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!
Programming Notes 9/21 to 9/27
Written by Holly on Friday September 21, 2012
Friday, September 21
6pm ONR -- Twice as many people in Oklahoma use payday loans, compared to the rest of country. We examine this growing trend… Residents of southern Oklahoma fear mining operations may be depleting a vital natural resource… Oklahoma State University targets young farmers to fill a growing need in rural Oklahoma… We take you to an enduring part of Oklahoma Life: The State Fair… In our ONR Extra, a Supreme Court Justice discusses the U.S. Constitution… An update on the federal Farm Bill… We hear from voters about the upcoming election in our new Oklahoma Votes segment, “Listen to Me”... And, Ted Streuli of The Journal Record reviews the week in business.
9pm From Dust to Dreams: Opening Night at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts – Neil Patrick Harris hosts the opening night concert at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas. The concert stars Jennifer Hudson, Willie Nelson, Martina McBride, Joshua Bell, Mavis Staples, Merle Haggard, Pat Monahan (from Train), John Fogerty, Carole King and a company of Broadway stars that includes Brian Stokes Mitchell. The program is produced by George Stevens Jr. and Michael Stevens ("The Kennedy Center Honors). This two-hour program preempts RED GREEN and DOCTOR WHO. RED GREEN will pick up where it left off next week. But we’re preempting the DOCTOR WHO episode that would have aired tonight so that we can begin the new season of DOCTOR WHO on October 12th. You can see the preempted episode (“The Lodger”) tomorrow night at 9pm on OKLA. (I absolutely ADORE this episode and hated preempting it on Main. But it’s already aired many times, so I’ll watch it on OKLA with everyone else.)
Saturday, September 22
7:30am SUNUP – SUNUP discusses the 2012 Farm Bill. Also: 100 F temperatures and drought; 4-H National Youth Science Day; grain market analysis; lubricants for pull cables; cattle genomics; and Agtropolis at the Oklahoma State Fair.
9am PAINT THIS WITH JERRY YARNELL – We aired the last *new* episode of Jerry Yarnell last weekend, so now we’re going back to the first season of Jerry Yarnell.
Sunday, September 23
12:30pm OKLAHOMA FORUM – “The Affordable Care Act” – Discussion of one of the top issues in the election – the Affordable Care Act – with guests: Andrew Spiropoulos, Professor of Law and Director of the Center for the Study of State Constitutional Law and Government, Oklahoma City University School of Law… Rick Tepker, Professor of Constitutional Law, University of Oklahoma College of Law
9:30pm KEN BURNS: ON THE RECORD – Dick Pryor sits down with director and producer of many major PBS documentary films.
Monday, September 24
8pm MARKET WARRIORS “Antiquing in Brimfield, MA” -- This week on MARKET WARRIORS, pickers Miller, John, Bob and Kevin head to one of the largest markets in the world, the Brimfield Antique Show in Brimfield, Massachusetts. There they scour the 16 fields of vendors in search of the best piece of art pottery. Some notable picks include a Rookwood vase and a painted blanket chest. One picker is drawn to an item that will bring great rewards, while another buys a forgery that will cause second-guessing. Later in the episode, the pickers team up (Bob and Kevin against John and Miller) in a round to buy an object for resale the same day. Their finds go under the hammer at Cowan's Auction in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Tuesday, September 25 – Happy birthday to our Station Manager, Bill Thrash!
7pm MONEY AND MEDICINE -- A look at the medical, ethical and financial challenges of containing runaway health care spending.
8pm FRONTLINE “Dropout Nation” -- A journey through an inner-city high school investigates the challenges of America's dropout crisis. (120min)
10pm ARTS & THE MIND (Part 1 of 2) -- Hosted by Lisa Kudrow, this two-part special reveals the crucial impact of the arts on the human brain across our lifetimes and explores its particularly vital role in human development during youth and older age.
Thursday, September 27
7pm LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER “The Philharmonic Opening Gala with Itzhak Perlman – This 90min program preempts our local documentaries and THIS OLD HOUSE HOUR, which can be seen on Saturday at 12:30pm.
