The BEST episodes of PBS Specials season 2009
Every episode of PBS Specials season 2009, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of PBS Specials season 2009!
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American non-profit public broadcasting television service with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. However, its operations are largely funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Its headquarters are in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is the most prominent provider of programming to U.S. public television stations, distributing series such as PBS NewsHour, Masterpiece, and Frontline. Since the mid-2000s, Roper polls commissioned by PBS have consistently placed the service as America's most trusted national institution. However, PBS is not responsible for all programming carried on public TV stations; in fact, stations usually receive a large portion of their content (including most pledge drive specials) from third-party sources, such as American Public Television, NETA, and independent producers.
#1 - G-Man: The Rise and Fall of Melvin Purvis
Season 2009 - Episode 9 - Aired 7/2/2009
Presenting "just the facts, ma'am," the documentary examines Purvis' life and sheds some light on his gruesome death. In the process, "G-MAN" explores the complicated relationship between Purvis and J. Edgar Hoover, the first director of the FBI and the man who some have said was responsible not only for Purvis' meteoric rise, but also his rapid descent back into obscurity.
Watch Now:Amazon#2 - Betty Ford: The Real Deal
Season 2009 - Episode 27 - Aired 4/14/2009
Family, friends, historians and Betty Ford herself reflect on her life as a political spouse; an accidental and outspoken first lady; breast cancer survivor; and feminist pro-choice Republican.
#3 - Elbert Hubbard: An American Original
Season 2009 - Episode 26 - Aired 11/19/2009
The life of Elbert Hubbard is a story of love, art, passion and controversy set against the backdrop of the Arts and Crafts Movement at the turn of the 20th century. As the flamboyant founder of the Roycroft artisan community in East Aurora, New York, Hubbard was an influential national figure who died as dramatically as he lived.
#4 - Celtic Woman: Songs from the Heart
Season 2009 - Episode 25 - Aired 12/7/2009
Celtic Woman vocalists Lisa Kelly, Chloe Agnew, Lynn Hilary and Alex Sharpe, with violinist Mairead Nesbitt, perform at Ireland's historic Powerscourt House and Gardens in Enniskerry, County Wicklow in their PBS special CELTIC WOMAN: SONGS FROM THE HEART. The musical repertoire ranges from spirited Celtic fiddle and bodhran pieces to lush arrangements of Irish classics, contemporary covers and original compositions. In addition to the six-piece band, the Aontas Choir, a film orchestra, the Discovery Gospel Choir, the Extreme Rhythm Drummers and a bagpipe ensemble join Celtic Woman for this event.
#5 - Cinema's Exiles: From Hitler to Hollywood
Season 2009 - Episode 24 - Aired 1/1/2009
Sigourney Weaver narrates this documentary telling the story of a diaspora that resulted in some of the biggest names in the German film industry seeking their fortunes in Hollywood. When Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933, one of his earliest actions was to ban Jews from working in the country's film industry. The following years saw more than 800 film professionals fleeing their homeland and escaping to Hollywood. They included actors Hedy Lamarr and Peter Lorre; directors Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder and Fred Zinnemann; and composers Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Franz Waxman. Through film clips, rare footage, photographs and first-person accounts, the film traces the experiences of the exiles and examines their impact on the big screen on both sides of the Atlantic. Not all were successful, but some went on to play major roles in the history of American cinema, producing such classics as The Bride of Frankenstein, Ninotchka, To Be or Not To Be, Casablanca, Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, High Noon, The Big Heat, and Some Like It Hot. The documentary features personal contributions from some of the actors and directors who exerted a profound influence on the culture of their adopted country.
#6 - Things That Go Bump in the Night: Tales of Haunted New England
Season 2009 - Episode 22 - Aired 10/29/2009
New England is a region full of beauty and history, but it also hides a dark heritage which many speak about in tales 'round the campfire on a crisp autumn evening... Things That Go Bump in the Night takes you on a journey throughout New England collecting tales of the supernatural, the unexplained and the mysterious - spooky stories of ghosts, spirits, witches... and even a vampire!
#7 - Yellowstone: Land to Life
Season 2009 - Episode 21 - Aired 9/8/2009
In Yellowstone: Land to Life, filmmaker John Grabowska (Ribbon of Sand, Remembered Earth) presents a lyrical interpretation of the sweeping geological story of Yellowstone, from glaciation to mountain-building to the gigantic caldera of a supervolcano. Featuring breathtaking cinematography of this complex and charismatic landscape, Land to Life was filmed over two years in all seasons and delves deeply into the significance behind the scenery.
#8 - Morristown: Where America Survived
Season 2009 - Episode 31 - Aired 3/28/2009
Documentary revisits the winter of 1779-80, when General Washington's troops built a a log hut city for their winter camp in New Jersey - and saved the American Revolution from the brink of disaster. Edward Herrmann narrates.
