspect 7"

– Helen Mirren Reprises Her Iconic, Emmy Award-Winning Role as Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison for the Last Time –
Drink, loneliness and the grueling life of a crime fighter are finally catching up with Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison, now clinging to her career so that she can solve one last heartbreaking homicide on Masterpiece Theatre's.
Helen Mirren returns in the starring role she made famous and that defined a new breed of hard-bitten female police officer, fighting sex discrimination in Scotland Yard on top of killers, rapists and psychopaths in Greater London.
In the final installment of the Prime Suspect series, a 14-year old student is found dead and Tennison banishes retirement plans to get to the bottom of the case. As her investigation begins, the girl's father, coach and surprisingly unsavory friends become prime suspects.
Read the review by Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen mystery book stores.

July 2006

Wednesday, July 26 at 9 p.m.
American Masters
"Walter Cronkite: Witness to History"
During his 19 years anchoring the CBS Evening News, Walter Cronkite steadfastly adhered to a credo of fast, accurate and unbiased news reporting, helping him earn the distinction as "The Most Trusted Man in America ." Throughout his award-wining career, Cronkite covered such historic events as the first trip to the moon, the Vietnam War, the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Senator Robert Kennedy, and the Watergate scandal. Although stepping down as anchorman nearly 25 years ago, his legacy continues today — as an author, sailor, producer and patron.
Read the review by Dr. John E. Craft
Professor
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Arizona State University

Mystery! Inspector Lewis
Sunday, July 30 at 9 p.m.
Five years after Morse's death, Lewis — now promoted to inspector — returns to his old stomping ground of the university city of Oxford after an attachment on the British Virgin Islands . Even before Lewis can get home from the airport, he and his new, much younger colleague Hathaway are diverted by the flashing blue lights and police activity of a murder scene, centered on the death by a single bullet of an American college student. Another student, Danny Griffon, is suspected of being involved — and he had a brush with the law some years previously, investigated by a certain Inspector Morse. Starring Kevin Whately ( The English Patient, Auf Wiedersehen Pet ), Laurence Fox ( Gosford Park , The Hole ) and Clare Holman ( Prime Suspect 6, The Innocent ).
Read the review by Barbara Peters
The Poisoned Pen

June 2006

Free Speech: Jim Lehrer with Ben Bradlee
Monday, June 20 at 10 p.m.
Thursday, June 22 at 4 a.m.
Saturday, June 24 at midnight
In this one-hour program, the legendary Ben Bradlee — retired executive editor of The Washington Post — joins Jim Lehrer for a candid and often witty look at the current state of journalism. Lehrer and Bradlee tackle issues such as celebrity journalism, handling anonymous sources and providing balanced perspectives. And they also discuss how to regain the public's trust in a media environment that is full of declining ethical standards and dubious practices.
Read the review by Joseph Russomanno, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication,
Arizona State University

May 2006

Mystery!
"Jericho"
Sundays at 9 p.m. April 30 - May 21
Mystery! kicks off a new season of British thrillers, including a series of Miss Marple episodes based on the beloved character created by Agatha Christie, and a new Inspector Lynley series. In the season premiere, Robert Lindsay (Horatio Hornblower, Oliver Twist”) stars as Chief Inspector Michael Jericho, a revered Scotland Yard detective, in two original two-part dramas that reflect the turbulent social upheaval of the 1950s. “Jericho: A Pair of Ragged Claws” Part one of two The murder investigation of a young Jamaican leads to accusations of police incompetence.
Read the review by Barbara Peters
The Poisoned Pen

Nature "Snowflake: The White Gorilla"
February 20 at 8 p.m.
The only known albino gorilla in the world, Snowflake lived nearly 40 years as a beloved resident of the Barcelona Zoo. His appearance made him a star, but also led to his death from a rare skin cancer. Scientists and handlers who knew him and worked with him tell his remarkable story, and reflect on his legacy.
The Phoenix Suns' Gorilla offers his review

Read the review by Kevin Wright, DVM,
Director of Conservation, Science and Sanctuary
The Phoenix Zoo

