PBS at TCA: Mel Brooks, Jeremy Irons, Marlo Thomas and More - Ed Martin Live

PBS previewed its upcoming programming during the final two days of presentations at the Winter 2013 Television Critics Association tour and for those of us who have been here from the beginning it was as if the best had been saved for last That39s not to say that there haven39t been exciting sessions with major talent throughout the tour but there was something about the combination of press conferences with a very funny and at times surprisingly touching Mel Brooks on Monday and an unexpectedly funny and commanding Jeremy Irons on Tuesday that somehow eclipsed much of what had come before And as far as getting its messages across to glazed critics and ragged reporters who had been sitting though press conferences every day for two weeks it didn39t hurt that PBS produced a miniconcert with fivetime Tony Award winner Audra McDonald on Monday night or that it closed its TCA days Tuesday night with a performance from another multiple Tony winner Christine EbersoleThe session with the legendary Brooks on hand to promote the upcoming quotAmerican Mastersquot documentary quotMel Brooks Make a Noisequot set to debut in May was definitely the high point of PBS39 TCA presentations if not the entire tour itselfquotWhat do you want to know aboutquot Brooks asked the critics as he took the stage quotI39ll tell you what I think is appropriate and what I think is none of your businessquotMost of the questions directed to Brooks were about his movies and most of his answers were both informative and quite funny But at one point when a critic asked him to talk about his late wife Anne Bancroft Brooks became quietly serious and declined to do soquotIt is really a little too painful and privatequot he said quotYou know there might be one or two things I could share with you When we were singing 39Sweet Georgia Brown39 in Polish Anne diligently learned it in Polish She really taught it to me If you watch the movie 39To Be or Not to Be39 you39ll see me mouthing her lips and looking at her doing it She was the best singer the best dancer and maybe the best actress in the world I was very lucky for 45 years and it39s very difficult I have great children and I have a good life but it is very difficult every day to go on I can tell you without herquotBrooks revealed that he is working on a musical stage adaptation of his 1974 classic quotBlazing Saddlesquot a raunchy comedy set in the Old Westquot39Blazing Saddles39 is kind of en route somewhere in my headquot he said quotI know that it would open with a lot of rough cowboys beating the shit out of little old ladies down the aisles of the theaterquotJeremy Irons who was here to talk about quotShakespeare Uncoveredquot a sixepisode series about the stories behind many of Shakespeare39s plays that begins later this month was as thoughtful and as funny as Brooks especially when he took a few goodnatured jabs at PBS39 current outsize pride and joyquotAs an actor I realize that Shakespeare is gold dustquot Irons began quotShakespeare is the best writer He can allow you to do more with an audience than any other writer before or since So I39m very excited about 39Shakespeare Uncovered39 and what it can do to open up to this huge American audience this gold dust Show them that actually television doesn39t end with 39Downton Abbey39 If you think that39s good then watch these Shakespeare productions and you39ll see what real writing what real stories what real characters are about and amp8230quotquotBut we do love 39Downton Abbey39 tooquot chimed in WNET Vice President of Programming Stephen Segaller who was on stage with IronsquotWe do love 39Downton Abbey39quot Irons agreed smilingquotJust a footnotequot Segaller added quotWe love it a lot Quite a lotquotIrons couldn39t stop quotIt39s sort of like I mean I don39t know your cars well enough but it39s like a Ford Fiesta will get you there and give you a good time amp8230 but actually you know amp8230 an Aston Martin that39s what you39ve got with ShakespearequotA few minutes later in responding to a question about mastering Shakespeare Irons teased quotIt39s practice practice practice I think with Shakespeare You can39t sort of mutter it in a 39Downton Abbey39 wayquot At this point certain heads among the PBS executive ranks were starting to spinAs the session progressed a curious reporter asked Irons to clarify his thoughts about quotDownton Abbeyquot The room was hushedquotIf I shot myself now would it create enough of a diversionquot Segaller interjected quotbecause I39m willing to do itquotquotI39m a terrible television snobquot Irons laughed quotI don39t watch very much television I39ve never seen 39Downton Abbey39quot As the critics exploded in laughter he added quotSo I don39t know what I39m talking about basically when it comes to that I39m sure it39s splendidquotThe other highlights of the PBS tour days were a panel for quotConversation USA with Peter Sagalquot a series that will explore the general ignorance Americans have about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights beginning May 7 a luncheon with Ken Burns and his daughter Sarah about their new documentary quotThe Central Park Fivequot about the black and Latino teenagers falsely accused and wrongly convicted in the 1989 Central Park Jogger case set to debut April 16 Audra McDonald39s concert and press conference for the upcoming season of quotLive from Lincoln Centerquot for which McDonald will serve as host a panel for the upcoming quotMasterpiecequot series quotMr Selfridgequot with series star Jeremy Piven which looks to be PBS39 next watercooler series beginning March 31 a jawdropping performance by ukulele virtuoso and YouTube sensation Jake Shimabukuro to support the upcoming special quotJake Shimabukuro Life on Four Stringsquot premiering May 10 a luncheon featuring Gloria Steinem and Marlo Thomas among others to promote the documentary quotMakers Women Who Make Americaquot set to debut February 26 and the return to TCA of the cast of quotCall the Midwifequot to discuss the second season of the acclaimed drama series which begins March 31Although the PBS days at TCA are well attended dozens of critics and reporters who descend for the cable and broadcast network portions of the tours tend to skip them as if they aren39t as vital as the rest of the programming being previewed But PBS reaches a larger audience than many cable channels and certain PBS programs dwarf certain broadcast efforts in the ratings so I have to wonder what they39re thinking Why in the world wouldn39t they choose to experience everything PBS has to offer

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PBS at TCA: Mel Brooks, Jeremy Irons, Marlo Thomas and More - Ed Martin Live

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