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Winter/spring 2003
Avoiding Armageddon
Producing organization: SafeWorld Productions LLC. Presenting station:
WETA, Washington, D.C. Episodes: 4 x 120. Status: production. Major
funders: Ted Turner Documentaries LLC. Executive producer: Christopher
Koch. Producers: Tony Black, Ginny Durrin, Rick King, Susan Koch, Daphna
Rubin, Graham Townsley. Managing editor: Marty Schram. Contact: Suzanne
Arden, [email protected], 404-522-6075. Takes an unflinching
look at the threats to civilization posed by the proliferation of nuclear,
chemical and biological weapons and offers a hopeful message that individual
citizens—and not just governments—can take action to help
avoid Armageddon. Website: www.avoidingarmageddon.com. With companion
book, radio programming, and outreach targeting women, high school and
college students.
Battle of the X-Planes
Producing organizations: Myth Merchant Films for WGBH. Presented by
Nova. Episodes: 1 x 120. Status: postproduction. Major funders:
Park Foundation and Sprint, additional funding from CPB and PBS. Executive
producer: Paula Apsell. Producer: Michael Jorgensen. Contact: Alan Ritsko,
[email protected], 617-300-4366. In a secret make-or-break competition,
Lockheed Martin and Boeing compete to build the next-generation fighter
jet. With unprecedented access from the Pentagon, Nova’s
cameras go behind the scenes at the Pentagon to record the contest,
with thrilling test flight scenes. Website: www.pbs.org/nova/xplanes.
Nova’s spring 2003 teachers’ guide will profile the
program.
Caprial and John’s Kitchen
Producing station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Distributor: NETA. Episodes:
26 x 30. Status: fundraising. Budget: $450,000. Executive in charge:
Jack Galmiche. Contact: Jeff Wooding, [email protected], 503-977-7769.
Chefs Caprial and John Pence create, teach and entertain in their new
cooking school and on location throughout the Pacific Northwest. With
website and companion book series.
The Chefs of Napa Valley
Producing organization: Napa Valley Living. Distributor: APT.
Presenting station: KCSM, San Mateo. Executive producer: Cary Shott.
Contact: Cary Shott, [email protected]. Cooking series features
Napa Valley chefs Ken Frank, Todd Humphries, Sean Knight, Cindy Pawlcyn,
Hiro Sone, Lissa Doumani. With website (chefsofnapavalley.com) and companion
book.
The Cory the Clown Show
Producing organizations: Funny Productions, a division of Corlin Productions
LLC. Presenting station: WYES, New Orleans. Distributor: APT. Episodes:
20 x 30. Status: postproduction. Budget: $2.5 million. Executive producer:
Linda Ann Watt. Producer/star: Cory Riback. Contact: Linda Ann Watt,
818-701-5545. A preschool series with live action, robotic puppets and
3-D animation. Websites: www.corytheclown.com and www.coryslearningcorner.com.
Outreach plans include a newsletter and a reading program.
Daniel Deronda
Co-producing organizations: BBC and WGBH, Boston. Presented by Masterpiece
Theatre. Episodes: 3 x 60. Status: postproduction. Major funder:
ExxonMobil. Executive producer for WGBH: Rebecca Eaton. Producer: Louis
Marks. Contact: Steven Ashley, [email protected], 617-300-2518.
Andrew Davies’ adaptation of George Eliot’s first novel, the
epic love story of a young adopted man’s search for his family
and culture.
Domestic Violence
Producing organization: Zipporah Films Inc. Presenting station: WNET,
New York. Episodes: 2 x 210. Status: postproduction. Major funders:
Ford Foundation, CPB, PBS, Irene Diamond Fund, Edna M. Clark Foundation,
Open Society Institute, George Gund Foundation, Joyce Foundation. Executive
producer: Fred Wiseman. Executive in charge for WNET: Stephen Segaller.
Contact: Lisa Braun, [email protected], 212-560-2715. An eyewitness
account of the lives of people coping with abuse. The producers follow
women who seek refuge at a shelter in Tampa, Fla. With website, brochures
and outreach services targeting women.
The Elegant Universe
Producing organizations: WGBH and Channel Four (U.K.) in association
with David Hickman Films. Presented by Nova. Episodes: 3 x 60.
Status: postproduction. Major funders: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and
the National Science Foundation, with additional funding from the Department
of Energy and an anonymous donor. Series funding for Nova provided
by Park Foundation and Sprint with additional funding from CPB and PBS.
Executive producer: Paula Apsell. Series producer: David Hickman. Producer:
Joe McMaster. Host: Brian Greene. Contact: Alan Ritsko, [email protected],
617-300-4366. Can a single theory cover all the forces in the universe?
Dynamic young physicist Brian Greene, author of the bestseller The
Elegant Universe, takes viewers on a wild ride in search of the
Holy Grail of physics. With educational materials, including a special
insert on particle physics in the Nova teachers’ guide.
Flashpoint
Producing station: WETA. Episodes: 4 x 90. Status: R&D. Major funders:
PBS. Executive producers: Jeff Bieber, Dalton Delan. Contact: Dewey
Blanton, [email protected], 703-998-2875. A quarterly news and public
affairs series that examines a national issue at its flashpoint —
the community where all sides of the issue converge. Combines documentary
features with live segments to facilitate a national conversation on
compelling issues.
Great Synagogues of the World
Producing organization: Jewish Television Network. Presenting station:
KCET, Los Angeles. Episodes: 2 x 60. Status: preproduction and scripting.
Budget: $600,000. Executive producer: Jay Sanderson. Producer: Harvey
Lehrer. Contact: Jay Sanderson, 818-789-5891. Explores the history,
architecture, communal influences and the personal stories of the most
spectacular synagogues. Designed for pledge.
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Co-producing organizations: BBC and WGBH. Produced by Tiger Aspect
Productions with thanks to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Presented
by Masterpiece Theatre. Episodes: 1 x 120. Status: postproduction.
Major funder: ExxonMobil. Executive producer: Rebecca Eaton for WGBH.
Producer: Nick Brown. Contact: Steven Ashley, [email protected],
617-300-2518. A new adaptation by Allan Cubitt of perhaps the most famous
of all Sherlock Holmes stories, starring Richard Roxburgh, Ian Hart,
Richard E. Grant. With teachers’ guide.
Independent Lens
Producing organization: Independent Television Service. Episodes: 14
x 60 in spring 2003, 15 x 60 in fall 2003 (with occasional 90s). Status:
postproduction. Budget: $1.7 million. Major funders: ITVS, CPB, PBS.
Executive producer: Sally Jo Fifer. Contact: Nancy Fishman, nancy_fishman@
itvs.org, 415-356-8383, ext. 226. Weekly anthology series relaunches
under ITVS, showcasing American independent programming and a limited
number of dramas and international documentaries. ITVS’s Community
Connections Project will create individual outreach campaigns for the
shows. Website: www.itvs.org.
Journey to Planet Earth
Producing organizations: Screenscope Inc., in association with South
Carolina ETV. Episodes: 3 x 60. Status: postproduction. Budget: $3 million.
Major funders: National Science Foundation, National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
U.S. Department of Energy. Producer: Marilyn Weiner. Director/writer:
Hal Weiner. Editor: Robert Zakin. Contact: Charles W. White, SCETV,
803-737-3389. A continuing primetime series covering the major environmental
issues of the 21st century. Episodes address grasslands,
disease and environmental security. Outreach budgeted at $600,000 was
developed in collaboration with 10 major science centers and other environmental
agencies and groups. Activities will target adults and middle-school
children. Planned materials and services include activity kits and viewer
guides, a program for science museums and community centers, web-based
interactive science workshops. Website: www.pbs.org/journeytoplanetearth.
Kingdom of David: The Saga of the Israelites
Producing organizations: Oregon Public Broadcasting and Red Hill Productions
for Devillier Donegan Enterprises and PBS. Presented as an Empires
special. Episodes: 4 x 60. Status: postproduction. Budget: $2.2 million.
Executive producers: Carl Byker for Red Hill Productions, David Davis
for OPB, Ron Devillier and Brian Donegan for DDE. Producers: David Mrazek
and Mitch Wilson. Contact: David Davis, david_davis @opb.org, 503-293-1959;
Ken O’Keefe, DDE, 202-686-3980. Through the stories of key characters,
this series explores the cultural, historical and religious significance
of ancient Israel, one of the world’s most influential cultures,
as it evolved from 2,000 BC to 500 AD.
Lance Loud: The Final Episode (w.t.)
Producing organization: Video Verite. Co-presented by the Independent
Television Service and WETA. Episodes: 2 x 60. Status: production. Budget:
$385,000. Major funders: ITVS, CPB, PBS. Producer/directors: Alan and
Susan Raymond. Contact: Nancy Fishman, [email protected], 415-356-8383.
An unorthodox film biography of the eldest son in the Loud family, the
subjects of the first reality TV series, An American Family.
Lance’s life journey speaks volumes about pop culture, sexuality,
fame and family life. This special will air with episode 2 from the
original PBS series.
Mama Africa
Producing organizations: Zimmedia, Wellspring Media, Independent Television
Service. Expected distributor: PBS Plus. Episodes: 6 x 30. Status: postproduction.
Budget: $1.4 million. Major funder: ITVS. Executive producers: Simon
Bright, Julie Goldman, Letebele Masomela Jones. Contact: Nancy Fishman,
nancy_fishman@ itvs.org, 415-356-8383, ext. 226. Six of Africa’s
most successful filmmakers explore what it means to be a woman in today’s
Africa. The six shows explore modern life in Togo, Burkina Faso, Tunisia,
Kenya, Botswana and South Africa. Website: www.mama-africa-movie.com.
Martin Luther
Producing organization: A Lion Television production in association
with PBS and DDE. Presented as an Empires special. Episodes: 2 x 60.
Status: completed. Executive producers: Richard Bradley for Lion Television,
Ron Devillier and Brian Donegan for DDE. Producer/director: Cassian
Harrison. Contact: Ken O’Keefe, DDE, 202-686-3980. Brings to life
a pivotal moment in the history of Western civilization, telling the
story of the collapse of medieval feudalism, the beginnings of the ideals
of freedom and liberty, and the birth of the modern age. Filmed across
Germany at the most important sites of Martin Luther’s life, and
in Rome, the center of power with which he fought.
