Blue Ridge PBS - Featured Programs

Join us for these featured programs

	A Capitol Fourth 2008
	Chasing Churchill: In Search of my Grandfather
	Click & Clack's as the Wrench Turns

	History Detectives
	Masterpiece Mystery!
	Wide Angle

A Capitol Fourth 2008

Friday, July 4 at 8:00 & 9:30 p.m.
Blue Ridge PBS will celebrate America's biggest birthday party with "A Capitol Fourth," a special Independence Day broadcast live from the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The star-spangled party, broadcast in high definition (HD), will feature unrivaled musical performances from some of the country's best known and award-winning artists, as well as the most spectacular fireworks display anywhere in the nation. This year's celebration is hosted by actor Jimmy Smits and features performances by Huey Lewis and the News, Taylor Hicks, Jerry Lee Lewis, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Hayley Westenra, Harolyn Blackwell and the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Erich Kunzel.

"The Fourth of July is a favorite holiday here at Blue Ridge PBS, a time when we all pause to remember and celebrate the remarkable freedoms that we enjoy in the United States of America," said James Baum, station President and CEO. "Blue Ridge PBS viewers will love 'A Capitol Fourth.' With the all-star cast and fireworks, this will be a truly memorable broadcast."

Following this musical salute, the Washington, D.C., skyline will come alive with a colorful, creative and booming display of fireworks set against silhouettes of the U.S. Capitol, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials.

"As President John Adams envisioned 232 years ago, we come together to celebrate the birth of our great nation with music, fun and fireworks," added executive producer Jerry Colbert of Capital Concerts. "We're really glad to welcome our new host Jimmy Smits to help celebrate the Fourth in style from the most inspiring location in America."

Capping off the show will be a rousing rendition of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture," complete with live cannon fire provided by the United States Army Presidential Salute Battery, an audience favorite and now "A Capitol Fourth" tradition.

"A Capitol Fourth" will also feature performances by The U.S. Army Herald Trumpets, The U.S. Army Presidential Salute Battery, an Armed Forces Color Guard provided by the Military District of Washington, D.C. and The Choral Arts Society of Washington.

Visit the companion website at www.pbs.org/capitolfourth/

Chasing Churchill: In Search of my Grandfather

Mondays, July 21 -August 4 at 10:00 p.m.
From England to Egypt, from Hollywood to Havana, from Virginia to France and South Africa, CHASING CHURCHILL: IN SEARCH OF MY GRANDFATHER follows Celia Sandy's around the world as she retraces her grandfather Winston Churchill's footsteps to reveal the man behind the famous facade. The series features newly discovered archival footage, photographs and private letters, diaries and paintings from the Churchill archives.

Churchill's public life was a remarkable journey, one recounted many times by many people. But his life involved another, much more private journey: to find stillness at the core of his boundless energy; to find solitude amidst the throngs of people he loved to have around him; to find contentment within the turmoil of his lonely, brilliant and troubled life.

Churchill's quest for his inner-self took two forms: a constant thirst for exotic travel and a passion for the exuberance of painting and the beauty of words. Sandy's traveled extensively with Churchill towards the end of his life. Now, in this intimate portrait, she follows in her grandfather's footsteps to the furthest reaches of the world. By examining his art and literature, viewers will understand his dreams and anxieties and share his innermost thoughts.

Sandy's travels to France, with which Churchill had a love affair throughout his life, especially the south of France, a painter's dream; to Cuba and South Africa, where, when little more than a boy, he began to write prodigiously; to the United States, his vital wartime ally, his mother's native land and the place where he said he would have liked to have been born; and to Morocco, his favorite place to paint.

Click & Clack's as the Wrench Turns

Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. starting July 9
The program takes off from the hit NPR show and follows the on- and off-air escapades of Click and Clack, the Tappet brothers (alter-egos of Tom and Ray Magliozzi) as they try to fix cars, fend off disgruntled customers and seek out increasingly creative ways to goof off. CLICK & CLACK'S AS THE WRENCH TURNS is set at Car Talk Plaza, a fictional building that houses their radio studio and their famed garage in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Click and Clack immerse themselves in such motley misadventures as a competition with a nearby garage staffed by sexy hunks, a run-in with the feds in their garage and a robot mechanic that causes a power-grid meltdown all across Boston. Continuing their constant pursuit of idleness, they tempt disaster in each episode by constantly looking for the easy way out while ignoring the unintended consequences, finding themselves right back where they started - square one.

