TV Worth Blogging
by David Thiel, Program Director for WILL-TV
An insider's view of public television programming and the issues that help determine what and how you watch
Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street? I've Got All These Emmys to Deliver!
Public television won 16 Daytime Emmys in last weekend's awards ceremonies conducted by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Sesame Street took home four, not including a special Lifetime Achievement Award for their 40 years of service. The latter was promptly eaten by Cookie Monster, who declared it to "taste even better than Latin Grammy." Kevin Clash ("Elmo") won Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series for the fifth time.
Public television's tally was second only to ABC's 17 awards, and doubled the number won by the other closest competitors, CBS and Nickelodeon. Children's series Between the Lions, WordWorld and From the Top at Carnegie Hall all won top honors, as did This Old House.
Read on for the complete list of public TV winners!
Read more on "Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street? I've Got All These Emmys to Deliver!"
PBS Gives Critics the Goods at Press Tour
Alright, I'll admit it, I'll take any excuse to get a photo of Doctor Who's David Tennant on the WILL home page. Tennant, the new host for Masterpiece Contemporary when it returns this October, was one of many guests representing PBS at the Television Critics' Association Press Tour in Los Angeles. But the soon-to-be-former Doctor, who will also star in a TV adaptation of his acclaimed stage portrayal of Hamlet next year on Great Performances, wasn't the only news out of L.A.
Read more on "PBS Gives Critics the Goods at Press Tour"
Arrest of PBS Host Sparks Controversy
As a public television program director, it's not the sort of headline you want to see: a notable PBS host arrested. But when the person in question is Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., a prominent African-American scholar, the story becomes larger and stranger. And that was before President Obama weighed in.
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PBS Scores Dozens of Emmy Nominations
This week, PBS was recognized with 67 Emmy nominations by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Twenty-six were for so-called "primetime" programs, with another 41 in news and documentary categories. Top honorees included the Masterpiece presentation of "Little Dorrit" with 11 nods, and the documentary series P.O.V. with ten.
Read more on "PBS Scores Dozens of Emmy Nominations"
Molly Sugden Dies
Molly Sugden, best known to WILL-TV viewers as "Mrs. Slocombe" on the long-running British comedy Are You Being Served?, has died at age 86, according to BBC News. She is the second AYBS? cast member to pass away this year, the first being Wendy Richard, who played "Miss Brahms."
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Romance and Intrigue Ignite "Chess"
Romance ignites during the tension of an international chess tournament during the Cold War in the musical Chess. A collaboration between Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of the Swedish pop group ABBA and lyricist Tim Rice (Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita), Chess in Concert comes to WILL-TV on Wednesday, June 17 at 7:00 pm.