The Meaning of Food
Produced by independent producers Sue McLaughlin, Vivian Kleiman and
Karin Williams in association with Oregon Public Broadcasting. Episodes:
3 x 60. Status: production. Budget: $1.4 million. Major funders: PBS,
Pacific Islander Consortium and CPB for a total of $1.1 million. Executive
producers: David Davis, Sue McLaughlin. Producers: Vivian Kleiman, Karin
Williams. Contact: David Davis, [email protected], 503-293-1959. An
entertaining, sometimes humorous look at the role of food in the intricate
social and personal rituals of our lives. Explores the multicultural
landscape of America by examining its food.
Music Idols & Icons
Producing organizations: Program Resources Group and KBYU-TV in Provo,
Utah. Distributor: PRG, uplinked through NETA. Episodes: 7 x 60. Status:
postproduction. Budget: $119,000. Executive producer: Al Rose. Producers:
Monica Riley-Verley, Diena Simmons. Contact: Monica Riley-Verley, [email protected],
212-974-3901, ext. 3838. Profiles musicians whose accomplishments have
made them trailblazers in 20th century music. First season
includes Cher, Tom Jones, Queen, Joe Cocker, Maria Callas, Jacqueline
Du Pre and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. Website planned.
On Stage
Producing station: WETA. Episodes: 3 x 90-120, potentially designed
for pledge. Status: preproduction. Major funders: The Coca-Cola Co.,
National Endowment for the Arts, CPB, PBS. Executive producers: Dalton
Delan and David S. Thompson. Contact: DeLinda Mrowka, [email protected],
703-998-2441. Brings national audiences to performances at the Kennedy
Center, the White House and other notable venues in Washington, D.C.
Website: www.pbs.org/onstage.
Othello
Producing stations: KQED, San Francisco, and WNET. Presented by Great
Performances. Episodes: 1 x 120. Status: production. Executive producer:
Danny McGuire. Producer: Judy Flannery. Contact: Elizabeth Pepin, [email protected],
415-553-2340. A high-definition performance special features the San
Francisco Ballet production of Lar Lubovitch’s Othello.
Our Genes/Our Choices
Producing organization: Fred Friendly Seminars Inc. Presenting station:
WNET. Episodes: 3 x 60. Status: postproduction. Major funders: Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation, National Science Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan
Foundation, National Institutes of Health (educational outreach funding),
U.S. Department of Energy, Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation. Executive producer:
Richard Kilberg. Executive in charge of production: Stephen Segaller.
Contact: Lisa Braun, braun@thirteen. org, 212-560-2715. Explores privacy
and the use of personal genetic information, disease treatment, "improving"
the genetics of babies, cloning, and the impact and meaning of behavior-related
genes. Outreach activities include a video teleconference held in October,
outreach partnerships with national organizations for professional,
educational and community activities; support to local stations for
local programming and community-based outreach and resources and discussion
guides. Website: www.pbs.org/fredfriendly/ourgenes/.
Pahappahooey Island
Producing organizations: Impact Productions, Light Duty Productions,
IWV Media Group, Searchlight Entertainment. Distributor: KNME’s
Westlink satellite service. Episodes: 6 x 30. Status: production, with
four episodes completed. Designed for pledge. Budget: $1.5 million.
Executive producer: Tom Newman. Director: Andrea Jobe. Contact: Maureen
Millen, IWV Media Group Inc., 281-573-4035. A preschool children’s
series featuring the work of Henson/Disney puppeteers. Shot in high-def
video. Website: www.pahappahooeyisland.com.
The Perilous Fight: America’s WWII in Color
Producing organizations: KCTS in Seattle, Trans World International
and Carlton TV. Episodes: 4 x 60. Status: postproduction. Budget: $1.4
million. Major funders: Arthur Vining Davis Foundation. Executive producers:
David Rabinovitch, Alastair Waddington, Polly Bide. Series producer:
Martin Smith. Producers: Greg Palmer, Scott Pearson. Contact: Rupert
Macnee, [email protected]. Features digitally restored color footage
obtained from government archives and veterans to recount the experiences
of Americans who fought in World War II. Narrated by Martin Sheen. Website:
www.pbs.org/perilousfight.
Peter and Paul and the Christian Revolution
Producing organizations: Koval Films in association with PBS and Devillier
Donegan Enterprises. Presented as an Empires special. Episodes: 2 x
60. Status: postproduction. Executive producers: Ron Devillier and Brian
Donegan for DDE. Writer/ director: Margaret Koval. Producer: Patricia
Aste. Contact: Ken O’Keefe, DDE, 202-686-3980. Explores how two
men, and the followers of Christ they represented, weathered crippling
disagreements and obstacles to build an astonishing religious movement.
Combines the words of Paul and other ancient writers with commentary
by contemporary scholars, scenes of modern archaeology, and dramatic
reenactments filmed in Europe and the Middle East.
Primary Focus
Producing organizations: IWV Media Group Inc. and BTGH Productions.
Distributor: KNME’s Westlink satellite service. Episodes: 26 x
60. Status: completed. Budget: $1.5 million. Executive producers: Calvin
Bremer. Senior producer: Mona Hennein. Producer: Pam Zelek. Contact:
Maureen Millen, [email protected], 281-573-4035. Examines ethical
topics such as ethics in the workplace, moral challenges facing college
students, practicing forgiveness, turning anger into honor, handling
debt responsibly.
Race: The Power of an Illusion (w.t.)
UPDATED
Producing organization: Independent Television Service. Episodes: 3
x 60. Status: production. Budget: $1.6 million. Major funders: ITVS,
CPB, Ford Foundation. Executive producer: Larry Adelman. Producers:
Christine Herbes-Sommers, Llewellyn M. Smith, Tracy Strain. Contact:
Nancy Fishman, [email protected], 415-356-8383. Deconstructs the
concept of race, demonstrating how it is a biological myth and a social
invention. Planned outreach activities through ITVS’s Community
Connections Project.
Simple Wisdom with Irwin Kula
Producing organization: Jewish Television Network. Distributor: APT.
Episodes: 13 x 30. Status: postproduction. Executive producer: Jay Sanderson.
Producer: Harvey Lehrer. Host: Irwin Kula. Contact: Jay Sanderson, 818-789-5891.
How can a person live a fuller, more enriched life? Host Irwin Kula
provides answers and "simple wisdom" to questions on most
on our minds. With a companion book.
Summer of Love/Days of Rage
Producing station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Episodes: 2 x 60. Status:
production. Budget: $300,000. Major funders: PBS. Executive producer:
David Davis. Producer: Steve Talbot. Contact: David Davis, [email protected],
503-293-1959. Examines how the events of the late 1960s shaped a generation.
From the "Summer of Love" in 1967, through the assassinations
and protests of 1968, to the days of rage that culminated in the shootings
at Kent State in 1970, this two-hour special will combine archival footage
and interviews to examine the music, culture and politics of the time.
A Taste of Louisiana with Chef John Folse and Company:
Louisiana Cooking with a Change of Heart
Producing station: Louisiana Public Broadcasting. Expected distributor:
American Public Television (APT). Episodes: 26 x 30. Status: postproduction.
Major funders: Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits, Baton Rouge Convention
and Visitor's Bureau, Louisiana Office of Culture, Recreation and Tourism,
Louisiana Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus. Executive
producer: Clay Fourrier. Producers: Charles Bush and John Folse. Contact:
Bob Neese, [email protected], 800-272-8161. • In front of a studio
audience, renowned Cajun and Creole chef John Folse prepares healthy
but tasty versions of traditional Louisiana recipes.
This Far by Faith
Coproducing organizations: Blackside Inc. and the Faith Project Inc.
Presenting station: WGBH. Episodes: 6 x 60. Status: postproduction.
Major funders: Ford Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation,
Annie E. Casey Foundation, Pew Charitable Trust, the Lilly Endowment,Inc.,
PBS/CPB Program Challenge Fund, National Endowment for the Humanities,
National Black Programming Consortium, ITVS. Executive producers: June
Cross and Dante James. Producers: Leslie Farrell, Lulie Haddad, Valerie
Linson, Alice Markowitz, Nolan Walker. Contact: Marcia Storkerson, [email protected],
617-300-2420. Explores the role African-American religious communities
have played in shaping American society.
Two Lane Traveller
Producing station: WPBA, Atlanta. Distributor: KNME’s Westlink
satellite service. Episodes: 26 x 30. Status: postproduction. Budget:
$1 million. Major funders: Georgia Department of Transportation, Georgia
State Parks and Historic Sites, Southeast Tourism Society, Georgia Department
of Industry Trade and Tourism. Executive producer, creator and host:
Robin Russell. Series producer: Donna I. Douglas. Contact: Maureen Millen,
mmillen@iwvmedia. com, 281-573-4035. Weekly travel and entertainment
series full of sharp Southern wit. Features diverse attractions and
hidden cultural treasures throughout America. First season focuses on
the Southeast.
United Nations: Center of the Storm
Coproducing organizations: David Grubin Productions Inc. and WNET. Episodes:
3 x 90. Status: production. Major funders: Coca-Cola, U.N. Foundation.
Executive producer: Stephen Segaller. Producer/director: David Grubin.
Contact: Lisa Braun, [email protected], 212-560-2715. A major contemporary
portrait of the United Nations, perhaps the world’s most influential
and controversial organization. Examines the role of the secretary general
and the U.N.’s involvement in peacekeeping, development and human
rights. Planned outreach: station grants for community-based partnerships
and local events, teacher-training materials and curriculum for high
school, college courses. Outreach targets: students, educators, policymakers,
business leaders.
Warrior Challenge
Producing organizations: A Shine Production for WNET, New York, and
Channel Five (U.K.). Episodes: 4 x 60. Status: postproduction. Major
funders: PBS and Channel Five. Executive producer: Beth Hoppe for WNET.