In conjunction with the series, executive producer Howard K. Grossman also has developed an innovative partnership with The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), whose membership includes all state motor vehicle agencies (DMVs) in the United States and Canada. In their role as a strategic content partner to the series' national outreach campaign, AAMVA will collaborate with CLICK & CLACK'S AS THE WRENCH TURNS to facilitate the communication of safety messages, regarding such issues as distracted driving, safety belts and teen driving, to the driving public as they interact with AAMVA members and state and provincial motor vehicle agencies.

"Tom and Ray have been 'animated characters' for years, so it's fitting that we've found a way to bring these garage gurus to the small screen," said John F. Wilson, senior vice president and chief TV programming executive for PBS. "Even though we hide inside our tote bags every time we say it, we're glad to welcome to PBS these public media figures who can connect with people as quickly as they can with carburetors. We're hoping for a truly unique experience for the viewer that's entertaining and fresh. Through the AAMVA outreach program, we'll also be providing useful public safety tips to complement the series."

Visit the companion website at www.pbs.org/wrenchturns/

History Detectives

Mondays at 9:00 p.m.
America's top gumshoes are back for a sixth season to prove once again that an object found in an attic or backyard might be anything but ordinary. Wesley Cowan, independent appraiser and auctioneer; Gwendolyn Wright, professor of architecture, Columbia University; Elyse Luray, independent appraiser and expert in art history; and Tukufu Zuberi, professor of sociology and the director of the Center for Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania leave no stone unturned as they travel around the country to explore the stories behind local folklore, prominent figures and family legends.

June 30- In their sixth season premiere, the history detectives investigate the diary of a WWII pilot; an 1856 book purported to be the memoirs of a New York woman married to a Mormon elder; and an 1853 Napoleon coin said to be shot by Annie Oakley.
July 7- A flag that may have been carried into battle by one of the few African-American infantry regiments in WWI; a painting that may be the work of Seth Eastman; and a two-story building that may have housed a Chinese Tong.
July 14- A balloon scrap that may be a missing piece of a secret weapon; a circus program that connects a society woman, FDR and the Boy Scouts; and a letter from Ronald Reagan that links a Navy captain to the development of Camp David.
July 21- A WWII Marine's jacket with stitched inscriptions; a vintage Airstream that may have made a historic journey; and sheet music bearing Abraham Lincoln's signature.
July 28- An artifact that could be a souvenir of the Hindenburg disaster; a stamp that may be connected to the Bonus Army March on Washington in 1932; and a bell that may have been ringside at Jack Dempsey's legendary world heavyweight championship match.

Visit the companion website at www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/

Masterpiece Mystery!

Sundays at 9:00 p.m.
For more than 35 years, MASTERPIECE has enthralled audiences with the works of the finest classic and contemporary writers interpreted by the world's foremost actors. The new MASTERPIECE schedule breaks the year into three "seasons," each with its own host, graphics and fresh take on the series' famous theme music. MASTERPIECE MYSTERY! (summer) features the best British mysteries.

June 29 - "Inspector Lewis: Old School Ties" The death of an ambitious Oxford student reveals a case driven by celebrity, ambition and dangerous sexual politics.
July 6 - "Inspector Lewis: Expiation" Lewis and Hathaway investigate the death of an Oxford housewife, found hanged in her home.
July 13 - "Foyle's War: Plan of Attack" The popular World War II whodunit stars Michael Kitchen as Inspector Christopher Foyle, who fights crime on the south coast of England, far from the front.
July 20 - "Foyle's War: Broken Souls" The murder of an unpopular young doctor yields no shortage of potential suspects.
July 27 -"Foyle's War: All Clear" In his final case, Foyle must reveal truths the Allies would rather keep hidden.

