Volume 7 Issue 11
November 2010
In This Issue
• Secrets of the Dead celebrates
its 10th year on PBS with three
new episodes exploring riveting
moments in world history
• PBS commemorates John
Lennon, who would have turned
70 this year
• Check out this month’s complete
history programming on Western
Reserve PBS and Fusion
We’re Counting Down
and Counting on You!
As we look forward to another
great year of programming in 2011,
Western Reserve PBS must reach
its year-end goal of $444,475 by
Dec. 31.
Your tax-deductible financial
support can continue to help
Western Reserve PBS be the
excellent educational and cultural
institution it is today.
If you are not already a station
member, please join us! Our
contact information is listed at the
bottom of this page. Thank you!
Local funding for history
programming is provided by The
Ruth H. Beecher Charitable Trust.
Secrets of Stonehenge
Tuesday, Nov. 16, at 8 pm
Repeats Thursday, Nov. 18, at 2 am
Dated to the late Stone Age, Stonehenge may be the
best-known and most mysterious relic of prehistory. Every
year, a million visitors are drawn to England to gaze upon
the famous circle of stones, but the monument’s meaning
has continued to elude us.
Now investigations inside and around Stonehenge have
kicked off a dramatic new era of discovery and debate
over who built Stonehenge and for what purpose. How
did prehistoric people quarry, transport, sculpt and erect
these giant stones?
Granted exclusive access to the dig site at
Bluestonehenge, a prehistoric stone circle monument
recently discovered about a mile from Stonehenge, Nova
cameras join a new generation of researchers finding
important clues to this enduring mystery.
Quest for Solomon’s Mines
Tuesday, Nov. 23, at 8 pm
Repeats Thursday, Nov. 25, at 2 am
To date, the evidence that has claimed to
support the existence of King Solomon and
other early kings in the Bible has been highly
controversial.
In summer 2010, Nova and National
Geographic embarked on two cutting-edge
field investigations that illuminate the legend
of Solomon and reveal the source of the
great wealth that powered the first mighty
biblical kingdoms.
These groundbreaking expeditions
expose important new clues buried in the
pockmarked desert of Jordan, including
ancient remnants of an industrial-scale
copper mine and a 3,000-year-old message
with the words “slave,” “king” and “judge.”
Western Reserve PBS • P.O. Box 5191 • Kent OH 44240-5191 • Call us at 1-800-554-4549 • Visit us online at www.WesternReservePBS.org
Silver Pharaoh
Wednesday, Nov. 3, at 8 pm
The royal tomb of Pharaoh Psusennes I is one of the most spectacular of all the ancient Egyptian
treasures — even more remarkable than that of Tutankhamun. So why hasn’t the world heard
about it, and what does it reveal about ancient Egypt?
The tomb was discovered filled with lavish jewels and treasure almost by accident in 1939 by
the French archaeologist Pierre Montet while he was excavating in northern Egypt. The royal burial
chamber came as a complete surprise — no Egyptologist had anticipated a tomb of such grandeur
in this area.
The elaborate tribute within the tomb suggested it was the burial site of someone very important
but as archaeologists, using the hieroglyphs inside the tomb, pieced together the identity of
the pharaoh, they were left to wonder who Psuesennes I was and why he received such grand
treatment. The investigation reveals political intrigue, a lost city and a leader who united a country
in turmoil and became the Silver Pharaoh.
Slave Ship Mutiny
Wednesday, Nov. 10, at 8 pm
When the slave ship Meermin set sail from
Madagascar for South Africa in 1766, the Dutch crew
had no idea that they were about to make history.
The ship was filled to capacity with human cargo,
slaves bound for hard labor building the Dutch
West India Company’s colony at Cape Town. But the
Meermin with its crew and cargo would never make it
to Cape Town.
Instead, in a dramatic altercation, the slaves
mutinied and managed to overpower the Dutch crew,
ordering that the ship be sailed back to Madagascar
and freedom. But the crew of experienced sailors
deceived the slaves and turned the boat around to
make for Cape Town.
And so the circumstances for a dramatic climax
— and shipwreck — were laid when the ship and its
desperate passengers finally spied land.
Slave Ship Mutiny tracks the efforts of archaeologists,
historians and slave descendants to discover the full
story of this dramatic historical event. They want to
learn what happened on the Meermin, how the slaves
were able to overpower their captors and why the ship
ended up wrecked on a wild, windswept beach 200
miles east of Cape Town.