Series producer: Paul Hamann. Contact: Lisa Braun, [email protected],
212-560-2715. Modern professionals go back in time to adopt the technology
and take on the challenges of historic soldiers at pivotal points in
history. Participants learn how to use weapons of the time, experience
the culture of the armed forces, and compete in combat drills to see
who has best mastered the skills, weapons and lives of the ancient warriors.
Programs cover knights, Viking warriors, Roman centurions and gladiators.
White Teeth
Producing organizations: A Company Pictures Production for Channel Four
(U.K.) and WGBH. Presented by Masterpiece Theatre. Episodes:
2 x 90. Status: postproduction. Major funders: ExxonMobil. Executive
producer: Rebecca Eaton. Producer: Nick Brown. Contact: Steven Ashley,
[email protected], 617-300-2518. Based on the award-winning novel
about multicultural London by Zadie Smith.
Summer 2003
American Attic
Producing organizations: Lion Television and Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Episodes: 10 x 60. Status: preproduction. Budget: more than $2 million,
including outreach. Major funders: PBS. Executive producers: Nick Catliff
for Lion, David Davis for OPB. Series producer: Tony Tackerberry. Contact:
David Davis, 503-293-1959, [email protected]. A magazine-style series
that takes an intimate and personal journey into America’s past.
Each episode features two or three historical mystery stories based
on treasures hidden away in attics across America.
Barbecue University with Steven Raichlen (BarBQU)
Producing organizations: Frappe Inc. in association with Maryland PTV.
Distributor: APT. Episodes: 13 x 30. Status: postproduction. Major funders:
Webber Grills, Woodbridge Wines/ Mondavi and others. Executive producers:
Charles Pinsky, John Potthast. Host: Steven Raichlen. Contact: John
Potthast, [email protected]. Raichlen — dubbed by Oprah as
the Guru of Grilling — teaches techniques and gives recipes. Shot
with five cameras on location at the Greenbriar Resort in West Virginia.
DNA
Producing organizations: Windfall Films for WNET in association with
Channel Four (U.K.). Episodes: 5 x 60. Status: postproduction. Major
funders: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Howard Hughes Medical Institute,
Channel Four. Executive producers: Beth Hoppe. Producer/director: David
Dugan. Contact: Lisa Braun, [email protected], 212-560-2715. DNA will
coincide with the 50th anniversary of the discovery of DNA’s
structure. When Watson and Crick demonstrated that DNA’s double
helix was the key to fundamental life processes, it launched a new era
of biology. The series will chart the progress made in the last five
decades.
Maggie
Producing organization: Brook Lapping Productions. Presenting station:
WNET, New York. Episodes: 2 x 60. Status: production. Major funder:
PBS. Producers: Jane Bonham Carter, Anne Lapping. Executive in charge
of production: Stephen Segaller. Contact: Lisa Braun, [email protected],
212-560-2715. • Tells the personal story of Margaret Thatcher,
fascinating and controversial former prime minister of Britain.
Reporting America at War
Producing organizations: Insignia Films and WETA. Episodes: 3 x 60.
Status: production. Major funders: CPB, NEH, Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.
Executive producers: Dalton Delan and David S. Thompson. Producer: Stephen
Ives. Contact: Dewey Blanton, 703-998-2875, [email protected]. Examines
the stories of American war correspondents and their responses to the
conflicts of the last century, from the Spanish-American War through
war in the Persian Gulf.
Storyboard
Producing organization stations: KQED, San Francisco, and KTEH, San
Jose. Episodes: 4 x 60. Status: R&D. Budget: $381,895 for acquisition
of films and packaging. Major funders: CPB, NEA, Latino Public Broadcasting,
PBS. Executive producer: Danny L. McGuire. Contact: Elizabeth Pepin,
415-553-2340, [email protected]. A limited annual showcase of short story
adaptations and original works.
Fall 2003
The Blues
Producing organizations: Vulcan Productions and Road Movies in association
with Alex Gibney Productions and Martin Scorsese’s Cappa Productions.
Presenting station: WGBH. Episodes: 7 x 90. Status: production, postproduction,
fundraising. Major funders: PBS/CPB Challenge Fund, Vulcan Productions,
Road Movies. Executive producer: Martin Scorsese. Co-executive producers:
Jody Patton, Ulrich Felsberg. Series producer: Alex Gibney. Producer:
Margaret Bodde. Co-producer: Richard Hutton. Directors: Charles Burnett,
Clint Eastwood, Mike Figgis, Marc Levin, Richard Pearce, Martin Scorsese,
Wim Wenders. Contact: Judith Vecchione, 617-300-3789, [email protected].
A series of personal, impressionistic films by seven famous directors
with a passion for the music. They explore the essence and emotional
resonance of the blues and how it has influenced people and other music
the world over. Year of the Blues promotion planned, along with teachers’
materials for high school and college.
Chow Down!
Producing organizations: IWV Media Group Inc. with Houston PBS Productions
(KUHT). Distributor: APT. Episodes: 26 x 30. Status: fundraising. Budget:
$900,000. Executive producers: Maureen Millen, Pamela Burt, Ken Lawrence.
Co-executive producer: Sherry Granader. Producers: Stephanie Granader,
Sheldon Altfeld. Editor: Scott McClennan. Contact: Maureen Millen, 800-244-4920,
[email protected]. America’s specialty dishes, their recipes
and how they came to be. Cookbook, CD-ROM and website planned.
The Congregation
Producing organizations: WETA and Video Verite LLC. Episodes: 1 x 120.
Status: production. Major funders: Lilly Endowment Inc., Eugene B. Casey
Endowment Fund at WETA, PBS, CPB. Executive producer: Dalton Delan.
Production manager: Jim Corbley. Writers and producers: Alan and Susan
Raymond. Contact: DeLinda Mrowka, 703-998-2441, [email protected]. Addresses
questions and challenges facing churches today by examining inner workings
of one congregation and its clergy. The website will include online
symposium, interviews with religious leaders, moderated discussion forum.
Outreach efforts, including local discussions within congregations,
interfaith dialogues, college religion faculty, will aim to reach clergy
and lay leaders, college sociology and religion faculty.
Corps of Discovery II: The Lewis and Clark Trail
Producing stations: Oregon Public Broadcasting and Nebraska ETV. Episodes:
2 x 60. Status: fundraising. Budget: $1 million. Executive producers:
David Davis for OPB, David Feingold for Nebraska ETV. Contact: David
Davis, 503-293-1959, [email protected]. Retraces the explorers’
journey, examining how the landscape and life along the Trail has changed
over the last 200 years. Looks at the rivers, wildlife and Native American
tribes along the route. Project will also produce 6 x 20 educational
segments and teachers’ guide for grades K-12.
Dr. Zhivago
Producing organizations: Granada Television, Mediatrade and WGBH. Presented
by Masterpiece Theatre. Episodes: 2 x 90. Status: postproduction.
Major funder: ExxonMobil. Executive producer: Rebecca Eaton for WGBH.
Producer: Ann Pivcevic. Contact: Steven Ashley, 617-300-2518, [email protected].
Andrew Davies’ adaptation of Boris Pasternak’s novel, starring
Sam Neill, Keira Knightley, Hans Matheson, Bill Paterson.
The Forsyte Saga II (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Granada Television and WGBH. Presented by Masterpiece
Theatre. Episodes: 6 x 60. Status: postproduction. Major funder:
ExxonMobil. Executive producer: Rebecca Eaton for WGBH. Producer: Sita
Williams. Contact: Steven Ashley, 617-300-2518, [email protected].
A sequel based on Galsworthy’s epic story of a Victorian family.
Good Bye, Mr. Chips
Producing organization: SMG TV. Presented by Masterpiece Theatre.
Episodes: 1 x 120. Status: postproduction. Major funder: ExxonMobil.
Executive producer: Rebecca Eaton for WGBH. Contact: Steven Ashley,
617-300-2518, [email protected]. A new adaptation of the James
Hilton novel, starring Martin Clunes.
Hell
Producing organization: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Episodes: 2 x 60.
Status: fundraising. Budget: $700,000. Executive producer: David Davis.
Director: Kyra Thompson. Contact: David Davis, 503-293-1959, [email protected].
Explores humanity’s darkest imaginings of eternal damnation, from
Zoroaster in 2000 BC to the present. Through the arts, popular culture,
history and world religions, viewers tour the world’s scariest,
nastiest place. Not for the fainthearted.
Horatio’s Drive
Producing organizations: Florentine Films and WETA. Episodes: 1 x 120.
Status: production. Major funders: General Motors Corp., Arthur Vining
Davis Foundations, Park Foundation, CPB, PBS. Producers: Ken Burns and
Dayton Duncan. Contact: Dewey Blanton, 703-998-2875, [email protected].
The team that produced Lewis & Clark and Mark Twain chronicles the
journey of Horatio Nelson Jackson, who in 1903 became the first person
to drive across the United States.
Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire
Producing organizations: Lyn Goldfarb Productions and Plug-In in association
with PBS and Devillier Donegan Enterprises. Presented as an Empires
special. Episodes: 3 x 60. Status: production. Executive producers:
Ron Devillier and Brian Donegan for DDE. Producers: Lyn Goldfarb for
Lyn Goldfarb Productions and Deborah DeSnoo for Plug-In. Contact: Ken
O’Keefe, DDE, 202-686-3980. Commanding shoguns, warrior samurais,
mysterious geishas, exquisite artistic achievement — all were part
of the Japanese "renaissance" between the 16th
and 19th centuries, when the country went from chaos, poverty
and violence to refinement, peace and power. But stability came at the
price of 250 years of absolute rule by the empire.
The Journey Home
Producing station: WETA. Episodes: 1 x 120. Status: production. Major
funders: Farmers Insurance, PBS, CPB, Rockefeller Foundation. Executive
producers: Jeff Bieber, Dalton Delan. Contact: Dewey Blanton, [email protected].
As our society becomes increasingly multicultural, a group of writers
and commentators — one African-American, one Vietnamese-American
and two Mexican-American brothers — takes a road trip in search
of what it means to be an American in the 21st century.
Kids World Sports
Producing organizations: Breakthrough Entertainment, Clearchannel Communications
and WETA. Distributor: APT. Episodes: 26 x 30. Status: fundraising.