April 2006

February 2006

Great Performances
"Paul McCartney: Chaos and Creation: Live at Abbey Road"
Monday, February 27 at 10 p.m.
Sir Paul McCartney returns to Studio 2 at London's Abbey Road studios, where most of the Beatles's recordings were made, for an intimate journey through his songwriting history, from his very first Beatles song to the work on his new album, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard. McCartney re-visits his back catalog in new and revealing ways in front of an intimate studio audience. He re-interprets old songs, reveals new ones, plays cover versions and enlists the audience's help in a demonstration of "in the moment" songwriting and arranging. Songs performed in this unique program include "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Band on the Run" and "Lady Madonna."
Read the review by Bill Gardner
Morning Radio Personality
KOOL 94.5 Phoenix

Independent Lens
"July '64"
February 14 at 10 p.m.
In the summer of 1964, a three-night riot erupted in two predominantly black neighborhoods in downtown Rochester, New York, the culmination of decades of poverty, joblessness and racial discrimination and a significant event in the civil rights era. Using archival footage and interviews with those who were present, this program explores the genesis and outcome of these three devastating nights.
Read the review by Matthew C. Whitaker
Assistant Professor of History
Arizona State University

Independent Lens
"Negroes with Guns: Rob Williams and Black Power"
February 7 at 10 p.m.
Credited with inspiring the Black Power movement, Robert Williams led his North Carolina hometown to defend itself against the Ku Klux Klan and challenge repressive Jim Crow laws. This program follows Williams' journey from southern community leader to exile in Cuba and China, a journey that brought the issue of armed self-defense to the forefront of the civil rights movement.
Read the review by Matthew C. Whitaker
Assistant Professor of History
Arizona State University

Masterpiece Theatre
"Bleak House"
Sundays through February 26 at 9 p.m.
Who else but Charles Dickens could craft a reomance, detective story, political satire, social tract, comedy of manners, and gothic thriller all in one? And who but celebrated screenwriter Andrew Davies (Pride & Prejudice, 1996; He Knew He Was Right; Bridge Jones films) could adapt this famous novel for the small screen? Masterpiece Theatre presents a thrilling, brilliantly acted dramatization of "Bleak House," a work ranked by many critics as Dickens' greatest achievement.
Airing in six parts, this sprawling, multi-lpot masterpiece gets its most complex film treatment ever, with cliffhanger endings climaxing each episode, recreating the experience of the original serial publication of the novel in 1852-1853 that kept Victorian-era readers on the edges of their over-stuffed, hgih-backed seats.
Read the review by Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen

January 2006

Masterpiece Theatre
"Bleak House"
Sundays, January 22 through February 26 at 9 p.m.
Who else but Charles Dickens could craft a reomance, detective story, political satire, social tract, comedy of manners, and gothic thriller all in one? And who but celebrated screenwriter Andrew Davies (Pride & Prejudice, 1996; He Knew He Was Right; Bridge Jones films) could adapt this famous novel for the small screen? Masterpiece Theatre presents a thrilling, brilliantly acted dramatization of "Bleak House," a work ranked by many critics as Dickens' greatest achievement.
Airing in six parts, this sprawling, multi-lpot masterpiece gets its most complex film treatment ever, with cliffhanger endings climaxing each episode, recreating the experience of the original serial publication of the novel in 1852-1853 that kept Victorian-era readers on the edges of their over-stuffed, hgih-backed seats.
Read the review by Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen

Japanland
January 6 at 10 p.m.
Japanland is a journey into the soul of Japan. For twelve months Karin Muller traveled from one end of the country to the other, living among the people and exploring Japan's ancient cultural heritage and its modern ways. Karin followed the dervish mountain-cults as they undertook shamanistic austerities like fire walking, icy waterfall immersion and exorcism. She joined a samurai mounted archery team and learned how to handle a longbow on a galloping horse. She made a 900-mile pilgrimage in the footsteps of Japan's most famous saint, and helped light ten thousand floating lanterns during Obon, the Festival of the Dead. Each episode provides a rare glimpse behind the tatemai, or external image, to see the honne, or true inner character of Japan.
Read the review by Ian Miller, Assistant Professor, Department of History, Arizona State University

Nature “Underdogs”
January 29 at 8 p.m.
Holly and Herbie had been in serious trouble throughout their young lives; they're lucky merely to have made it beyond adolescence. So it may come as a surprise that one of them now has a successful career in law enforcement, while the other is herding sheep. Holly and Herbie, by the way, are dogs. They'll soon be TV stars, too as Nature presents the first reality makeover program aimed at helping canines overcome early adversity. It took love, skill and tenacity to change these incorrigible animals into the wonderful working dogs they were meant to be. By the end of the film, each dog will have a new home.
Read the review by JoAnn Spencer, Arizona Humane Society