PBS shying away from airing TV documentaries
“American Masters” (2 a.m., PBS, TV-PG) profiles a legend with the 2011 documentary “Jascha Heifetz: God’s Fiddler.” The film travels from Heifetz’s birthplace, Vilnius, Lithuania, to his studio in Los Angeles and explores his life and career as a musician’s musician, as well as an ambassador bridging the world of classical music and popular culture.
Interviews include such other great violinists influenced by Heifetz as Itzhak Perlman, Ivry Gitlis and Ida Haendel. There are also clips from popular entertainment, from Jack Benny to the Muppets to Woody Allen, whose very mention of Heifetz’s name became shorthand for excellence and perfectionism.
Filmmaker Peter Rosen also found previously unseen 16mm footage from 1917 to 1985, documenting the violinist’s time before the Russian Revolution, his early days in New York, performances around the world and his life in Los Angeles. Heifetz died in 1987.
“American Masters” has been running on PBS since 1986 and has earned 28 Emmys, an Oscar and a dozen Peabody Awards. It’s a vital part of the PBS schedule. But in a recent editorial appearing in both The New York Times and on billmoyers.com, legendary television producer Norman Lear (“All in the Family”) worried that PBS was going to move its “Independent Lens” and “POV” series out of prime time in many markets, reducing the impact of documentary programs that bring alternative visions and voices to the public.
In Chattanooga, for instance, “Independent Lens” airs at 4 a. m. on Wednesday on WTCI and at 11 p.m. on Georgia Public Broadcasting, which some cable providers carry here. “POV,” however, isn’t carried on either station. “American Masters,” meanwhile, tends to bounce all over the schedule at WTCI and GPB, airing at 2 a.m., 4 a.m., 5 a.m., 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., depending on the day.
Should PBS retreat from documentaries, it would not only be a failure to serve the public, it would be bad broadcasting and bad business.
Documentaries have exploded over the past decade. Sure, a lot of people pay to stream old TV shows and movies on Netflix, but documentaries are an essential part of its library. For all of the chatter about “Game of Thrones,” HBO’s documentaries are among the most talked-about part of its schedule.
Last month, HBO ran the Oscar- winning documentary “Citizenfour,” completed the mesmerizing multipart series “The Jinx” and aired the jaw-dropping expose on Scientology “Going Clear.” And it did so in the month leading up to the launch of its new streaming venture, HBO Now.
HBO is in the business of making itself indispensable to people who want to be involved in the cultural conversation, and documentaries are a big part of that. PBS should take note.
“American Masters” was created nearly 30 years ago by filmmaker Susan Lacy. In 2013 she left PBS. She now works for HBO.
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Miniature golf and murder don’t mix on “Bones” ( 8 p. m. Fox, TV-14).
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New information may help Aliyah on “American Crime” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
Emperor Charles reacts to a second assault on his city on “Vikings” (10 p.m., History, TV-14).
Billy invites Josh over to watch a baseball game on “The Comedians” (10 p.m., FX, TV-MA).