Executive producers: David S. Thompson and Dalton Delan for WETA. Producer:
Kevin Gillis for Breakthrough. Contact: Dewey Blanton, [email protected],
703-998-2875. Highlights the positive and enduring relationships between
kids and sports. The producers travel the world to find the compelling
stories of kids and their passion for sports.
Lawrence of Arabia: The Battle for the Arab World
Producing organizations: Lion Television in association with PBS and
Devillier Donegan Enterprises. Episodes: 2 x 60. Status: production.
Executive producers: Richard Bradley for Lion Television, Ron Devillier
and Brian Donegan for DDE. Producer: James Hawes. Contact: Ken O’Keefe,
202-686-3980. Fluent in Arabic and well versed in Islam, British Army
Officer T.E. Lawrence unified Arab tribes against the Turks during World
War I, endearing him to a generation of Bedouins. But it also set in
motion a chain of events that Lawrence would be powerless to stop, profoundly
shaping the future of Arab-Western relations. The producers draw on
eyewitness accounts of Arabs, Westerners and Lawrence himself.
The Life and Times of William Shakespeare (w.t.)
Producing organization: Maya Vision International Ltd. Episodes: 4 x
60. Status: postproduction. Budget: 1.2 million British pounds. Funders:
PBS, BBC, Granada International. Executive producer: Leo Eaton. Writer/host:
Michael Wood. Contributors: Royal Shakespeare Company. Contact: Rebecca
Dobbs, 011- 44-20-7836-1113, rebecca@ mayavisionint.com. Michael Wood
journeys into the Elizabethan past in search of the world’s greatest
writer, William Shakespeare. He tracks Shakespeare in the documents,
in the places he lived, through court records and the notes of government
spies to discover the truth about the man and the turbulent times in
which he lived.
Louisiana: A History
Producing station: Louisiana Public Broadcasting. Episodes: 6 x 60.
Status: production. Major funders: the state of Louisiana, Louisiana
Office of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, Bank One and Community Coffee.
Executive producers: Beth Courtney and Clay Fourrier. Senior producer:
Tika Laudun. Associate producer: Al Godoy. Contact: Bob Neese, [email protected],
800-272-8161. • The state network's most ambitious series covers
Louisiana's history from prehistoric times to the present. Broadcast
will coincide with the 200th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase.
Matters of Race
Producing organizations: Roja Productions, National Minority Consortia.
Episodes: 4 x 60. Status: postproduction. Budget: $3.8 million. Major
funders: National Minority Consortia, CPB Minority Fund, PBS/CPB Challenge
Fund. John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Annie E. Casey
Foundation, Fannie Mae Foundation. Executive producer: Orlando Bagwell.
Senior producer: Jacquie Jones. Contact: Roja Productions, 212-426-2700.
Explores the complex demands of our rapidly changing multiracial, multicultural
society. Race, culture, power and identity are at the center of the
films, which will explore how we envision our society in the next century.
Website: www.roja.tv.
The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance
Producing organizations: Lion Television in association with PBS and
Devillier Donegan Enterprises. Presented as an Empires special.
Episodes: 4 x 60. Status: production. Executive producers: Richard Bradley
for Lion, Ron Devillier and Brian Donegan for DDE. Producer: Richard
Bradley. Contact: Ken O’Keefe, 202-686-3980. The Medici family
was a dynasty that set the world on fire. It rose to great power, reawakened
the classical learning of the past and profoundly influenced Western
culture. DaVinci, Michelangelo, Machiavelli and Galileo were some who
benefited from their patronage. But the forces of change the Medici
helped unleash would one day topple its ordered world.
Mom’s the Word
Producing organizations: IWV Media Group Inc. and Houston PBS Productions
(KUHT). Distributor: APT. Episodes: 13 x 30. Status: fundraising. Budget:
$1 million. Executive producers: Maureen Millen, Pam Burt, Ken Lawrence.
Producers: Stephanie Granader, Sheldon Altfeld. Contact: Maureen Millen,
800-244-4920, mmillen @iwvmedia.com. Explores the trials and tribulations
of being a mother. Aimed at both stay-at-home moms and working moms.
Companion books are planned.
Native Americans in the 21st Century (w.t.)
Producing organization: Native American Public Telecommunications. Episodes:
2 x 90. Status: production. Budget: $1.1 million. Major funders: R&D
funding from Ford Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation,
CPB. Contact: Carol Cornsilk, NAPT, 402-472-3522, [email protected].
Package including outreach efforts focuses on how Native Americans in
Los Angeles and the Eastern Band of Cherokee in North Carolina address
issues of identity, sovereignty, economic development, and cultural
survival in the new millennium. Interactive website, radio components,
DVD, educational and community outreach planned.
New Jewish Cuisine with Jeff Nathan and Friends
Producing organization: Jewish Television Network. Distributor: APT.
Episodes: 26 x 30. Status: preproduction and scripting. Major funder:
Hain Foods. Executive producer: Jay Sanderson. Producer: Harvey Lehrer.
Chef/host: Jeff Nathan. Contact: Jay Sanderson, [email protected].
Chef Jeff Nathan and his entertaining friends cook up unique recipes
from around the world. Companion cookbook planned. Website: newjewishcuisine.com.
100 Greatest American Scientists
Producing organizations: Principal Films Ltd. in association with Oregon
Public Broadcasting. Episodes: 10 x 60. Status: R&D. Executive producers:
David Davis for OPB, Rod Caird and Richard Sattin for Principal. Contact:
Rod Caird, 011-44-20-7928-9287, [email protected]. uk. Which 10
individuals have made the greatest contribution to American science?
Using the Web for nomination and discussion, the nation votes to decide.
Rare Earth
Producing station: KCTS, Seattle. Episodes: 2 x 60. Status: production.
Budget: $350,000. Executive producer: Rupert Macnee. Producer: Colin
King. Performers: Peter Ward, Donald Brownlee. Executive in charge:
David Rabinovitch. Contact: Rupert Macnee, [email protected]. Challenges
scientific thinking regarding theories of life on other planets. Based
on the book Rare Earth by Donald Brownlee and Peter Ward. Also
planned: interdisciplinary educational resources for high school science
teachers on issues in astronomy, paleontology and other sciences.
Saddle Up!
Producing organizations: IWV Media Group Inc. and Houston PBS Productions
(KUHT). Distributor: APT. Episodes: 26 x 30. Status: R&D. Budget:
$1.3 million. Executive producers: Maureen Millen, Pam Burt, Ken Lawrence.
Producer: Stephanie Granader. Contact: Maureen Millen, 800-244-4920.
America was founded on the back of the horse. Series and companion book
series on various breeds evoke the majesty of horses, from the Wild
West to today’s high-tech equestrians.
Seasoned with Spirit
Producing organization: Native American Public Telecommunications. Episodes:
13 x 30. Status: fundraising. Budget: $400,000. Major funders: NAPT,
CPB. Executive producer: Frank Blythe. Contact: Carol Cornsilk, 402-472-3522,
[email protected]. Loretta Barrett Oden, executive chef at the Hotel
Santa Fe’s Corn Dance Cafe, gives viewers a history-infused gourmet
tour of indigenous cuisine, filmed on location. Companion cookbook planned.
Second Opinion (w.t.)
Producing organizations: WXXI, Rochester, and West 175 Productions,
Seattle. Episodes: 26 x 30. Status: fundraising. Major funders: Guidant
Foundation. Executive producers: Elizabeth Brock, Elissa L. Marra. Contact:
Elizabeth Brock, [email protected], or Elissa L. Marra, [email protected].
Medical professionals join in often-heated discussions about life-changing
medical decisions. Each half-hour program features real life scenarios
and an entertaining, fast-paced format designed to help viewers become
more knowledgeable consumers of health care.
The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Producing organizations: Channel Four (U.K.). Presenting station:
WNET, New York. Episodes: 4 x 60. Status: completed. Writer and host:
David Starkey. Contact: Lisa Braun, braun@thirteen. org, 212-560-2715.
Queen, lover, mother, outcast, victim and survivor — these are
the roles assigned to the six remarkable women married to Britain’s
most famous monarch. Starkey, a well-known historian, tells the wives’
side of the story.
Smithsonian’s Stradivarius (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Smithsonian Institution in association with
South Carolina ETV and NHK, Japan. Episodes: 1 x 120. Status: preproduction
and scripting. Budget: $800,000. Executive producer/writer: Wesley Horner.
Senior producer/writer: James Arntz. Director of photography: John Paulson.
Host: Joshua Bell. Contact: Wesley Horner, 508-487-6285. This performance
documentary celebrates the most famous violin maker in history, whose
instruments are some of the most valuable, beautiful objects ever made.
It features the Smithsonian Stradivarius collection, the world’s
largest. Outreach targeted at high school music teachers and general
education. CD, DVD, teachers’ guide planned in cooperation with
the National Association for Music Education.
Visiones: Latino Art & Culture
Producing organizations: Galan Inc. and the National Association of
Latino Art and Culture. Presenting station: KLRU, Austin, Texas. Episodes:
3 x 60. Status: production. Budget: $3 million. Funders: CPB Diversity
Fund, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, National Endowment for
the Arts, Latino Public Broadcasting, Texas Commission on the Arts.
Executive producer and series producer: Hector Galan. Senior producer:
Ray Santisteban. Field producers: Gustavo Vazquez, Natatcha Estebanez,
Paul Espinosa, Severo and Rachel Perez, Yvette Pita, Alex Rivera, John
Valadez, Rick Leal, Veronica Cavazos, David Martinez. Senior film editor:
Larry Sherwood. Contact: Hector Galan, [email protected]. Using innovative
production techniques, this series weaves a complex tapestry of paintings,
songs, spoken word, and performances to tell the rich story of Latino
cultural and artistic expressions throughout the United States. Regional
premiere screenings planned in 15 cities.
Weir Cooking in the City
Producing station: KQED, San Francisco. Distributor: APT (pending).
Episodes: 26 x 30. Status: fundraising. Budget: $1 million. Major funders:
Sur La Table. Executive producer: Danny L. McGuire. Producer: Tina Salter.