8:30pm OUR STORY: OKLAHOMA SPECIAL OLYMPICS 2012 -- For more than 40 years, Special Olympics Oklahoma has been celebrated as one of the most successful programs in North America. With more than 4,400 athletes competing this year, the Summer Games represents the largest amateur sporting event in the state. These are the stories behind this labor of love. With interviews from long time OU Coach Barry Switzer, Danny Manning of TU and numerous volunteers and the athletes, this 30 minute documentary goes beyond the finish line, and looks at the champion - and the fan - in all of us.
9pm GOLF’S GRAND DESIGN -- The program focuses on golf course architecture from the 1880s through today and explores the connection millions have to the game.
10pm POV “El Velador (The Night Watchmen)” -- Award-winning director Natalia Almada ("Al Otro Lado," POV, 2005; "El General," POV, 2009) returns with a mesmerizing new film. From dusk to dawn, "El Velador (The Night Watchman)" accompanies Martin, a guard who watches over the extravagant mausoleums of some of Mexico's most notorious drug lords. In the labyrinth of the cemetery, this film about violence without violence reminds us that, amid the turmoil of a drug war that has claimed more than 50,000 lives, ordinary existence persists in Mexico and quietly defies the dead.
Wagner's Ring Cycle
Written by Holly on Friday September 7, 2012
Opera fans rejoice! Wagner's Ring is here!
Opera haters, turn to OKLA.
GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET will take over much of the PBS schedule next week with the new production of Wagner's four operas known collectively as the Ring cycle. It all begins Monday night with a behind-the-scenes documentary about the production. And the four nights that follow will feature each of the individual operas. All programs begin at 8pm and end at different times.
Tuesday, 8pm to 11pm -- "Das Rheingold (The Rhine Gold)"
Wednesday, 8pm to 12:30am -- "Die Walkure (The Valkyrie)"
Thursday, 8pm to 12:30am -- "Siegfried"
Friday, 8pm to 1am -- "Gotterdammerung (Twilight of the Gods)"
Plenty of information about the production, including some sneak peak video clips, can be found on the Great Performances website.
If you're wondering what you're missing during the opera, the answer is "not much." PBS isn't feeding any new FRONTLINEs, NOVAs, etc. So, you're not missing those. We won't preempt the new GLOBE TREKKER or local documentaries. If you're looking for WASHINGTON WEEK, you'll find it Sunday at 4am and 12noon. NEED TO KNOW will air Sunday at 4:30am. DOCTOR WHO will not be seen on our main channel at all this week. You'll have to turn to OKLA to see "Vincent and the Doctor" Saturday at 9pm. (One of my favorite episodes EVER. I know, it feels like I say that about every episode.)
Those of you not interested at all in opera should really check out OKLA this week. We'll have all eight hours of PIONEERS OF TELEVISION, Tuesday through Thursday from 8pm to 10pm each night. It's not often that we can show an entire series like that in prime time.
As for me, I'm probably going to do what one of our viewers suggested... Turn on the operas and then start doing something else. It will make for fabulous background noise.
Children's Programming Changes
Written by Holly on Monday September 3, 2012
It’s that time of year again. Time for changes to be made to the children’s programming lineup. Each year, we get some new programs, we lose some programs and we change some programs' time periods.
I’m a mom of two and I know how hard it is for the little ones when Sid or Barney isn’t on TV when they expect them to be. We take great care in keeping the schedule as consistent, nap-friendly and school-age-friendly as possible, but not everyone’s personal schedule works perfectly with our programming schedule. We hope this one will suit most of our viewers.
The OETA Kids Channel will see the most changes. There will also be a few on the weekends on OKLA. But since most people are concerned with the changes to the main OETA channel, here is the new lineup.