#9 - Dutch New York
Season 2009 - Episode 17 - Aired 9/1/2009
Have you ever wondered what New York was like before it was a city? The year 2009 marks the 400th anniversary of explorer Henry Hudson's voyage to New York State and the river that bears his name. As we celebrate the anniversary of the voyage, historian Barry Lewis takes us back in time to rediscover the first European settlers in New York — the Dutch. This documentary looks at the Dutch influence on New York and on the American colonies.
#10 - 400 Years of the Telescope
Season 2009 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/14/2009
A Journey of Science, Technology and Thought. This visually stunning program chronicles a sweeping journey, from 1609 when Galileo revealed mankind's place in the galaxy to 2009, the International Year of Astronomy. Narrated by NOVA's Neil deGrasse Tyson, the compelling program takes viewers on an adventure through the heavens and around the globe, visiting the world's leading astronomers, cosmologists and observatories. The Interstellar Studios production team traveled the globe to interview leading astronomers and cosmologists from the world's renowned universities and observatories. The producers sought the most acute minds at great astronomical centers including the European Southern Observatory, Institute for Astronomy, SETI Institute, Space Telescope Science Institute, Anglo-Australian Observatory, and Harvard University. They journeyed across five continents to visually write the story of the past and the future of telescopes, astronomy, and our ever-changing perception of the cosmos. Compelling interviews throughout the film leave no stone unturned. A carefully chosen array of today's leading astronomers explain concepts ranging from Galileo's act of revealing the telescopic cosmos to humanity and challenging religious teachings of the day, to the latest discoveries in space, including startling new ideas about life on other planets and dark energy – a mysterious vacuum energy that is accelerating the expansion of the universe. On the horizon, viewers learn of emergent telescopes the size of stadiums. With unprecedented resolution and light gathering, these enormous new instruments will look back to the initial moments of the Big Bang and – like Galileo's first telescopic observations – will reshape our model of the universe.
#11 - Dead Reckoning: Champlain in America
Season 2009 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/17/2009
Dead Reckoning ~ Champlain in America focuses on Champlain’s years of exploration in North America, and his successful adaptation to the ways of the Amerindian people, who taught him how to explore and survive in the wilds of North America. Champlain began his voyages as a cartographer in the service of the king of France. By the end of his life, he was responsible for the future of New France in North America.
Watch Now:Amazon#12 - The Marshall Plan: Against the Odds
Season 2009 - Episode 7 - Aired 1/1/2009
Gaze back across 50 years to measure the success of the Marshall Plan, history's most controversial rescue effort. With hunger, poverty and devastation stalking postwar Europe, retired general and war hero George C. Marshall called for a U.S. financed reconstruction of the battered continent. For the first time, hear European witnesses reflect on the legacy and consequences of Marshall's remarkable vision
Watch Now:Amazon
#13 - Vizcaya: Palace of Dreams
Season 2009 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/29/2009
Vizcaya, a 60-minute stunning historical documentary film that tells the story of this grand estate, through an entertaining and educational combination of on-location visuals, rich narratives, and interviews with architectural and cultural historians, reservationists, and curators. Viewers will learn about the estate's rich history, dramatic landscape, and extraordinary architecture and collections through an informal learning experience that appeals to a broad audience. Viewers will also learn about the fragility of Vizcaya and other historic sites, and the challenges of preservation that threaten these bastions of our local and national heritage.
Watch Now:Amazon
#14 - Forgotten Ellis Island
Season 2009 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/2/2009
Forgotten Ellis Island is the first film (and companion book) to be produced about the immigrant hospital on Ellis Island. Opened in 1902, the hospital grew to twenty-two medical buildings which sprawled across two islands adjacent to Ellis Island, the largest port of entry in the United States. Massive and modern, the hospital was America's first line of defense against contagious, often virulent disease. In the era before antibiotics, tens of thousands of immigrant patients were separated from family, detained in the hospital, and healed from illness before becoming citizens. 350 babies were born in the hospital, and many were named after the doctors and nurses that helped deliver them. Ten times that many immigrants died on Ellis Island — 3,500 were buried in paupers graves around New York City.
Watch Now:Amazon#15 - The Great Cities of Europe
Season 2009 - Episode 34 - Aired 2/18/2009
This special gives viewers an aerial overview of some of Europe's most interesting cities and locales - London, Amsterdam, the French Riviera and Monaco, Rome, Vienna, Budapest, Prague, Dublin, Florence, Venice and Paris - for the ultimate European tour.
Watch Now:Amazon#16 - The UltraMind Solution: Defeat Depression, Overcome Anxiety and Sharpen Y our Mind With Mark Hyman, M.D.
Season 2009 - Episode 33 - Aired 1/31/2009
Dr. Hyman presents the possibility that treating seven key biological imbalances, the body's natural healing takes over and heals the brain.
#17 - Jillian Michaels Master Your Metabolism
Season 2009 - Episode 32 - Aired 7/29/2009
Take charge of health and fitness by shedding excess fat and boosting immunity; host Jillian Michaels.
Watch Now:Amazon