Contact: Elizabeth Pepin, 415-553-2340, [email protected]. JoAnne Weir
offers a new plate of diverse recipes for today’s lifestyles, set
against the colorful backdrop of San Francisco.
Sometime in 2003
The Cold War and Beyond
Producing organization: The Chronicles Group. Presenting station: KOCE,
Huntington Beach, Calif., and KLVX, Las Vegas. Episodes: 2 x 60 or 1
x 120. Status: postproduction. Approximate budget: $750,000. Major funders:
TRW Foundation, Mary W. Harriman Foundation. Executive producers and
writers: Edsel Dunford, Jim Thebaut. Producer/director: Jim Thebaut.
Editor: William Rotberg. Music: Pace James Music Group. Graphic design
and animation: Live Wire Productions. Narrator: Camille Dixon. Contact:
Jim Thebaut, 310-521-0303, [email protected]. Examines the arms race,
the development of weapons of mass destruction and the Cold War’s
legacy. Unedited interviews will be available to scholars.
Cookalotamus
Producing organization: Scooterhill Studios. Presenting station: KCTS,
Seattle. Distributor: APT. Episodes: 26 x 30. Status: fundraising. Budget:
$1 million. Executive producers: Ken Urman, John McLean and Greg Sharp.
Contact: John McLean, [email protected]. Seeks to engage,
entertain and empower kids ages 3-11 and their families to experience
the joys of cooking and eating together. Website: www.cookalotamus.com.
The Eyes of Nye
Producing station: KCTS, Seattle. Episodes: 13 x 30. Status: production.
Budget: $2.5 million. Executive producers: Bill Nye, David Rabinovitch,
Doug Wilson. Series producer: Julie Thompson. Performer: Bill Nye. Contact:
Rupert Macnee, [email protected]. Bill Nye brings his trademark blend
of cool science and humor to a series designed for families, including
people old enough to vote who need a scientific perspective to weigh
in on matters that matter. Bill’s "Eyes" are focused
on grown-up topics like the world’s climate, highways, agriculture,
astronomy, astrology and sex.
The Great American Medicine Show (w.t.)
Producing organizations: WGBH/Frontline with the Palfreman Film
Group, Resolute Films Inc. and A Little Rain Productions. Presented
by Frontline. Episodes: 3 x 60. Status: production. Major funder: PBS.
Senior executive producer: David Fanning. Producers: Jon Palfreman for
"Innovate or Die" (w.t.); Andrew Liebman for "Drugs on
Trial" (w.t.); Raney Aronson for "Alternative Medicine"
(w.t.). Contact: Jim Bracciale, 617-300-5358, [email protected].
As a graying America becomes increasingly frustrated with exponential
increases in health care costs, Frontline looks at the role of
pharmaceuticals in modern health care. Part I, "Innovate or Die,"
(w.t.) examines the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs. Part II,
"Drugs on Trial," (w.t.) investigates the FDA drug approval
process. Part III, "Alternative Medicine," (w.t.) focuses
on the meteoric rise of complementary and alternative medicine.
Great Lodges of the Canadian Rockies|
Producing organizations: Oregon Public Broadcasting and W.W. West Inc.
Episodes: 2 x 60. Status: fundraising. Executive in charge of production:
David Davis. Executive producer: John Grant. Contact: David Davis, 503-293-1959,
[email protected]; John Grant, 814-234-5210, [email protected]. Sequel
to Great Lodges of the National Parks, which aired on PBS in
July 2002, will focus on the spectacular lodges in the Canadian Rocky
Mountains. The focus will be on the history, importance and architecture
of the lodges.
Las Polleras: Hope in America
Producing organization: Teleduction Inc. Distributor: APT. Episodes:
2 x 60. Status: fundraising. Budget: $150,000. Major funder: Wings Foundation.
Director/producer/writer: Sharon Baker. Directory of photography: Pascal
Dieckmann. Senior editor: Julie Pfeifenroth. Writer/publicist: Daniel
Collins. Contact: Sharon Kelly Baker, 302-429-0303, [email protected].
Looks into the lives of Delaware’s growing Hispanic population
as a microcosm of a national trend. The programs celebrate Hispanic
arts and culture while confronting important social issues.
The New Americans
Producing organizations: Independent Television Service, Kartemquin
Educational Films. Episodes: 6 x 60. Status: postproduction. Budget:
$3.2 million. Major funders: ITVS, MacArthur Foundation, Annie E. Casey,
CPB, PBS, BBC, Soros Foundation, Asian Women United/NAATA, Latino Public
Broadcasting. Executive producers: Gordon Quinn, Steve James. Producer:
Gita Saedi. Directors: Steve James, Gordon Quinn, Jerry Blumenthal,
Renee Tajima-Pena, Susana Aikin, Carlos Aparicio, Indu Krishnan. Contact:
Nancy Fishman, 415-356-8383, ext. 226, [email protected]. The search
for the American dream through the eyes of immigrants and refugees from
Nigeria, India, the Dominican Republic, the West Bank and Mexico. Comprehensive
outreach campaign will work with adult educators, college students,
students of English as a second language.
Fall 2003 or winter 2004
Access to College (w.t.)
Producing organization: Roundtable Inc. Episodes: 3 x 60. Status: fundraising
and production. Budget: $3.6 million. Major funders: Lumina Foundation
for Education, Nellie Mae Education Foundation, the David and Lucile
Packard Foundation, Ford Foundation, and WK Kellogg Foundation. Executive
producers: Martha Fowlkes and Robert Lavelle. Contact: Bonnie Rosenbaum,
[email protected], 781-893-3336. Looks at the American education
system and the unequal road to college. The programs focus on getting
ready, getting in and getting through, and challenge the notion that
only certain kids should be prepared for postsecondary education. Website:
www.roundtablemedia.com/home/projects/college.html.
Winter/spring 2004
The Adventures of Marco Polo
Producing organizations: Oregon Public Broadcasting and Koval Productions.
Episodes: 2 x 60. Status: R&D. Budget: $900,000. Executive producer:
David Davis. Producers: Margaret Koval and Pat Aste. Contact: David
Davis, 503-293-1959, [email protected]. Shot on location from Venice
to China and beyond, this documentary series recreates the journey traced
in Marco Polo’s Discovery of the World. With website and educational
outreach.
Airstrip One
Producing organizations: Principal Films Ltd., in association with Oregon
Public Broadcasting. Episodes: 2 x 60 or 1 x 120. Status: fundraising.
Budget: $350,000. Executive producer: David Davis for OPB, Richard Sattin
for Principal Films. Contact: Richard Sattin, 011-44-207-928-9287, [email protected].
Examines the legacy left by the U.S. Air Force’s diminishing presence
in rural England.
American Repertory Television Theater (ARTT)
Producing organizations: KQED and AngelArk Productions. Episodes: 6
x 120. Status: R&D. Budget: $18 million per season. Executive producer:
Danny L. McGuire. Artistic director: Jason Alexander. Contact: Elizabeth
Pepin, 415-553-2340, [email protected]. ARTT will produce theatrical events
by employing a national repertory company of professional actors, joined
in each production by one or more celebrity actors.
Andy Warhol (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Steeplechase Films in association with WGBH.
Episodes: 3 x 60. Status: production. Producer/director: Ric Burns.
Producers: Donald Rosenfeld and Diane Von Furstenberg. Contact: Marcia
Storkerson, 617-300-2420, [email protected]. Profiles the enigmatic
pop artist.
Animalogical
Producing organizations: Light Duty Productions, Searchlight Entertainment,
IWV Media Group Inc. and Wiener Dog Productions. Distributor: Westlink,
KNME in Albuquerque. Episodes: 13 x 30 and 2 x 60 for pledge. Status:
fundraising and field production. Budget: $1.3 million. Executive producers:
Maureen Millen, Pamela A. Burt, Mark Honas. Supervising producer: Sheldon
Altfield. Contact: Maureen Millen, mmillen@iwvmedia. com, 281-573-4035.
A reality-based series using hidden cameras and spoofs depicting people
and the pets who control them. Shot in high-definition video. Website:
www.animalogical.com.
Asian American Civil Rights Project (w.t.)
Producing station: KQED. Episodes: 4 x 60. Status: R&D. Executive
producer: Louise Lo. Contact: Elizabeth Pepin, 415-553-2340, epepin@
kqed.org. Examines the civil rights of Asian-Americans from World War
II to the present.
Becoming American: The Chinese Experience
Producing organizations: Public Affairs Television Inc. in association
with Thomas Lennon Films. Presenting station: WNET. Episodes: 3 x 90.
Status: production. Budget: $5 million. Major funders: Sybase, Intel
Corp., the Tang Fund, the Starr Foundation, Sit Investment Associates,
the Sit Investment Foundation, Walter and Shirley Wang, the Henry Luce
Foundation, the Family of H.H. and Fondy Chow, the Family of Kenneth
and Mary Wang, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the
Albert Yu and Mary Bechmann Foundation, the Mark and Anla Cheng Foundation,
Mutual of America Life Insurance Co., and David and Gina Chu - Nautica
International. Executive producer: Felice Firestone. Series producer:
Thomas Lennon. Program producers: Joe Angier, Steve Cheng, Mi Ling Tsui.
Host: Bill Moyers. Contact: Debbie Rubenstein, 212-560-6952, [email protected].
Moyers gives the history of Chinese-Americans, exploring questions such
as: What does it mean to become American? What does an individual lose
and gain through assimilation? A $500,000 outreach budget will support
locally customized websites, interactive web features and activities
at 10 stations. Education materials include guides for viewers and high
school students. Website: www.becomingamerican.org.
Brothers at War: The American War of Independence (w.t.)
Producing organizations: WGBH and Granada Television in association
with the BBC. Episodes: 4 x 60. Status: production. Executive producers:
Zvi Dor-Ner for WGBH, Mark Fielder for Granada/Bristol. Contact: Fay
Sutherland, 617-300-2680, [email protected]. British historian
Richard Holmes delivers the story of America’s first civil war,
using the latest scholarship, large-scale reconstruction, eyewitness
accounts, original documents and paintings, and location shooting.
