The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson, an Administrative Assistant at the Packard Campus.
Friday, February 26 (7:30pm)
The Night That Panicked America (ABC, 1975)
Radio meets television in this docu-drama that looks back at Orson Welles’s and the Mercury Theater’s infamous “War of the Worlds” broadcast from October 30, 1938. Paul Shenar stars as Welles in this reenactment which takes place both in the radio studio and out in the country where the compelling storytelling of Welles and his company set off a nationwide panic. Meredith Baxter, Tom Bosley, Eileen Brennan Vic Morrow, John Ritter, and Will Geer co-star in this tale of mass media mass hysteria. Originally broadcast on October 31, 1975, this made-for-TV movie would go on the garner Emmy nominations for outstanding writing, editing, and sound.
Saturday, February 27 (2:00pm)
A Saturday of Super Heroes (1958-1979)
Before they began to overrun the multiplexes every summer, super heroes were most at home on television beginning with the 1952 debut of “The Adventures of Superman.” In this perfect-for-a-Saturday-afternoon retrospective, the thrilling feats of four of TV greatest heroes will be screened. George Reeves plays the Man of Steel in the season six episode “The Perils of Superman” (syndicated; 4/21/58). Then it’s a camp-tastic half-hour of Adam West as “Batman.” In this installment from the series’s third season, “The Ogg Couple” (ABC; 12/21/67), Batman and Robin (Burt Ward) tangle with super criminal Egghead (Vincent Price) and his evil cohort Queen Olga (Anne Baxter). Next, “Wonder Woman” (the definitive Lynda Carter) takes on the Nazi menace in the season one episode “Fausta, The Nazi Wonder Woman” (CBS; 4/28/76). Finally, David Banner (Bill Bixby) is a professor on the run who harbors a terrible secret in “The Incredible Hulk” episode “Homecoming” (CBS; 11/30/79)–but don’t make him angry, you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.
Saturday, February 27 (7:30pm)
Highlights from “Austin City Limits” (PBS, 1974-1999)
“Austin City Limits” is the longest-running music series in American television history. “ACL” recorded its first program in October 1974 at the University of Texas, though the pilot with Willie Nelson never officially aired. Originally created to celebrate the music of Texas—featuring western swing, Texas blues, Tejano music, progressive country, and rock n’ roll—the series has gone on to feature regional, national and international artists performing a wide range of musical styles. “ACL” is the only television program to ever receive the National Medal of Arts, the nation’s highest award for artistic excellence. Most of the performances in this program, culled and digitally restored from the Library of Congress’s video collection, have not been seen since the 1970’s. Performers include Willie Nelson from the 1974 pilot episode; Merle Haggard; George Jones; Tom Waits; Lightnin’ Hopkins; Ernest Tubb; Clifton Chenier; Merle Travis; Earl Scruggs; Charlie Pride; John Prine; Bobby Bear with Ronnie Montrose and Tracy Nelson; Jerry Jeff Walker and The Lost Gonzo Band; Asleep at the Wheel; Clarence Gatemouth Brown; Townes Van Zandt; Flaco Jimenez and Ry Cooder; Marcia Ball and Hank Thompson
For more information on our programs, please visit the website at: www.loc.gov/avconservation/theater/.