PBS at TCA: Sir Patrick Stewart on Shakespeare, Hollywood Hierarchies, “Star Trek” and the Psychological Impact of Reality Television - Ed Martin - MediaBizBloggers

After being immersed for several days in the ongoing drama of NBC39s Conan O39Brien crisis and the excitement surrounding Simon Cowell39s impending departure from Fox39s American Idol yesterday39s controversy free PBS sessions were a welcome relief here at the Winter 2010 Television Critics Association tourPBS offered a typically diverse array of sessions including one for Great Performances39 presentation of Macbeth featuring Patrick Stewart one for the Nature special Invasion of the Giant Pythons at which reporters could interact with a 13footlong snake that proved to be far better company than some of the celebrities who have passed through here in recent days one for American Masters39 documentary When You39re Strange A Film About The Doors with producer Dick Wolf and the band39s legendary drummer John Densmore and a very brief sneak preview of Baseball The Tenth Inning a new installment of the classic Ken Burns franchise There was also a brief lecture by Jamie Lee Curtis during a press conference for the environmental documentary Dirt The Movie in which she laid blame on quotoldquot people approximately 45plus for quoteffingquot up the planet a sensational performance by Mary Chapin Carpenter marking the 40th anniversary of Rounder Records and much moreTo say that these sessions were stimulating would be an understatement Collectively they served as a valuable reminder of the importance and relevance of PBS on today39s media landscapeOne of the greatest things about TCA is that reporters and critics never really know which sessions are going to surprise them and resonate in unexpected ways This is especially true during PBS and basic cable panels It happened for me during the Macbeth press conference as I sat and listened to the recently knighted Sir Patrick Stewart talk about theater and television with unparalleled eloquence I had no way of knowing in advance that Stewart would have so much to say about the value of science fiction programming nor that he would cheerfully condemn cheap reality programming in so unique a fashionStewart who will also be seen on PBS opposite Doctor Who star David Tennant in a new production of Hamlet was asked if there is any connection between fans of his work on Star Trek The Next Generation and fans of his classical stage performancesquotOne of the great delights for me of the past 25 years has been unexpectedly to find a commercial success in Star Trek The Next Generation and then to find that because of that success when I was able to return to classical theater and modern theater that a percentage of that science fiction fan base probably only out of curiosity or a feeling that they were going to see Captain JeanLuc Picard came to see me in the theaterquot he replied quotThere has hardly been a performance when I have not met someone afterwards who has said 39I had never seen a play before I have never seen Shakespeare before but I39m coming back39 I said to David 39You and I really ought to be given some kind of accolade because between the two of us we have significantly brought a new audience into the theater39quotPlaying the role of Picard gave Stewart a fast education on the harsh realities of the American entertainment industry quotOne of the things that took me by surprise when I came to live and work in Hollywood was the rebuttal of what I39d always believed that I was coming to a completely democratic society which did not have a hierarchyquot he recalled quotAnd what I found when I arrived in Hollywood was that it had a more carefully and elaborately structured hierarchy than I had ever known in my life And shooting a syndicated science fiction drama series put me way down the rung of that ladderquotIn England that couldn39t have happenedquot he continued quotIn England we just work There is no taste distinction drawn whether you are doing a radio play or a guest role in a television series or you are working for the Royal Shakespeare Company or the National Theatre or you are appearing in the commercial West End or you are in a regional theater You are working and there is no pejorative aspect of any of that work That39s what I didn39t find when I came to HollywoodquotNot that everything is perfect and wonderful in Britain39s entertainment industry Stewart finds the quothuge influxquot of reality shows quotdeeply dismaying and discouragingquot He recalled a particularly miserable experience watching one on the BBC quotI watched about 25 minutes of it and I was alone and I thought to myself this would be a really good time to die because I wouldn39t mind leaving this world right at this moment while I39m watching this particular reality showquot Stewart quietly revealed sounding every bit the dramatic stage actor quotAnd this is the highestrated show on British televisionquotThere39s just so much of it and there39s so much else that doesn39t get donequot he continued after the laughter subsided quotBut luckily there are companies like PBS that make sure that highquality art of all kinds gets on the television screenquotquotWhat was the name of the showquot one critic cried out as the session drew to a closequotOh yes of course I39m going to tell you thatquot Stewart answered with great flair quotI have to go back to England next weekquot

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PBS at TCA: Sir Patrick Stewart on Shakespeare, Hollywood Hierarchies, “Star Trek” and the Psychological Impact of Reality Television - Ed Martin - MediaBizBloggers

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