Don’t Forget This
Song: The Story of the Original Carter Family (w.t.) Producing organizations:
Oregon Public Broadcasting and Beth Harrington Productions. Episodes:
2 x 60. Status: fundraising. Budget: $1 million. Executive producer:
David Davis. Producer/ director: Beth Harrington. Contact: David Davis,
503-293-1959, david_davis@ opb.org. This cultural history told through
music portrays the lives and musical contributions of Sara, Maybelle
and A.P. Carter.
Exploring Time
Producing organizations: Twin Cities Public Television and Red Hill
Studios. Episodes: 2 x 60. Status: fundraising. Budget: $1.5 million.
Major funder: NSF. Executive producer: Robert Hone for Red Hill Studios.
Contact: Richard Hudson, [email protected]. Explores change and time,
demonstrating how science sees what the human eye cannot. A $500,000
budget supports outreach, including museum exhibits. With teachers’
guides, CD-ROMs and online educational activities.
A Gift of Love
Producing organizations: Searchlight Entertainment, IWV Media Group
and Light Duty Productions. Presenting station: KUHT. Expected distributor:
APT. Episodes: 2 x 60. Status: fundraising. Budget: $300,000. Host/co-executive
producer: Marianne Williamson. Executive producers: Grant Gutherie and
Maureen Millen. Producer: Stephanie Granader. Contact: Maureen Millen,
800-244-4920, [email protected]. Explores the history, psychology
and spirituality of romantic love. Philosophers, poets, celebrities,
psychologists and spiritual teachers answer the question, What is love?
High School Reunion (w.t.)
Producing organization: A La Carte Communications. Episodes: 6 x 60.
Status: R&D. Executive producers: Nat Katzman and Geoffrey Drummond.
Contact: Hope Reed, 978-356-6294. Combines the experience of attending
a high school reunion with the social and political history of the graduates,
mixing elements of reality television and cultural analysis.
Innovation
Producing organizations: WNET and Carlton International. Episodes: 8
x 60. Status: preproduction. Major funders: National Science Foundation,
Siemens, Sloan. Executive producer: Beth Hoppe. Contact: Lisa Braun,
212-560-2715, [email protected]. Explores topics such as artificial
intelligence, bionic human parts, sports technology, nanotechnology
and spy technology.
Jacques Pepin: Short Cut Cooking (w.t.)
Producing station: KQED. Expected distributor: APT. Episodes: 26 x 30.
Status: fundraising. Budget: $1.1 million. Executive producer: Danny
L. McGuire. Producer: Susie Heller. Director: Bruce Franchini. Contact:
Elizabeth Pepin, 415-553-2340, [email protected]. This cooking series
features new, quick-and-easy recipes from chef and author Pepin.
The Leading Edge (w.t.)
Producing station: WGBH. Presented as a part of Nova. Episodes:
5 x 60. Status: fundraising. Executive producer: Paula Apsell. Contact:
Alan Ritsko, 617-300-4366, [email protected]. Presents cutting-edge
developments in scientific research in a fast-paced style with on-camera
reporters. WGBH will produce materials and training for scientists to
bring their research to the public, working with partners such as the
American Association for the Advancement of Science. With an eight-page
resource guide for teachers.
Magic Bean: The Story of Coffee
Producing organizations: KCTS, Seattle, and La Fete Productions. Episodes:
3 x 60. Status: preproduction and scripting. Budget: $1.4 million. Executive
producer: Rupert Macnee. Producer: Scott Pearson. Executive in charge:
David Rabinovitch. Contact: Rupert Macnee, [email protected]. Based in
part on the book Uncommon Grounds, by Mark Pendergrast, this
series examines the social, political, economic and ecological issues
surrounding coffee. An outreach campaign will help consumers make informed
choices when buying coffee and related products. Outreach partners may
include the National Audubon Society, Environmental Media Services,
the Consumers Choice Council and coffee-related organizations and coalitions.
Nursing America
Producing organizations: Oregon Public Broadcasting and Double Exposure.
Episodes: 4 x 60. Status: fundraising. Budget: $1.2 million. Executive
producers: David Davis for OPB. Andrew Bethell for Double Exposure.
Contact: David Davis, 503-293-1959, [email protected]. Examines the
crisis facing the nursing profession, following nurses at a major hospital
as they do their best to cope and provide quality care.
Once Upon a Time
Producing station: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Episodes: 4 x 60. Status:
R&D. Budget: $1.6 million. Executive producer: David Davis. Contact:
David Davis, 503-293-1959, david_davis@ opb.org. Looks at scary, funny,
racy and magical folktales from around the world, exploring universal
themes as well as cultural differences.
The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud
Producing organizations: Tatge/Lasseur Productions. Episodes: 4 x 60.
Status: preproduction, scripting. Budget: $3.1 million, including $225,000
outreach budget. Major funders: PBS/CPB Challenge Fund, Fidelity Foundation,
Peter Lynch Foundation, Paul Montrone Foundation, Laurance Rockefeller
Foundation. Executive producer: Catherine Tatge. Contact: Dominique
Lasseur, [email protected], 212-222-5677. • Based on Armand
Nicholi's popular Harvard University course, the series contrasts the
spiritual worldview of C.S. Lewis with the materialistic philosophy
of Sigmund Freud and emphasizes dramatic events in the lives of both
men. Program guide, online component, ancillary videotape seminar, six-city
tour planned.
Rape of Europa
Producing organizations: Actual Films and Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Episodes: 2 x 60. Status: fundraising, with $225,000 raised. Budget:
$900,000. Major funders: NEA and NEH. Executive producers: Bonni Cohen
and Richard Berge for Actual Films, David Davis for OPB. Contact: David
Davis, 503-293-1959, [email protected]. Tells of the looting of European
art treasures by the Nazis during World War II and the efforts to restore
these artworks to their rightful owners.
Reconstruction (w.t.)
Producing station: WGBH. Presented by American Experience. Episodes:
2 x 90. Status: production. Major funders: PBS, NEH, Liberty Mutual,
Scotts Co., Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
Foundation. Executive producer: Margaret Drain for American Experience.
Senior producer: Mark Samels for American Experience. Producer/directors:
Elizabeth Deane and Llewellyn Smith. Co-producer: Patricia Garcia-Rios.
Contact: Susie Mottau, 617-300-5958, [email protected]. America
grapples with issues after the Civil War: how to rebuild itself, how
to bring the South back into the union and how to bring former slaves
into society. With an online teachers’ guide.
RenovationX
Producing station: Twin Cities PTV. Episodes: 13 x 30. Status: fundraising.
Series producer: Erika Herrmann. Executive in charge: Gerry Richman.
Contact: Erika Herrmann, 651-229-1551, [email protected]. "Real-life
renovation dramas" unfold as dwellers and architects re-imagine
ordinary homes on tight budgets. Outreach includes home tours, online
resources and events at museums.
RFK (w.t.)
Producing station: WGBH. Presented by American Experience. Episodes:
2 x 60. Status: preproduction and scripting. Major funders: PBS, Liberty
Mutual, Scotts Co., Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Executive producer for
American Experience: Margaret Drain. Senior producer for American
Experience: Mark Samels. Producer/writer/ director: David Grubin.
Contact: Susie Mottau, 617-300-5958, [email protected]. Profiles
Robert F. Kennedy.
Russia
Producing station: KCTS, Seattle. Episodes: 3 x 60. Status: R&D.
Budget: $1.2 million. Executive producer: Rupert Macnee. Supervising
producer: Chris Haws. Executive in charge: David Rabinovitch. Contact:
Rupert Macnee, [email protected]. Examines the present and future of
the Russian Federation as it struggles to embrace capitalism, democracy
and a new global identity.
The Search for . . . African-American Routes
Producing organizations: WYES, New Orleans, and RCN Entertainment. Episodes:
4 x 60. Status: research. Budget: $1.5 million. Host: LeVar Burton.
Executive producers: Randall Feldman, Nikki Silver and Orly Wiseman.
Contact: Aislinn Pares, 504-587-9464, [email protected]. Features American
places of historical interest to the African-American community. Four
mini-documentaries shown in secondary schools will be delivered with
teachers’ manuals and curricula. Maps and family guides will be
posted online and offered through an 800 number. The outreach budget
is $300,000.
Summer 2004
Mind of China (w.t.)
Producing organizations: KQED, San Francisco, and Carlton TV. Episodes:
4 x 60. Status: R&D. Executive producer: Louise Lo. Producer/director:
Jonathan Lewis. Contact: Elizabeth Pepin, 415-553-2340, [email protected].
Examines China’s past in order to understand its current problems
and successes, exploring issues of governance, family, environment,
the individual, ethnic communities and the state.
Fall 2004
Broadway: The American Musical
Producing organizations: WNET and Ghost Light Films. Episodes: 6 x 60.
Status: production. Funders: NEA, NEH and private donors. Executive
producers: Jac Venza, David Horn. Producer/ director: Michael Kantor.
Contact: Lisa Braun, 212-560-2715, [email protected]. Chronicles the
history of the American musical theater from the turn of the century
to today’s high-tech, multi-million-dollar extravaganzas.
Colonial House (w.t.)
Producing organizations: WNET and Wall to Wall Television in association
with Channel Four (U.K.). Episodes: 8 x 60. Status: R&D. Executive
producer: Beth Hoppe. Contact: Lisa Braun, [email protected], 212-560-2175.
Following on the success of Frontier House, this series takes
viewers to the early settlement of North America, watching as modern-day
people try to survive and create a working community.
The Funnies: Life in the Comics
Producing organizations: Alchemedia Ltd. and KQED. Episodes: 3 x 60.
Status: fundraising. Budget: $2.2 million. Executive producer: Danny
L. McGuire. Producers: Nick and Sari Armington. Contact: Elizabeth Pepin,
415-553-2340, [email protected]. High-definition series looks at the artists,
characters and quirky history of a uniquely American art form, the daily
newspaper comic strip.
Sometime in 2004
Berlin (w.t.)