Visit the companion web site at www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/mystery/

Wide Angle

Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m.
This acclaimed series delivers up-to-the-minute reports from global hotspots to give American television viewers a unique forum for understanding the complex, often dramatic, sometimes explosive and always relevant stories that are shaping the present and future of the world. Each program focuses on a single subject, bringing to life international events and issues that matter to Americans today - from global epidemics to economic development and matters related to the war on terrorism. WIDE ANGLE offers character-driven narratives while eschewing on-camera correspondents, think-tank analysts or talking heads. At the end of each documentary, Aaron Brown conducts an interview or presents a short essay to "connect the dots" and offer greater insight into how the subject matter of the program affects Americans. Visit the companion website at www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/

July 1 - "Heart of Darfur" WIDE ANGLE's season premiere presents an account of what the U.N. Secretary-General has called "the largest humanitarian crisis in the world." Granted access to the capital city of North Darfur in Sudan, WIDE ANGLE reports from Al Fasher, once a sleepy desert town of 30,000, but today home to 100,000 refugees and 10,000 U.N. personnel. The film captures the desperation of daily life in Al Fasher's sprawling Abu Shouk refugee camp and travels beyond Al Fasher into the volatile rebel-held areas of Sudan to portray the lives of black African villagers who get up every morning to face yet another day filled with threats of looting, murder and rape by Sudan's pro-government Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed. Cameras follow "the busiest man in Africa" - charismatic General Martin Luther Agwai, commander of the new combined U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force for Darfur - on a mission as he helicopters into hostile areas, attempting to coax rebel leaders and some of the Arab tribes to the negotiating table. Despite leading the world's largest peacekeeping operation, Agwai, the former head of Nigeria's armed forces, acknowledges the limitations of his role: "We are not here to compel any peace. We are here to work with the Sudanese people - both the government and the parties - to assist them to find peace." After five years of fighting in Sudan, an estimated two-and-a-half million people have fled their homes, more than 200,000 have been killed and two thirds of all Darfuris - some 4.3 million people - need humanitarian assistance of some kind.
July 8 - "Japan's about Face" Granted unprecedented access to Japan's "West Point" - the National Defense Academy - WIDE ANGLE captures a remarkable view of the military's shifting role in post-war Japanese society. Since WWII, Japan's American-authored, pacifist constitution has mandated a strictly defensive military force. But the line between defense and offense has blurred in recent years, as Japan looks over its shoulder at North Korea's nuclear ballistic missiles and China's growing military and economic strength. Today, Japan's $40 billion military budget is the fifth largest in the world. The Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces recently sent troops to Iraq - the first time Japanese soldiers have entered an active combat zone in three generations - and the Air Self-Defense Forces have acquired a fleet of sophisticated fighter jets capable of projecting power across Asia. As Japan reconsiders its military rules of engagement, WIDE ANGLE follows National Defense Academy cadets preparing for a future that may involve overseas deployment . Viewers meet a group of peace marchers - some of them atom bomb survivors - on a grueling two-month march from Hiroshima to Tokyo dedicated to safeguarding the constitution's Article 9 "no war" clause and keeping Japan's troops at home. With unprecedented access to joint maneuvers with the United States Marine Corps, surveillance flights over the Sea of Japan and the DDH Hyuga - the first Japanese aircraft carrier built since WWII - "Japan's About-Face" offers unprecedented insight into the future of Asian geopolitics.
July 15 - "Birth of a Surgeon" This inspiring profile travels to Mozambique, where, for the first time, midwives are being trained in advanced life-saving surgery. Suffering from an acute shortage of doctors, Mozambique launched a bold grassroots initiative that has cut the maternal death rate in half. Starting in the capital city of Maputo, WIDE ANGLE follows student Emilia Cumbane through intensive medical classes and night shifts in the delivery ward as she learns to heal the life-threatening complications of pregnancy - from eclampsia to acute bleeding and ruptured wombs. Cumbane then parts from her husband and six-year-old son to finish her training in a small rural clinic nearly 100 miles from the city. Working in a makeshift delivery room so crowded that women in labor sometimes share beds, Cumbane becomes one of the first midwives in the world granted the right to perform surgery. Even before her graduation, Cumbane performs her first life-saving caesarean section by herself - illustrating how one woman can make a difference on the frontlines of public health in Africa. "It's a miracle to be a midwife!" says Cumbane, beaming, as the new mother holds her healthy baby in her arms. With more than half-a-million women dying each year during pregnancy or childbirth, the program is being hailed as a model solution, offering hope to developing countries worldwide.

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June July

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June July

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