Pipeline Blog
Hello. My name is Holly. I'm part of a team of people who assemble the programming schedule for OETA.
We look at the PBS national schedule, local programs and programs from other stations and distributors. We take in all that information and combine it with Member ballot feedback and viewer suggestions, and at the end of the month, I put together a schedule for each of our four channels.
The following are some notes about upcoming programs, preemptions and other points of interest that viewers might not hear otherwise. I hope you'll find it useful!
Veterans Day Programming
Written by Holly on Tuesday November 10, 2009
This Wednesday, November 11th, we'll honor our veterans with an evening full of programming dedicated to their bravery, heroism and sacrifice.
The evening begins at 7pm with SECRETS OF THE DEAD "Airmen and the Headhunters." In 1945, an American B24 bomber is shot down over Japanese-controlled Borneo. The airmen bail out and survive, only to find themselves isolated and lost in the impenetrable jungle. Briefed to fear the "savage" Dayak inhabitants, the Americans are instead taken in by these tribes and become witness to a compassionate, resourceful people who shatter stereotypes, protect them from the Japanese, and eventually deliver them safely into the hands of an eccentric British Major who orchestrates their rescue by building a bamboo runway deep in the Borneo interior.
Then at 8pm, THE WAY WE GET BY is a P.O.V. documentary giving an intimate look at senior citizens who've greeted nearly 800,000 American troops at a tiny airport.
At 9:30pm, HALLOWED GROUNDS is a look at military cemeteries around the world where American military men and women are buried.
And at 10:30pm, OETA's own STATELINE documentary "Thunderbirds" introduces viewers to the 45th Infantry Division Museum in Oklahoma City. Beyond 27,000 square feet of exhibits and a 15 acre park, the Thunderbirds can be found around the world. From amphibious landings on European shores and through Korea, the 45th is revered. From tornado relief back home in Oklahoma, through Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and to boots hitting the ground in hurricane devastated New Orleans, the men and women of the 45th are there.
New Season of MEXICO - ONE PLATE AT A TIME
Written by Holly on Friday November 6, 2009
Top Chef Rick Bayless is back for another season of MEXICO - ONE PLATE AT A TIME WITH RICK BAYLESS.
In the new 7th season, Rick embarks on his greatest food adventure yet... An insider's tour of Mexico City, a food metropolis bursting with traditional foods and flavors and cutting-edge eateries.
In each episode, Rick will dive into Mexico City's mouthwatering market stalls, hidden-treasure taco stands and a variety of restaurant dining rooms. He'll study their versions of iconic Mexican dishes and then he'll come back to his home kitchen to try recreating the dishes.
Rick will also take viewers behind the scenes at his world-renowned restaurants in Chicago, Frontera Grill and Topolobampo, to show how he and his chefs reinvent classic Mexican dishes in fresh new ways.
The tour starts tomorrow, Saturday, November 7 at noon with "Tacos on Fire!" Rick takes us to Super Tacos Chupacabras, hidden away under a freeway overpass in Mexico City. Back at home, Rick gets ready to throw his own "Supertacos" party with a little help from his friends.
Happy 40th Birthday SESAME STREET!
Written by Holly on Thursday November 5, 2009
SESAME STREET begins its new season next Tuesday, November 10, forty years ago to the day of the series debut.
James Earl Jones was the celebrity guest in that first episode. The show was an immediate success, and just one year later, Big Bird was on the cover of Time.
Here are a few more things you might not have known about SESAME STREET...
- The fabric for Bert and Ernie's sweaters could be purchased at a store back in 1969. But today, their sweaters have to be hand knit to match their original pattern.
- A Birdseed Milkshake at Hooper's Store cost 20 cents in 1969 and costs $2.99 now.
- Big Bird is covered with approximately six thousand dyed North American turkey, coq, ostrich and hackle feathers.
- All of the SESAME STREET Muppets have four fingers, except Cookie Monster, who has five.
- Oscar the Grouch was orange in the first season.
- Ernie is the only SESAME STREET Muppet to have a built in smile (despite how they might be drawn in the graphic to the right).
- Cookie Monster used to have pointy teeth. Yikes! Glad that's changed.
With over 21 million minutes (and counting) since the Count's first "ah ah ah," SESAME STREET continues to grow with children and their changing needs. As preschoolers today have different viewing habits, the 40th season has been reformatted to resemble a typical broadcasting block. Murray the Monster Muppet hosts each episode from different locations linking four longer segments. Each episode will begin and end with a brand new version of the classic "Sunny Days."