OETA HD (Main) -- Starting Monday, September 3rd
7am CURIOUS GEORGE – No change
7:30am THE CAT IN THE HAT – No change
8am SUPER WHY! – No change
8:30am DINOSAUR TRAIN – No change
9am SESAME STREET – No change
10am DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD -- *NEW* Children’s animated series that recreates the Neighborhood of Make Believe from MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD , featuring Daniel Striped Tiger, O the Owl, Prince Wednesday, Katerina Kittycat and Miss Elaina. The series curriculum is school-readiness and social-emotional learning, and each preschool themed episode offers a musical strategy for children and parents to use together. I’ve seen clips. It’s just wonderful!!
10:30am SID THE SCIENCE KID – Moved from 10am (On Monday, Sept 3rd, we will be showing a second episode of DANIEL TIGER'S NEIGHBORHOOD, just to help introduce the characters. Starting Tuesday, Sept 4th, SID THE SCIENCE KID will appear in this time period Monday through Friday.)
11am WORDWORLD – Moved from 10:30am
11:30am BARNEY & FRIENDS – No change
12pm CAILLOU – No change
12:30pm CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG – No change
1pm SIGNING TIME! – Moved from 11am
1:30pm THOMAS & FRIENDS – No change
2pm CURIOUS GEORGE – No change
2:30pm MARTHA SPEAKS – No change
3pm ARTHUR – No change
3:30pm WORDGIRL – No change
4pm WILD KRATTS – No change
4:30pm ELECTRIC COMPANY – No change
New Doctor Who
Written by Holly on Thursday August 2, 2012
It's official. As of this morning, I have typed the words into the October draft schedule, and unless something significant happens between now and then (and it would have to be incredibly important), we will begin airing the new episodes of DOCTOR WHO on October 12th.
Now, please note that our new season isn't the new season they're getting to see across the pond later this month. Our new season begins with the Christmas special from 2010, titled "A Christmas Carol." Then on October 19th, we will begin Series 6 with "The Impossible Astronaut."
And let me go ahead and say this... I cannot tell you when we'll have Series 7. In the past, we've started receiving them in the spring following their BBC premiere, but it didn't happen that way this year. We have to wait until the fall. So, the best I can offer at this point is that it might be the fall of 2013 before we see those. Please don't ask me that question for a while. I want to see them just as much as you do, and I will put them in the schedule as soon as we have them. For now, let's just sit back and wait patiently for these new episodes.
Just hang on... Just a little longer... It'll be worth it.
"Keeping Up Appearances" Actor Has Died
Written by Holly on Monday July 30, 2012
The man we all know and love as Onslow on KEEPING UP APPEARANCES has died. The 68-year old actor had been battling cancer for several years. His family said he passed away "peacefully in his sleep."
KEEPING UP APPEARANCES fans will want to make a note that will air several special "Christmas" episodes in the next few months on our OKLA channel. These episodes have odd running times and don't fit very well in our usual Sunday night timeslots.
- 1993 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL - Hyacinth buys tickets for a holiday cruise on the QE2, looking forward to making acquaintances with the better class of person that one meets in such circumstances. Little does she know that Onslow has won tickets for that very same trip. -- Airs September 13 at 5pm on OKLA
- 1994 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL - Hyacinth has been very busy planning a new kitchen (a process which includes asking the Vicar whether a worktop color described as "Angel Gabriel Blue" is accurate). She becomes busier still when Daisy tells her that someone has been found in "Daddy's" bed - and it isn't "Daddy"! -- Airs September 14 at 5pm on OKLA
- 1991 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL - Hyacinth roars into the Christmas season. She manages to get poor Richard into a Father Christmas outfit but then has to confront with a very drunken "Daddy" who is making passes at the parish ladies in the church rectory. To make matters worse, there is a case of mistaken identity that culminates with her kissing under the mistletoe with a most unexpected partner. -- Airs October 1 at 5pm on OKLA
- 1995 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL - Hyacinth decides to organize and direct a local pageant titled "Our Town in the Civil War." She also, naturally, casts herself in the starring role of Queen Henrietta Maria and coerces various members of her family to play assorted Cavaliers and Roundheads. The Church Hall is soon in pandemonium. -- Airs October 1 at 5:30pm on OKLA
