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!
"Masterpiece Classic" is Back!
Written by Holly on Saturday January 8, 2011
If you're a hard core fan of MASTERPIECE THEATRE and MYSTERY! (and many of you are), you'll remember that just four years ago, the two series were completely separate. They aired in the same time slot but at different times of the year. They were packaged differently, with unique opening graphics, theme music and closing credits.
Then, three years ago this month, the two combined under one title: MASTERPIECE. Under this title, there are three genres: CLASSIC, MYSTERY and CONTEMPORARY. We begin the year with CLASSIC dramas. Later in the spring, we start to see the tales of MYSTERY. And later in the year, we are intrigued by the modern dramas known as CONTEMPORARY.
According the feedback we've received from our viewers and the occasional morsel of ratings information we've been able to acquire, CLASSIC is the favorite MASTERPIECE genre of Oklahomans. That's why I'm excited to say that starting this Sunday, January 9th, CLASSIC is back!
“Downton Abbey” is our first classic tale of the year. We'll meet the noble Crawley family and the staff who serve them at their Edwardian country house in 1912.
In February, MASTERPIECE CLASSIC presents "Any Human Heart" about a man who is a writer, a lover, a prisoner of war and eventually a spy. It is followed by an updated version of "Upstairs Downstairs." The CLASSIC season ends with "South Riding," a three-part love story with a panoramic portrait of a Yorkshire community in the 1930s.
If you miss an episode of MASTERPIECE CLASSIC, there are several ways to catch up.
-- The episode always repeats around midnight on Sunday night, but many times the first few minutes are preempted by Britcoms.
-- The episode usually repeats Tuesday mornings at 2am and 5am.
-- We rebroadcast most primetime programming 24 hours later on the OKLA channel. This means you can see MASTERPIECE Monday nights at 8pm.
-- Saturday night after the OETA Movie Club, we always try to show the most recent episode of MASTERPIECE. The start time varies, but it's always just minutes after the end of the movie.
-- The last option isn't easy for everyone, but it's becoming more and more popular. Most MASTERPIECE episodes can be seen on the MASTERPIECE website just days after they air on OETA. They're available only for a few days or weeks, so try to catch them as soon as you can.
"Doctor Who" Marathon on OKLA
Written by Holly on Thursday December 30, 2010
Can't get enough DOCTOR WHO? Then clear your calendar for New Year's Day because you'll be eating your black-eyed peas in front of the TV this year.
Starting at 12 Noon on Saturday on OKLA, we will begin airing every DOCTOR WHO episode we have in our library. They'll run back-to-back with only a legal ID in between each. (Yeah, no bathroom breaks.) We needed to finish the marathon before 5am on Sunday morning for the children's programming on time, and it just so happens that the marathon times out almost perfectly.
Because the lengths of the episodes vary, the start times will also vary. This might not affect you at all, but I wanted to point it out because it's not something we're used to in the TV world. Everything usually starts at the top or bottom of the hour.
The marathon begins with "Voyage of the Damned," the Christmas episode from 2007. Then we'll air all of the episodes from Series 4. The last five episodes are the "specials" released from Christmas 2008 to Christmas 2009, the last of the David Tennant episodes.
For more information about the individual episodes and their start times, take a look at the OKLA tab on the Schedules page.
We anticipate being able to purchase Series 5 with Matt Smith in the spring of 2011. Don't hold me to it, but I hope to start them in April or May. (fingers crossed!)
New Year's Eve on OETA and OKLA
Written by Holly on Thursday December 30, 2010
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OKLAHOMA FORUM – This preempts OKLAHOMA NEWS REPORT tonight so that we can rebroadcast Sunday's OKLAHOMA FORUM episode looking back at the year in Oklahoma politics and ahead to 2011. |
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7:30pm |
LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER "New York Philharmonic: New Year's Eve with Lang Lang" -- The New York Philharmonic and pianist Lang Lang ring in the holiday with an all-Tchaikovsky program. (There will not be an episode of NEED TO KNOW this week.) |
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9:30pm |
PAUL MCCARTNEY: GOOD EVENING NEW YORK CITY -- The former Beatle performs "Drive My Car," "Back In The USSR", "Band On The Run" and other hits. |
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10:30pm |
RED GREEN DOES NEW YEAR'S – This is a 45-minute special episode of RED GREEN. DOCTOR WHO will not be seen tonight. It will return in its usual timeslot on Friday, January 7th. DOCTOR WHO fans should be advised that OETA will have a DOCTOR WHO marathon tomorrow (New Year's Day) on OETA OKLA from noon to 5am Sunday morning. |
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11:15pm |
GREAT PERFORMANCES "Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood: In Concert from Madison Square Garden" -- Ring in 2011 with this classic concert from NYC, even if it's just playing in the background while you count down. |
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12:15am |
OETA Movie Club "Topkapi" -- Start the new year with BJ Wexler and this 1964 classic caper. |
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PIANO HOUR Marathon -- Here's your chance to catch up on all of the PIANO HOUR episodes you may have missed: Ukie Hart, Sony Gray, Don Johnson, Peter Krauss, After Five, Marilynn Brown and Wally Brown. (See the schedule for times.) |
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Christmas Weekend Programming Notes
Written by Holly on Wednesday December 22, 2010
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Christmas Eve |
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7:30pm |
THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS – This airs in the usual NEED TO KNOW timeslot because it’s Christmas Eve and most of NEED TO KNOW will be repeat material. But if you really want to see the episode, set your VCR/DVR for Sunday morning at 3:30am. |
