Poor little Oliver Twist. If you think times are tough today, just take a stroll through Oliver’s England, a rainy, squalid place where workhouse orphans joylessly gulp down an eerie blue, maggot-ridden gruel as their sadistic caretakers look on with smug disapproval.
To those who were made to slog through Charles Dickens’ works in school, PBS’s upcoming two-part “Masterpiece Classic” (9 p.m. Feb. 15 and 22, check local listings) on “Oliver Twist” will feel like a fast-forward, CliffsNotes version of the original. All of the pivotal scenes from this tale of greed and depravity are included, of course: Here’s Oliver as a baby, calm and sweet in his dying mother’s arms, flanked by unsympathetic wretches. Here’s Oliver, asking buffoonish workhouse tyrant Mr. Bumble, “Can I have some more?” to a raucous, climactic score (is that an electric guitar I hear?), a notable departure from the more subdued strings that typically make up the “Masterpiece” soundtrack. Here’s Oliver charmed by the Artful Dodger, only to grow steadily more suspicious of Fagin and Bill Sikes and their ruthless entourage. Here’s Oliver, unexpectedly taken in by Mr. Brownlow and Rose Maylie, bathed and fed solid meals and treated with pure kindness for the first time in his life. Hundreds of pages of Dickens, unfolding before your eyes within a head-spinning 30-minute stretch of storytelling!
Although “Masterpiece Classic’s” take on “Oliver Twist” feels a little rushed at times, it’s certainly true to the grim portrait Dickens painted in the original. Grappling for a safe haven in a cruel world, Oliver is surrounded by self-serving, deeply corrupt characters, captured nicely by an unusual cast with a real flair for Dickens’ tragicomic sensibilities. Timothy Spall’s twitchy countenance perfectly embodies Fagin’s slippery mix of feckless patriarch, jester and crooked worm, while Tom Hardy personifies that intimidating menace Bill Sikes. Sophie Okonedo brings a palpable warmth and self-doubt to the victimized Nancy, while Adam Arnold walks a thin line between charming sneak and envious competitor as the Artful Dodger. And William Miller is wonderful as Oliver, with an open, honest face that nobody with a pulse could deny, but with none of the offensively cloying traits of most child actors, types so often prone to breaking into song at a moment’s notice. (That said, it’s tough not to hear the strains of “Food, glorious food! Hot sausage and mustard!” in one lively scene where Fagin offers Oliver the first solid meal of his life.)
Unfortunately, the casting and the score may be the two most interesting aspects of this production of “Oliver Twist.” But then, it’s a story that’s been performed and re-adapted so many times by now that you’d practically have to set the whole thing in Ethiopia or put the entire ensemble in roller skates to catch our attention. Yes, a few of the details of the plot have been changed slightly to fit the medium, as is usually the case — Mr. Brownlow is Oliver’s grandfather here, and was also in love with his deceased mother, Agnes — but the spirit of the story remains true to Dickens’ intention. Accordingly, there’s an almost cartoonish contrast between forces of good and evil — the scene where Mr. Brownlow confronts Monks is particularly larded with “Scooby Do” morality. This was Dickens’ very black-and-white view of England during the Victorian era, after all. “Masterpiece Classics” gives us what the author intended: a stark but still comical picture of Oliver navigating a society that was unthinkably unforgiving to those in need.
The whole thing would be worthwhile but ultimately forgettable, if not for some particularly heart-wrenching scenes where Okonedo really makes us feel for poor Nancy, the conflicted prostitute who loves that nasty Sikes in spite of herself. Okonedo allows us to see clearly the moment when Nancy’s concern for Oliver overrides her instinct for self-preservation, so that, by the time she assures Oliver, “I’m going to get you out of here. I’m going to get you back to where there’s books and sunshine coming through the windows,” we can’t help believing her.
The residents of “Sesame Street” have their share of challenges. You’ve got a guy who lives in a garbage can. A cookie-addicted binge eater. And an annoying little ginger who talks about himself in the third person. But on Sunday, the Street will get a Muppet with a different problem, one that nearly one in four American children will relate to — hunger.