Producing station: WNET. Episodes: 1 x 120. Status: R&D. Executive
producer: William Grant. Producers: Robert Kotlowitz, Jack Sameth, Katherine
Tatge. Contact: Lisa Braun, 212-560-2715, [email protected]. Robert
Kotlowitz, an American writer living in Berlin, presents a personal
portrait of the city.
First Ascents (w.t.)
Producing organization: BlueVision Productions. Presenting station:
Nebraska ETV. Episodes: 6 x 60. Status: fundraising. Budget: $5 million.
Executive producer: Mark H. Tuttle. Writer: Donna Tuttle. Expedition
leader: Joseph Dinnan. BlueVision Productions executive: Peter C. Vesey.
Contact: Mark Tuttle, 610-584-5370, [email protected]. High-definition series
follows four young mountain climbers to remote locations, where they
encounter the diverse lifestyles, conflicts and struggles of the regions’
people.
Ground War (w.t.)
Producing station: WNET. Episodes: 4 x 60. Status: R&D. Executive
producer: Beth Hoppe. Contact: Lisa Braun, 212-560-2715, [email protected].
Surveys the greatest technological achievements of ground warfare, allowing
viewers to better understand the innovations, strategies and events
that have changed how war is waged.
The Innovators (w.t.)
Producing station: WGBH. Episodes: 8 x 30. Status: R&D and fundraising.
Major funders: Kaufman Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Executive
producer: Margaret Drain. Contact: Susie Mottau, 617-300-5958, susan_mottau@
wgbh.org. Explores the theme of innovation and its role in our nation’s
history. If funding allows, outreach to high school students will support
youth entrepreneurship programs with video-based materials. An online
teachers’ guide is planned.
Jack Johnson
Producing organizations: Florentine Films and WETA. Episodes: 2 x 120.
Status: preproduction. Major funders: CPB, PBS, General Motors Corp.,
Arthur Vining Davis Foundation. Producer: Ken Burns. Contact: Dewey
Blanton, 703-998-2875, [email protected]. A biography of the man who
became the first black heavyweight champion in 1908, and his battles
with his two greatest enemies: the United States government and himself.
Lion in the House
Producing organizations: ITVS and Oregon Public Broadcasting. Expected
distributors: ITVS, PBS. Episodes: 6 x 60. Status: postproduction, fundraising.
Budget: $800,000. Major funder: ITVS. Producer/directors: Julia Reichert,
Steven Bogner. Contact: Reichert and Bogner, 937-767-1924. Follows five
families over a five-year period after their children are diagnosed
with cancer. With extensive outreach to families, school, cancer patients
and health care professionals.
Oil: The World over a Barrel (w.t.)
Producing organizations: WNET and InVision Productions. Episodes: 3
x 60. Status: fundraising. Major funders: PBS/CPB Challenge Fund, Alliance
Atlantis. Executive producer: Stephen Segaller. Producer: Bill Cran.
Contact: Lisa Braun, 212-560-2715, [email protected]. Portrays oil
companies and their operations in the world’s most dangerous areas,
facing technological, political and moral barriers on a giant scale.
With a guide for teachers and viewers.
Postcards from Buster (w.t.)
Producing station: WGBH. Episodes: 65 x 30 over two seasons. Status:
fundraising. Major funder: PBS/Ready to Learn. Executive producer: Carol
Greenwald. Creative producer: Marc Brown. Series producer: Pierre Valette.
Producer: Natatcha Estebanez. Music supervisor: Claudio Ragazzi. Website
executive producer: Bill Shribman. Director of educational print and
outreach: Karen Barss. Contact: Elizabeth Cote, 617-300-5336, [email protected].
This Arthur spin-off features Buster traveling across the country with
his pilot father, exploring diverse cultures and creating first-person
live action video "postcards" to send home. School-based outreach
will target elementary school English-as-a-second-language and bilingual
teachers, and will focus on helping children learn to use English in
socially and culturally appropriate ways and as a necessary skill for
academic achievement. Outreach targets are 6- to 8-year-olds, with a
special emphasis on children who speak English as a second language.
A teachers’ guide introduces the series’ goals and components
and outlines how to use the series and companion website to develop
students’ communication and literacy skills.
Slavery
Producing station: WNET. Episodes: 4 x 60. Status: preproduction. Major
funder: New York Life. Executive producer: William R. Grant. Contact:
Lisa Braun, 212-560-2715, [email protected]. Draws on thousands of
slave narratives to examine the influence of slaves in creating the
American culture.
War Plane (w.t.)
Producing station: WNET. Episodes: 4 x 60. Status: fundraising. Executive
producer: Beth Hoppe. Contact: Lisa Braun, 212-560-2715, [email protected].
Explores technological developments, personal stories and unprecedented
instances of cooperation between nations that have transformed the ways
nations wage war.
What’s Up in the Environment? (w.t.)
Producing station: WNET. Episodes: 3 x 30. Status: fundraising. Budget:
$898,653. Executive producer: Sandra Sheppard. Senior producer: Maura
Kelly. Producer: Naomi Edelson. Contact: Maura Kelly, 212-560-2067.
With a magazine format and teenage hosts, this series explores new approaches
to conserving clean air, water, land and energy. Themes include promoting
stewardship, using technology and challenging misconceptions. Ten pass-through
grants of up to $3,000 each will go to station outreach managers in
select markets for teacher training, tune-in, promotion and program
material distribution. WNET will also develop partnerships with national
and local organizations in science and environmental education. Outreach
targets: secondary school teachers and students. Outreach budget: $185,000.
Website: www.thirteen.org/ edonline/wue.
Which Way American Education?
Producing organizations: Wiland Bell Productions, Culver City, Calif.,
in association with Oregon Public Broadcasting. Episodes: 8 x 60. Status:
R&D and fundraising. Budget: $250,000 for R&D. Executive producers:
Dale Bell and Harry Wiland for Wiland Bell, David Davis for OPB. Contact:
David Davis, 503-293-1959, [email protected]; Dale Bell and Harry
Wiland, 310-202-3370. Examines the state of public education by addressing
issues such as school funding, standardized testing, class size, quality
of teaching, teacher training, school choice and school violence.
2005
AIDS: A Television History (w.t.)
Producing station: WGBH. Episodes: 6 x 60. Status: fundraising. Senior
producer: Renata Simone. Contact: Marcia Storkerson, [email protected],
617-300-2420. Documents the history of AIDS, from the first diagnosis
of immune-deficiency diseases in gay men in 1980 to the unprecedented
worldwide epidemic with 22 million deaths last year.
Coast Guard
Producing organizations: Eaton Creative Inc. and WNET. Episodes: 4 x
60. Status: R&D. Budget: $1.6 million. Executive producer: Bill
Grant. Producer/director: Leo Eaton. Contact: Leo Eaton, [email protected].
Profiles the past, present and future of America’s least-known
armed services branch at a time when its role in rescue, homeland defense
and law enforcement is expanding.
Coming of Age in Appalachia (w.t.)
Producing organizations: David Sutherland Productions Inc. and WGBH/Frontline
in association with ITVS. Episodes: 6-8 hours. Status: postproduction.
Major funders: PBS, CPB, Island Fund at the New York Community Trust,
WGBH and ITVS. Executive producer: Mike Sullivan. Producer: David Sutherland.
Co-producer: Nancy Sutherland. Contact: Jim Bracciale, [email protected],
617-300-5358. David Sutherland (The Farmer’s Wife) returns
to rural America for this portrait of four teenage boys coming of age
in one of the country’s most troubled and least understood regions.
Viewers will come to know the boys, their families and their friends,
observing how eastern Kentucky’s scarred yet beautiful landscape
shapes and limits the choices they make and the lives they live.
Dances of Life
Producing organizations: Tatge/Lasseur Productions and Pacific Islanders
in Communications. Episodes: 2 x 60. Status: fundraising. Budget: $1.2
million. Major funders: Pacific Islanders in Communications. Executive
producer: Carlyn Tani. Director/producer: Catherine Tatge. Producer:
Dominique Lasseur. Contact: Dominique Lasseur, [email protected],
212-222-5677. • The remarkable dance traditions of the Pacific
Islands reveal the region's cultural diversity.
Great Adventurers
Producing organizations: Koval Productions and Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Presenting station: OPB. Episodes: 6 x 60. Status: R&D. Executive
producer: David Davis. Producers: Margaret Koval and Pat Aste. Contact:
David Davis, [email protected], 503-293-1959. Tells the stories of
adventurers and explorers, intrepid men and women who pushed the boundaries
of the world their contemporaries knew. Featured: Benjamin Tudeal, Ferdinand
Magellan, Mungo Park, David Livingstone and Mary Kingsley, among others.
Great Giving: The Quest To Make a Difference
Producing organization: Great Giving Inc. Episodes: 6 x 60. Status:
preproduction, fundraising. Budget: $3.6 million. Executive producer:
Gail Freedman. Executive editor: Betsy Ashton. Contact: Gail Freedman,
[email protected], 845-255-3668. • Chronicles the history, mission
and legacy of American philanthropy and its place in the world. The
stories show how philanthropic passion and innovation have shaped the
nation and the world. A $1 million outreach effort is planned that will
include a website and curriculum materials that target schools, families,
businesses, nonprofits, and community and cultural organizations.
Mayflower (w.t.)
Producing organizations: WGBH Science Unit, Channel Four (U.K.) and
ITN (U.K.). Episodes: 6 x 60. Status: R&D. Executive producers:
Paula Apsell for WGBH, Peter Grimsdale for Channel Four and Julian Ware
for ITN. Contact: Alan Ritsko, [email protected], 617-300-4366. A
reality-based multimedia project celebrates one of the most important
journeys ever made. The pilgrims’ epic voyage to the New World
will be recreated with a faithful replica of the ship and, on board,
a group of 21st-century men and women coming to terms with
life at sea, 17th century style.
Origins (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Thomas Levenson Productions and Unicorn Projects
Inc. Presented by Nova. Presenting station: WGBH. Episodes: 4
x 60. Status: fundraising. Major funders: National Science Foundation,
NASA and an anonymous donor. Executive producer: Paula Apsell. Series
executive producer: Tom Levenson. Senior producer: Larry Klein. Host:
Neil deGrasse Tyson. Contact: Alan Ritsko, [email protected], 617-300-4366.