Lost Ships of Rome
Wednesday, Nov. 17, at 8 pm
In 2009, a team of marine
archaeologists carrying out a
sonar survey of the seabed around
the remote Italian island of
Ventotene made an astonishing
discovery. The wrecks of five
ancient Roman ships were found
in pristine condition, each one
fully laden with exotic goods.
Remarkably, much of the
cargo remained exactly as the
ancient Roman crews had loaded
it, suggesting that these ships
had not capsized but had gone
to the bottom of the sea intact
and upright. What happened to
these ancient ships? What were
they carrying and why had they
traveled to this remote, rocky
island in the first place?
In June 2010, the team returned
to Ventotene to investigate the
wrecks, with the blessing of the
Italian government.
Lost Ships of Rome follows the
team as they explore the sites
in detail, salvage artifacts and
piece together the history of the
ships and why they were lost at
Ventotene 2,000 years ago.
PBS marks the 70th anniversary of John Lennon’s birth
History Circle
Community Calendar
All About Kent Speaker Series —
Bruce Dzeda Monday, Nov. 1, at
7 pm The Kent Stage, 175 E. Main
St., Kent. For more information,
call 330-678-2712.
American Masters, LennoNYC
Monday, Nov. 22, at 9 pm
Also airs on Fusion on Sunday, Nov. 28, at
noon
Masterpiece
Contemporary,
Lennon Naked
Sunday, Nov. 21, at 9 pm
Repeats Monday, Nov. 22,
at 3 am
Also airs on Fusion on
Sunday, Nov. 28, at 2 pm
The fabled, turbulent career
of John Lennon comes to life in
a highly praised performance
by Christopher Eccleston,
portraying the tormented
superstar from the height of his
Beatles fame to his romance
with Yoko Ono and the breakup
of the band.
The 90-minute drama recreates key scenes in Lennon’s
life from 1964 to 1971, with
flashbacks to a turning point
in his childhood when his
separated parents forced him to
choose between them.
The film’s title refers to the
notorious album cover “Two
Virgins,” which shows Lennon
and Ono without a stitch. But it
also alludes to Lennon’s renown
as an artist who never held
anything back, baring his soul
with an abandon that bordered
on the self-destructive.
LennoNYC takes an intimate look at the time
Lennon, Yoko Ono and their son, Sean, spent living
in New York City during the 1970s.
As much as New York made an impact on Lennon
and Ono by offering them an oasis of personal and
creative freedom, so too did they shape the city. At
a time when New York faced record high crime and
economic fallout and seemed to be on the verge of
collapse, Lennon and Ono became a beloved fixture
in neighborhood restaurants, at Central Park, at
sports events and at political demonstrations.
The program features never-before-heard studio
recordings from the “Double Fantasy” sessions,
outtakes from Lennon in concert and home movies
that have only recently been transferred to video.
How the Beatles Rocked the
Kremlin
Tuesday, Nov. 23, at 9 pm
Also airs on Fusion on Sunday, Nov. 28, at
3:30 pm
In August 1962, award-winning director Leslie
Woodhead made a two-minute film in Liverpool’s
Cavern Club with a raw and unrecorded group
of unknown rockers — the Beatles. Twenty-five
years later, while making a series of films in Russia,
Woodhead learned just how powerful Beatlemania
was in the Soviet Union.
Even though the Beatles never performed there,
their music and rebellious style had soaked into the
lives of a generation of Russian children. This film
features personal stories from members of Russia’s
Beatles generation, who talk about how the Fab Four
changed their lives, gave them hope and helped to
undermine the foundations of the Soviet system.
Book Discussion and Signing
with David Herlihy, Author of
“The Lost Cyclist: The Epic Tale
of an American Adventurer”
Wednesday, Nov. 3, at 7 pm
Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Legacy
Village, 24519 Cedar Road,
Lyndhurst. For more information,
visit http://www.josephbeth.com/
AdultEvents.aspx.
Maltz Museum Honoring
Holocaust Survivors and
Liberators Wednesday, Nov. 10,
at 7 pm Maltz Museum of Jewish
Heritage, 2929 Richmond Road,
Beachwood. For more information,
call 216-593-0575 or visit www.
mmjh.org.
Cleveland Archaeological Lecture
Series — Opening the Door to
the Greek House Wednesday,
Nov. 10, at 7:30 pm The Cleveland
Museum of Natural History,
1 Wade Oval Dr., Cleveland. For
more information, visit http://
www.cmnh.org.
Native American Harvest
Celebration — Nature Center
at Shaker Lakes Thursday, Nov.
18, from 6-7:30 pm For more
information, visit http://www.
shakerlakes.org.
Hike Through Time Saturday, Nov.