In the one-hour prime-time special “Growing Hope Against Hunger,” viewers accustomed to Sesame Street’s usual adventures involving the letter K or the number 6 will learn a different kind of lesson from Lily, a young Muppet who talks about living in a home where a meal on the table’s not always a sure thing. Along with Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams Paisley, Lily will help Elmo and his friends plan a food drive. They also visit a community garden to see how nutritious produce can be grown locally.
The harsh reality of childhood hunger may not be quite what one would expect from the place where the air is sweet, and it certainly isn’t an issue one would instantly associate with the special’s sponsor — Wal-Mart. You remember Wal-Mart: the company famed for its aggressive anti-union stance, the one that just last year wiped out its profit-sharing program while continuing to award bonuses to top executives? Maybe Lily’s family is hungry because her parents work for a corporation that could easily afford to pay its employees a better hourly wage, but doesn’t.
Yet the much reviled corporate behemoth has in recent years listened to the demands of its patrons in other regards — offering more eco-friendly products, reducing waste, and selling some healthier food. Sure, responsible acts make for good press for a company badly in need it, but they also help people. And you can loathe Wal-Mart’s corporate practices and still note that the company’s $1.5 million anti-hunger initiative is nothing to sneeze at — especially when you’re talking about cash-strapped PBS.
Despite its breezy tone, Sesame Street has never been a place where everything is A-OK all the time. The Muppets have helped kids work through the deaths of loved ones, the challenges of having a parent serving in the military and of living with HIV and AIDS. That in the midst of an ever-worsening economic crisis, the show would take on a painful and all-too-common subject shows its enduring innovativeness and a deep sensitivity to its audience.
Childhood is not all happy songs and manic monsters. The Department of Agriculture estimates that 17 million American children have “limited or uncertain” access to affordable food. In New York City alone, the number of homeless children in the public schools has skyrocketed 41 percent in the just the past few years. A couple of talking furballs and a country singer alone won’t change that. But they can help kids and families understand and empathize — and maybe to see that the school breakfasts and lunches some of their classmates are getting may be the only meals they receive that day. More significantly, they may just inspire families to take actions like participating in local food banks and gardens. Or even add themselves to the growing tide of Americans demanding that executive greed stop interfering with sustainable wages, so fewer real-life Lilys have to go to bed hungry.
Remember PBS’s “Reading Rainbow”? Chances are that you — or your children — watched it at some point during its more than 25 years on public broadcasting (it aired from 1983 to 2009, making it, according to NPR, the network’s “third longest-running children’s show” ever).
Burton wants participants to join him in performing the show’s opening song, which, if you don’t recall, goes like this:
While this might not be a “flash mob” in the traditional sense — if it stays as well-publicized among Burton’s 1,662,476 Twitter followers as it has been to this point, it could lack a certain element of surprise — there’s no doubt it will succeed in redirecting attention to the now-defunct show, and whatever new projects are up Burton’s sleeve.
Rap star Tupac Shakur is led from the Manhattan North police precinct after being arrested in an alleged sexual attack on Nov. 19, 1993. (AP Photo/Justin Sutcliffe) (Credit: Associated Press)
PBS officials say hackers have cracked the network’s website, posting a phony story claiming dead rapper Tupac Shakur was alive in New Zealand, and a group that claimed responsibility for the hacking complained about a recent “Frontline” investigative news program on WikiLeaks.
PBS confirmed Monday that the website had been hacked. The phony story had been taken down as of Monday morning. It had been posted on the site of the “PBS NewsHour” program, which is produced by WETA-TV in Arlington, Va.
Anne Bentley, PBS’ vice president of corporate communications, said in an email that erroneous information posted on the website has been corrected. The hackers also posted login information for two internal PBS sites: one that media use to access the PBS press room and an internal communications website for stations, she said. She said all affected parties were being notified.
David Fanning, executive producer of “Frontline,” said he was learning of the hacking early Monday, nearly a week after the program aired its “WikiSecrets” documentary about the leak of U.S. diplomatic cables to the WikiLeaks website. The documentary, produced by WGBH-TV in Boston, generated criticism and debate on the program’s website in recent days from those sympathetic to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and from those who thought the program was fair, Fanning said.
