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

Buster the rabbit and several of his friends gather in the street.
Credit: Courtesy of "Arthur" & the other Marc Brown ARTHUR characters and underlying materials (including artwork) ™ and © Marc Brown. Arthur © 2014 WGBH.

The Difference in a Decade

Time was that if there was one thing that attracted the enthusiastic ire of would-be viewers, it was a program that was "promoted a homosexual lifestyle." In 1991, I was verbally abused for weeks over POV's presentation of the documentary Tongues Untied and its portrayal of the black gay community. In 1999, the calls about It's Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in School were so frequent that I began answering the phone with a cheery "It's elementary!" It's been a long time since I've encountered a similar call-in campaign. The last one was in 2005, and the target was the PBS kids' show Postcards from Buster.

Red Green sits in a homemade boat decorated as a living room.

We Kept Our Stick on the Ice

Some people said that we couldn’t do it…some said that we shouldn’t do it. But we did it for 18 years. 

David Thiel in front of the Late Show marquee.
David Thiel

So Long to a Late Night World of Love

By the time this article is posted, David Letterman’s final Late Show broadcast will have already occurred, but as I write this, it’s still a couple of days off. There have been approximately one godzillion tributes to Letterman in the weeks leading up to his retirement, but I couldn't let the event pass without offering a few words of my own.

Portrait of Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Credit: Courtesy of Peter Simon

Burying Your Roots

It's something that I hate to see: a major PBS personality in the headlines for what seems to have been a breach of the trust that viewers and stations alike place upon such figures of authority. Was the omission of actor Ben Affleck's slave-holding ancestor from an episode of Finding Your Roots an editorial judgement or an ethical failure? We shouldn't have to wonder.

The cast of The Good Neighbors poses for the camera.
© BBC

The History of Britcoms on WILL-TV (Part Two)

Earlier this month, I set the WABAC Machine to the mid '70s and the introduction of British TV comedy to WILL-TV. In this installment, we'll trade Mr. Peabody's trusty time machine for a DeLorean as we go back to the '80s!

John Cleese behind a hotel desk, with a stuffed moose head nearby.
© BBC

The History of Britcoms on WILL-TV (Part One)

As we approach our 16th annual Great Britcom Vote event on Saturday, March 7, I’m digging into our archives to suss out the early history of British comedy on WILL-TV. Which such series was the first to air in Central Illinois?