20, at 2 pm Hampton Hills Metro
Park, 2925 Akron Peninsula Road,
Akron. For more information, call
330-865-8065 or visit http://www.
summitmetroparks.org.
Civil War Harvest Meal — Hale
Farm and Village Saturday, Nov.
20, at 4 pm 2686 Oak Hill Road,
Bath. For reservations, call 330666-3711. For more information,
visit http://www.wrhs.org.
Western Reserve Public Media
1750 Campus Center Dr.
P.O. Box 5191
Kent, OH 44240-5191
1-800-554-4549
November 2010 • History Programming
PBS
A service of Western Reserve Public Media
Digital channels: 45.1 (WNEO) and 49.1 (WEAO)
Armstrong Cable: Channels 12 and 113
Clear Picture: Channels 9 and 602
Massillon Cable: Channels 2 and 602
Time Warner Cable: Channels 10 or 12; for more information about HD channel
designations, visit twcguide.com or call Time Warner
We Shall Remain: American
Experience
Monday, Nov. 1, at 9 pm
Before There Were Parks:
Yellowstone and Glacier Through
Native Eyes
Monday, Nov. 1, at 10:30 pm
Who Shot Rock & Roll: Akron Art
Museum
Tuesday, Nov. 2, at 9 pm &
9:30 pm
Saturday, Nov. 6, at 6:30 p m
Thursday, Nov. 18, at 4:30 am
Sunday, Nov. 21, at 1:30 pm
Germans in America
Wednesdays, Nov. 3 & 10,
at 2 am
In Search of Myths and Heroes
Wednesday, Nov. 3, at 3 am
Secrets of the Dead
Wednesdays at 8 pm
(preempted Nov. 24)
Independent Lens
Saturdays at 11 pm
(preempted Nov. 27)
Way of the Warrior
Monday, Nov. 8, at 1 am
Baseball: The Tenth Inning
Mondays, Nov. 8 & 15, at 9 pm
A service of Western Reserve Public Media
Digital channels: 45.2 (WNEO) and 49.2 (WEAO)
Armstrong Cable: Channel 416
Clear Picture: Channel 84
Massillon Cable: Channel 84
Time Warner Cable: Channel 993
Nova, Secrets of Stonehenge
Tuesday, Nov. 16, at 8 pm
Doris O’Donnell’s Cleveland
Wednesday, Nov. 3, at 8 pm,
8:30 pm, 10 pm & 10:30 pm
Saturday, Nov. 6, at 8 pm &
8:30 pm
Burt Wolf: Taste of Freedom
Sundays at 1 pm (begins Nov.
21) (preempted Nov. 28)
Art Through Time: A Global View
Wednesdays at 9 pm
Sundays at 3:30 pm (preempted
11/28)
Thursday, Nov. 18, at 2 am
Masterpiece Contemporary,
Lennon Naked
Sunday, Nov. 21, at 9 pm
Monday, Nov. 22, at 3 am
Athens: Dawn of Democracy
Mondays, Nov. 22 & 29, at
1 am
American Masters, LennoNYC
Monday, Nov. 22, at 9 pm
Nova, Quest for Solomon’s
Mines
Tuesdays, Nov. 23, at 8 pm
Thursday, Nov. 25, at 2 am
How the Beatles Rocked the
Kremlin
Tuesday, Nov. 23, at 9 pm
The President’s Photographer:
Fifty Years Inside the Oval Office
Wednesday, Nov. 24, at 8 pm
American Masters, LennoNYC
Sunday, Nov. 28, at noon
Masterpiece Contemporary,
Lennon Naked
Sunday, Nov. 28, at 2 pm
How the Beatles Rocked the
Kremlin
Sunday, Nov. 28, at 3:30 pm
Who Shot Rock & Roll: Akron
Art Museum
Thursday, Nov. 4, at 8 pm &
10 pm
Saturday, Nov. 6, at 7 pm
Sunday, Nov. 14, at 1:30 pm
Sunday, Nov. 28, at 4:30 pm
If You’re Not Dead, Play!
Wednesday, Nov. 10, at 8 pm
& 10 pm
Saturday, Nov. 13, at 8 pm
Inventive, Industrious, Inspired:
A History of Akron
Wednesday, Nov. 17, at 8 pm
& 10 pm
Saturday, Nov. 20, at 8 pm
Heart of a Nation: America’s
First Ladies
Wednesday, Nov. 24, at 8 pm
& 10 pm
Saturday, Nov. 27, at 8 pm
“Elvis Whispers Softly” on Who
Shot Rock & Roll: Akron Art
Museum.