“Frontline” producers hear impassioned responses all the time, Fanning said. Having a group attack the PBS website over a news program was unusual but “probably not unexpected,” he said.
“From our point of view, we just see it as a disappointing and irresponsible act, especially since we have been very open to publishing criticism of the film … and the film included other points of view,” Fanning said. “This kind of action is irresponsible and chilling.”
A tweet from the “NewsHour” Twitter account said: “If you missed it: our site has been accessed by hackers. Thanks for staying with us.”
A group calling itself LulzSec and “The Lulz Boat” on Twitter claimed responsibility and posted links to other hacks, including a video apparently taunting the network. Taunting messages were also posted on the group’s Twitter page targeting the PBS program “Frontline.” One message said the group recently saw the “WikiSecrets” show and was “less than impressed.”
PBS ombudsman Michael Getler wrote about the “WikiSecrets” documentary in his weekly column Thursday, saying it had generated only a handful of complaints, though he had expected more mail from viewers.
“This may be a good thing for Frontline if it suggests that most viewers found the program to be in keeping with Frontline’s reputation for fair yet tough reporting,” Getler wrote.
Getler raised some questions about the reporting in the program but said he found the questioning by interviewer Martin Smith to be “tough but proper.”
Jim Lehrer says he’s retiring as a regular anchor of PBS’ “NewsHour” broadcast after 35 years.
After 52 years in journalism, Lehrer said Thursday that “there comes a time to step aside from the daily process, and that day has arrived.” His exit will take place the week of June 6.
Lehrer’s 77th birthday is next week. He said he will still appear many Fridays to moderate a weekly analysis feature with columnists Mark Shields and David Brooks.
The “NewsHour” has prepared for his retirement by setting up a two-person anchor team with rotating personalities. Lehrer has generally taken Mondays and Tuesdays off the past year.
Apparently Americans want to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting because they think 5 percent of the federal budget goes to NPR and PBS. That was the median guess in a CNN poll released Friday. If that were true, Talking Points Memo noted, that would mean the CPB would receive $178 billion a year from the government. (And that’s not even counting what they get from Archer Daniels Midland and viewers like you.)
BBC, the largest broadcaster in the world, takes in $7.5 billion in income a year. If Americans were right, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would have a bigger budget than every military on Earth besides our own. NPR would beat China in an arms race.
What would the Corporation for Public Broadcasting even do with that kind of money, besides continue to have a liberal bias and support the establishment of sharia law? We have some guesses:
“Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” would be broadcast live from a moon base.
PBS would require a donation of at least $100,000,000 before sending you a DVD box set of a Fleetwood Mac reunion show.
$250,000,000 gets you a genuine Thai silk tote bag filled with precious stones. And one DVD documentary on the making of “The Red Green Show.”
“Frontline” would always be in IMAX 3-D.
Robert Siegel and Neil Conan voiced at all times by Kiefer Sutherland and Morgan Freeman.
Childrens Television Workshop would purchase the entirety of Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in order to film Sesame Street live on location.
Click and Clack would be androids.
“Are You Being Served?” would be painstakingly digitally altered until funny.
Terry Gross would conclude interviews by deciding if the subject lives or dies.
Ken Burns documentaries would be produced with original footage obtained via time travel.
Every home, office and classroom in the nation would have a radio that can be turned down, but never completely off.
Juan Williams would be missing and presumed killed by an unmanned CPB drone.
“And part three of our show: What do you do when your mega-yacht’s death ray disintegrates your mother-in-law? It’s David Sedaris on the best Thanksgiving ever.”
Garrison Keillor could finally get that thing with his sinuses cleared up.
Mama Don't Take My Wheelchair Away 
Is the New TV Season Sexist? 
Michele Bachmann’s New Normal: Damage Control 
A match made on Craigslist adult services 
Can’t see the forest for the wood 
The things I carry 
When I lost the ability to type 
Pop art, the beaded edition 
The beautiful banality of high school 
The unemployed meet MacArthur’s tanks 
Demi’s last night out 
One day you’re in 
Pitch and catch 