Explores the latest clues about the biggest question of all — what
had to happen to produce a living universe? State-of-the-art graphics
and sequences shot around the world will take viewers back to the processes
that have shaped the co-evolution of the cosmos and life. Planned: website,
companion trade book, traveling museum kits for kids.
Percy Julian (w.t.)
Producing station: WGBH. Presented by Nova. Episodes: 1 x 120.
Status: fundraising. Major funders: NSF and NEH. Executive producer:
Paula Apsell. Producers: Llew Smith and Steve Lyons. Contact: Alan Ritsko,
[email protected], 617-300-4366. Born in 1899, the grandson of Alabama
slaves, Percy Julian overcame Jim Crow segregation, an impoverished
black school system and a daunting series of racial obstacles to become
an African-American chemist of international stature.
The Way We Live: American Communities in the Age of
Sprawl
Producing organization: Stone Lantern Films Inc. Episode 1, "MegaMall,"
is a co-production of Stone Lantern Films Inc. and Turnstone Productions.
Episodes: 5 x 60. Status: first episode in postproduction; four in R&D.
Budget: $3.3 million. Major funders: Preservation League of New York
State and the state’s Council on the Arts Decentralization Program,
administered by the Arts Council of Rockland County. Producer/ director:
Sarah Mondale. Producer: Sarah Patton. Co-producer and director for
episode 1: Vera Aronow. Contact: Sarah Patton, [email protected]. Takes
a humane and humorous look at sprawl in an effort to make sense of the
issues surrounding growth. Designed for pledge.
World at Risk (w.t.)
Producing organizations: WGBH Science Unit and Vulcan Productions. Episodes:
6 x 60. Status: fundraising. Executive producers: Paula Apsell for the
WGBH Science Unit and Richard Hutton for Vulcan Productions. Contact:
Alan Ritsko, [email protected], 617-300-4366. After a century in
which the deadliest diseases were nearly eradicated, old threats like
tuberculosis are surging back while new plagues such as AIDS are still
raging. Tracks the history of public health pioneers and looks into
the future of the public health system.
2006
The American Novel
Producing organization station: WNET. Episodes: 4 x 120. Status: fundraising.
Major funders: NEH and NEA. Executive producers: Susan Lacy. Producers:
Michael Epstein, Susan Steinberg and Eleana Mannes. Contact: Susan Lacy,
[email protected], 212.560.6975. Addresses the narrative sweep of our
nation’s fiction, its reflection of our changing history, the voices
and the substance of our diversity. Episodes present themes such as
the American Dream, the Melting Pot, the Color Line, the Crises of Faith,
Violence and the Forbidden.
2009
America’s Best Idea: Our National Parks
Producing organizations: Florentine Films and WETA. Episodes: 5 x 120.
Status: preproduction. Major funders: General Motors Corp., Arthur Vining
Davis Foundations, Park Foundation, National Park Foundation. Executive
producers: Ken Burns. Contact: Dewey Blanton, dblanton@ weta.com. Burns
illuminates the staggering beauty of America’s national parks and
the largely untold story of their creation and history.
2010
The War (w.t.)
Producing organizations: Florentine Films and WETA. Episodes: 3-4 x
120. Status: preproduction. Major funders: General Motors Corp., Arthur
Vining Davis Foundations, PBS. Executive producer: Ken Burns. Contact:
Dewey Blanton, [email protected]. Examines the impact of World War II
on the American home front, focusing on selected American cities and
the impact the conflict had on the fabric of these communities.
Air dates to be determined
The Collectors
Producing organizations: the Smithsonian Institution and WETA, Washington,
D.C.. Episodes: 13 x 60. Status: R&D. Executive producers: Dalton
Delan, David S. Thompson. Contact: Dewey Blanton, [email protected].
An inside look at the collections of the Smithsonian Institution and
the work of the curators who bring these objects to the public.
Dying to Leave
Producing organization: Mosaic Films Inc. and WNET. Episodes: 3 x 60.
Status: fundraising. Executive producers: Stephen Segaller. Producer:
Aaron Woolf. Contact: Lisa Braun, braun@ thirteen.org, 212-560-2715.
Explores the worldwide, billion-dollar, criminal activity of smuggling,
trafficking and enslaving human beings.
E=MC2 (w.t.)
Producing station: WGBH. Presented by Nova. Episodes: 5 x 60.
Status: R&D. Executive producer: Paula Apsell. Contact: Alan Ritsko,
[email protected], 617-300-4366. Based on David Bodanis’s bestselling
book, E=MC2, which chronicles the birth of the famous equation and how
it has changed the world. Explores the conflicts of the people who unleashed
the power of the atom. With dramatic recreations.
Going Local: A Serious (and Not So Serious) Look at
American Democracy in Action
Producing organizations: Roundtable Inc. and Harbor Productions. Episodes:
13 x 30. Status: fundraising. Budget: $3.5 million. Executive producers:
Martha Fowlkes, Robert Lavelle and Sheila Curran Bernard. Series producer:
Terry Kay Rockefeller. Contact: Bonnie Rosenbaum, [email protected],
781-893-3336. Puts democracy in a local, human and even humorous context
by offering real-life stories of hopeful and (sometimes) hapless citizens
trying to change their communities — showing viewers what democracy
looks like in action.
The History of the Supreme Court (w.t.)
Producing station: WNET. Episodes: 4 x 60. Status: fundraising, preproduction
and scripting. Executive producers: Jody Sheff. Series producer: Tom
Lennon of Lennon Documentary Group. Contact: Lisa Braun, [email protected],
212-560-2715. A comprehensive history of the U.S. Supreme Court chronicles
decisions that have shaped our nation and profiles the individuals behind
the institution.
Inventors on the Road (w.t.)
Producing organization: WGBH Science Unit with Four Point Entertainment.
Episodes: 13 x 60. Status: R&D. Executive producers: Paula Apsell
for WGBH and Shukri Ghalayini and Ahuvi Goldin for Four Point. Contact:
Alan Ritsko, [email protected], 617-300-4366. Gives thousands of
amateur inventors across the country their moments of glory. In each
episode, inventors try to wow a panel of judges with their pet ideas.
Judges evaluate the ideas for originality and potential, suggesting
practical steps that could turn them into winners.
The Life and Adventures of Charles Dickens
Producing organization: BBC. Presenting station: WNET. Episodes: 3 x
60. Status: completed. Executive producers: Jac Venza and Margaret Smilow.
Producer: Andrea Miller. Contact: Lisa Braun, [email protected], 212-560-2715.
Explores the complexity of Dickens’ inner life — his relationships,
romantic obsessions, creative drive and ambitious ego — by interweaving
contemporary location footage, dramatization, visual effects, and excerpts
from existing BBC adaptations of Dickens’ classic works.
The Pacific
Producing organizations: Oxford Film and Television and WNET. Episodes:
6 x 60. Status: preproduction and scripting. Executive producers: Jac
Venza and Margaret Smilow. Producer: Nicolas Kent. Contact: Lisa Braun,
[email protected], 212-560-2715. This series is one of the first attempts
to tell the definitive story of the Pacific — a region that covers
half the planet, boasts remarkable diversity, spans 12 time zones and
is home to a quarter of the world’s languages. For most people
in the West, the Pacific is reduced to tired cliches of palm trees and
paradise. It is the Great Unknown—a big, blue blank. Writer and
critic Robert Hughes explores the history and culture of the Pacific
islands.
People of the Covenant (w.t.)
Producing station: WGBH Science Unit. Episodes: 4 x 60. Status: fundraising.
Executive producer: Paula Apsell. Producer: Gary Glassman. Contact:
Alan Ritsko, [email protected], 617-300-4366. Explores the roots
of the ancient Israelites and the rise of modern Judaism. Dramatizes
the cycles of conquest and oppression that forged the Israelites’
identity. Probes the clash between Old Testament traditions and the
latest findings of Biblical archaeologists.
Slam Dunk: A Basketball History of the 20th
Century (w.t.)
Producing organization: Roundtable Inc. Episodes: 6 x 60. Status: scripting
and fundraising. Budget: $4.5 million. Major funders: Ford Foundation,
LEF Foundation, Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities and NEH.
Executive producers: Martha Fowlkes, Robert Lavelle. Executive story
editor and series writer: Sheila Curran Bernard. Contact: Bonnie Rosenbaum,
[email protected], 781-893-3336. Tells stories of our nation’s
struggle with diversity, community building, immigration and migration,
using the popularity of basketball (amateur, college and professional)
to reach a wide and diverse audience, including young viewers. Website:
www.roundtablemedia.com/home/projects/basketball.html.
Stuff: How Our World Got Made (w.t.)
Producing station: WGBH Science Unit. Episodes: 4 x 60. Status: R&D.
Executive producer: Paula Apsell. Contact: Alan Ritsko, [email protected],
617-300-4366. Takes the same approach as the hugely popular PBS series
Building Big. Each episode explores a specific material that
changed our world — such as iron, rubber, plastic or silicon and
dramatizes its impact through a series of vivid stories about its pioneers
and breakthroughs.
Washington Women
Producing stations: WNET in association with WETA. Presenting station:
WNET. Episodes: 3 x 60. Status: fundraising. Executive producer: Stephen
Segaller. Contact: Lisa Braun, [email protected], 212-560-2715. Explores
the lives, careers and day-to-day activities of women, well-known and
not, who have reached the top in American politics, government and other
Washington institutions and organizations.
World in the Balance (w.t.)
Producing station: WGBH. Presented by Nova. Episodes: 2 x 60.
Status: fundraising. Executive producer: Paula Apsell. Series executive
producer: Linda Harrar. Contact: Alan Ritsko, [email protected],
617-300-4366. What will the world of 2050 look like? Will we create
a viable future or devastate our environment and face unparalleled poverty
and hunger? This investigative report examines our current options and
projects imaginative scenarios of the not-too-distant future —
some alarming, some hopeful.
Current
will publish an update of this list in fall 2003 for programs beginning
in January 2004. We will send you a questionnaire beforehand if you
write to [email protected].
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