Best Bets
 From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration
Walter Cronkite hosts the annual New Year's celebration. The Vienna Philharmonic performs a selection of waltzes and other ballroom favorites. This year's program features equestrian ballets performed by the famed white Lipizzaner horses of the Viennese Spanish Riding School. -- Dan Naidoff
Tuesday, January 1 at 8 p.m.
 Rick Steves' Europe
Travel expert Rick Steves takes viewers along on his journeys to places great and small throughout Europe, offering practical advice on where to stay, what to see and how to get around, while teaching people important travel skills for fun, hassle-free vacations. In the first episode, Steves explores the countryside and soaks up local culture in "Portugal's Heartland." -- DN
Saturdays at 5 p.m. beginning January 5
 Heritage: Civilization and the Jews
Prominent statesman Abba Eban hosts the acclaimed nine-part series tracing the history of the Jewish people from biblical times to the present. First broadcast in the 1980s, the series is newly updated to reflect recent events. The first episode, "A People Is Born," follows the birth of Judaism in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. -- DN
Jan. 6 at 2:30 p.m. and Jan. 13 at 1:30 p.m.
 The Prisoner
The classic 1960s television thriller stars Patrick McGoohan as a top-secret government agent trapped in a sinister town and given the new identity, "Number Six," by his captors. Sensing that no one can be trusted, Number Six battles with the ever-changing villain Number Two and slowly begins to realize that his nightmare in this strange world is just beginning. -- DN
Mon.--Thu. at 11 p.m. beginning January 7
 Sound and Fury
The Academy Award-nominated film takes viewers inside the world of the deaf to examine a painful family struggle over a controversial medical technology -- the cochlear implant. While doctors and the general public celebrate the implant as a way to help many deaf people regain hearing, some in the deaf community consider it a threat to their unique culture and identity. -- DN
Tuesday, January 8 at 10 p.m.
 From Broadway: Fosse
Choreographer Bob Fosse was the creative genious behind such Broadway hits as Cabaret and Chicago. Ben Vereen and longtime Fosse collaborator Ann Reinking star in the 1999 Tony Award-winning musical that celebrates Fosse's singular style, including numbers from Sweet Charity and Pippin. -- DN
Wednesday, January 23 at 9 p.m.
 Mark Twain
Filmmaker Ken Burns examines the life and times of the legendary American author and humorist born Samuel Clemens, but forever known as Mark Twain. The first episode follows the development of Twain's distinct persona, featuring interviews with literary figures Arthur Miller and William Styron. The second episode explores Twain's personal hardships and financial woes. -- DN
January 14 and 15 at 9 p.m.
 Miss America
Historians, feminists, pageant insiders and former Miss Americas, including 1998 winner Kate Shindle, provide perspective on the country's oldest beauty pageant, now an 80-year-old American tradition. Using archival photographs and behind-the-scenes footage, the American Experience special probes how the pageant has negotiated controversy, commercialism, sexual politics and big business while winning its way into our hearts and minds. -- DN
Sunday, January 27 at 9 p.m.
 West Point
Graduates of the United States Military Academy have led the way in every major land battle from the Civil War to Desert Storm and continue to defend our nation in difficult times. The program explores West Point's crucial role in America's history for 200 years, examines the trials that have tested the academy and celebrates its grand
legacy. -- DN
Wednesday, January 29 at 9 p.m.
 An Afternoon of First Ladies
TV12 presents three portraits of some of America's most influential and beloved First Ladies. The American Experience biography "Eleanor Roosevelt" explores Mrs. Roosevelt's dedication to social advocacy. Jackie: Behind the Myth chronicles the remarkable life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Lady Bird examines the life and political career of Lady Bird Johnson. -- DN
Sunday, January 27 beginning at 1:30 p.m.
|