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8pm |
HAPPY HOLIDAYS: THE BEST OF THE ANDY WILLIAMS CHRISTMAS SHOWS |
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9pm |
CHRISTMAS WITH THE MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR FEATURING NATALIE COLE |
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10pm |
IT’S A WONDERFUL RED GREEN CHRISTMAS – This is a full 60-minute special episode of RED GREEN. DOCTOR WHO will not be seen tonight or next Friday. It will return in its usual timeslot on Friday, January 7th. DOCTOR WHO fans will be delighted to hear we’re going to have an all-day DOCTOR WHO marathon on OETA OKLA New Year’s Day. Stay tuned for more details. |
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Christmas |
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5am |
GREAT PERFORMANCES "Dance in America: San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker" |
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7am |
RADIO CITY CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR STARRING THE ROCKETTES |
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8am |
GREAT PERFORMANCES "Andrea Bocelli & David Foster: My Christmas in Concert" |
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9am |
A ST. THOMAS CHRISTMAS 2010 |
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10am |
CELTIC WOMAN: A CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION |
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11am |
CHRISTMAS WITH THE ANNIE MOSES BAND |
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12pm |
CHRISTMAS WITH THE MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR FEATURING NATALIE COLE |
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1pm |
CHRISTMAS AT CONCORDIA - JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM |
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2pm |
NATURE "Christmas in Yellowstone" |
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3pm to 7pm |
GALLERY / STATE OF CREATIVITY marathon – More information can be found on the "Gallery" blog. |
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December 26 |
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3pm to 7pm |
STATELINE marathon -- More information can be found on the "Stateline" page of our website. |
British Comedies Christmas Specials
Written by Holly on Friday December 10, 2010
It's always a challenge to schedule the British comedies during the holidays. Some of the series have very definite "Christmas Specials" and some only hint at the presence of a holiday season. Each year we are faced with the decision of whether to interrupt the chronology of the storyline to air the Christmas episodes during Christmas time or just keep the flow, even if it means the Christmas episodes wind up airing in the middle of August.
We put a lot of thought into this and don't take the challenge lightly. We vary our scheduling strategy each year so that the Britcoms' loyal fans don't see the exact same schedule year after year. An example of this strategy can be seen with VICAR OF DIBLEY. Since it just recently returned to the Sunday night lineup, we've chosen not to disrupt the episodes. We'll continue to air them in chronological order so that you don't miss any of the short storyline.
However, LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE's Christmas episodes will interrupt the flow of the newly released Series 29-31 episodes. This might upset some LOSW fans who've been waiting years to see these new episodes. But, please, have a cup of eggnog and wait until the week after Christmas. The new episodes will pick right back up where they left off. None of them will be skipped.
The entire list of Britcom "Christmas Specials" for 2010 is listed below. I hope you like it. But, if you don't, tune in next year when it's sure to look a little different.
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Sunday, 12/12 |
10pm |
ARE YOU BEING SERVED? - “Christmas Cracker 1975” - The holidays are at hand and the staff dress up to try to boost sales. Mrs. Slocombe dresses as Robin Hood, which explains the funny quiver she has in back. The department is remodeled, and they enjoy their holiday dinner in the canteen. |
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Thursday, 12/16 |
11:30pm |
WAITING FOR GOD - Diana is asked to direct the Nativity play for the elderly of the parish. She and Tom play a trick on Harvey who then has an accident and undergoes a personality change. |
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Sunday, 12/19 |
10pm |
ARE YOU BEING SERVED? - “Father Christmas Affair” -Everyone wants to play Father Christmas after a mechanical version flashes the staff and crushes a small boy. Who will finally be selected to personify the season? |
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Monday, 12/20 |
11pm |
LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE - “A Merry Heatwave” - Nora Batty's brother is near to death and not likely to see another Christmas. So Foggy decides to re-create a nice traditional, old-fashioned Christmas - in the middle of a sweltering hot summer? |
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Monday, 12/20 |
11:36pm (Starts late) |
WAITING FOR GOD - Diana refuses to join the Christmas spirit so Tom sends for Baby Diana and also invites some homeless people to stay in Harvey's flat for the holiday. |
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Tuesday, 12/21 |
11pm |
LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE - “And A Dewhurst Up A Fir Tree” - Foggy Dewhurst decides to beat the Christmas rush by shopping for presents in the middle of summer. He ends up being conned by Big Eric, who sells him 100 Christmas trees for 10 pounds. A bargain? Not when they are crawling with insects! |
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Wednesday, 12/22 |
11pm |
LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE - “Whoops” - Christmas isn't what it used to be, so the trio decide to look for two old school chums to help recapture the spirit of their youth. |
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Thursday, 12/23 |
11pm |
LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE - "All Mod Conned” - A break from the commercial side of Christmas as Foggy books a seaside caravan for himself, Compo and Clegg. |