While maintaining an emphasis learning letters and numbers, the new season kicks-off "My World is Green & Growing," a two-year science initiative designed to increase positive attitudes towards nature. First Lady Michelle Obama appears in the first episode and teaches "the street's" residents about the many benefits of planting a garden. (A final peace of trivia... Michelle Obama is the fourth First Lady to be on the show.)
On a personal note... I am a SESAME STREET alum, having watched the series since I could first focus my little eyes on a television set. We didn't have cable TV in the rural community where I grew up, and unless the weather was clear, we couldn't even get all of the broadcast stations. But, thankfully, we always had OETA. There isn't a doubt in my mind that SESAME STREET helped "wire" my brain to enjoy learning. (Wouldn't it have been a shame to go through all those years of education and not enjoy it?) Thank you, Children's Workshop, PBS and OETA, for making learning fun. And thank you to my parents for knowing it really is okay to put your kids in front of the TV... especially when it's on the right channel.
An Extra Hour of OETA
Written by Holly on Saturday October 31, 2009
Daylight saving time ends this Sunday, November 1 when we get our extra hour of morning "daylight" back. You could use that extra hour to sleep off your sugar high from all the Halloween candy, or you could watch an extra hour of OETA.
Here's how the time change will affect OETA's four channels...
OETA HD (Main)
At Midnight, we'll air MASTERPIECE CONTEMPORARY "Endgame" until 2am. Then we fall back and air the one-hour FRONTLINE "Close to Home". Then, when everything returns to normal at 2am, we'll air UNNATURAL CAUSES: IS INEQUALITY MAKING US SICK, followed by WASHINGTON WEEK, NOW ON PBS and BILL MOYERS JOURNAL.
OETA OKLA
TULSA TIMES and OKC METRO will air at 1am and 1:30am respectively. When we turn back the clock at 2am, we'll air TULSA TIMES and OKC METRO again. (You really should catch one of the broadcasts of OKC METRO this week. Gerry Bonds talks with Oklahoma's state epidemiologist, Dr. Kristy Bradley, about the flu season.) Then at 2am, we'll air the fantastic documentary MOORE'S STOP: AN HISTORICAL VIEW OF AN OKLAHOMA COMMUNITY.
OETA CREATE
At 1am, we have CAPRIAL AND JOHN'S KITCHEN: COOKING WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS and BAKE DECORATE CELEBRATE!... And then those two episodes will air again when the clocks get set back to 1am. Then, at the "real" 2am, we'll air KATIE BROWN'S WORKSHOP.
OETA KIDS
We air kid-friendly programming in the overnight hours on the OETA Kids channel. Those programs are what will repeat. AMERICA'S HEARTLAND and FARMERS' ALMANAC TV will air in the 1am hour... and then again when the clocks roll back. Starting at 2am, GLOBE TREKKER takes viewers to the best "water treks" in Hawaii and Alaska.
Austin City Limits' 35th Season
Written by Holly on Thursday October 29, 2009
No one had any idea that on October 17, 1974 when a rag tag bunch of long-haired, hippie, public television types aimed their cameras at a still-redheaded and youthful Willie Nelson, that he would still be going strong 35 years later. But he is. And so is AUSTIN CITY LIMITS.
Premieres
October 15, 2009 -- Ben Harper and Relentless7
October 22, 2009 -- Kenny Chesney
October 29, 2009 -- Andrew Bird / St. Vincent
November 5, 2009 -- M. Ward / Okkervil River
November 12, 2009 -- Elvis Costello / Band of Heathens
November 19, 2009 -- Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel
November 26, 2009 -- Pearl Jam
December 3, 2009 -- Tribute to Bluesman Jimmy Reed
December 10, 2009 -- Aimee Mann / Iron & Wine
December 17, 2009 -- The Decemberists / Explosions in the Sky
January 7, 2010 -- Kings of Leon / Roky Erickson
Starting January 21, SOUNDSTAGE comes back to the schedule with their 17th Season, starring Tim McGraw, The Fray, 3 Girls and their Buddy (featuring Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin, Patty Griffin and Buddy Miller), Lynyrd Skynyrd, Faith Hill and the Willie Nelson.
