Sunday June 21 is just around the corner, a day to honor Dad in a special way. One gift idea that will keep on giving throughout the year is a Blu-ray or DVD on a subject he is especially interested in. Here are a few suggestions from the PBS catalogue of fine programs.
Sunday June 21 is just around the corner, a day to honor Dad in a special way. One gift idea that will keep on giving throughout the year is a Blu-ray or DVD on a subject he is especially interested in. Here are a few suggestions from the PBS catalogue of fine programs.
If dad is a history buff there is the excellent Ken Burns film "The Roosevelts: An Intimate History." Another history title is "The Sixties: The Decade That Changed the World" from executive producers Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman or the 2015 Academy Award nominee for best documentary feature "Last Days in Vietnam."
You can also go further back in time to the court of Henry VIII and learn about the history of his reign, which was filled with danger, treason and intrigue. There are two titles on that subject: "Wolf Hall" and "Inside the Court of Henry VIII."
If your dad enjoys a good mystery, check out "Grantchester," set in 1950s England. The six part series deals with faith, love and murder. And last, but by no means least, there's "Animal Homes," a 3-part series on how animals build a home for their families.
In "The Roosevelts: An Intimate History," Ken Burns chronicles the lives of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, three members of one of the most prominent and influential families in American politics. For the first time their individual stories have been interwoven into a single narrative. It begins with Theodore's birth in 1858 and ends with Eleanor's death in 1962.
The seven-part, 14-hour film spans more than a century. Theodore becomes the 26th president of the United States and his beloved niece Eleanor marries his fifth cousin, Franklin who goes on to become our 32nd president.
The series details the history the Roosevelts helped to shape from the creation of National Parks and the digging of the Panama Canal to the passage of innovative New Deal programs, the defeat of Hitler and the postwar struggle for civil rights at home and human rights abroad. The narrator is Peter Coyote, with Paul Giamatti as Theodore Roosevelt, Edward Herrmann as FDR and Meryl Streep giving voice to Eleanor.
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"The Sixties" was a decade of great change in America and the PBS documentary of the same name chronicles the events of that tumultuous 10-year period that reshaped America. During that time television comes of age, space is conquered, President Kennedy is assassinated, war rages in Vietnam and the Beatles and their music come to America.
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Oscar nominee "Last Days in Vietnam" documents the final days of the Vietnam War as the North Vietnamese Army closed in on Saigon and South Vietnamese resistance crumpled. The U.S. only had a few diplomats and military operatives still in the country and thousands of South Vietnamese lives were hanging in the balance. Who would go and who would be left behind to face brutality, imprisonment or even death?
At the risk of their careers and possible court martial, a handful of individuals took matters into their own hands to wage a desperate effort to evacuate as many South Vietnamese as possible.
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"Inside the Court of Henry VIII" will be available June 16, still in time for Fathers Day. Journey back in time to visit the castles where Henry lived and learn more about the vicious rivalries and conspiracies that characterized his court. A promising and enlightened prince at one time, Henry eventually squanders British riches on futile wars and tears apart the religious certainties of his people.
Decades of religious persecution and bloodshed would follow his reign and thousands of people were executed as a result of his policies and personal vendettas. Henry's six wives didn't fare too well either.
In "Wolf Hall," a six-hour miniseries adapted from Hilary Mantel's best-selling, Booker prize-winning novels "Wolf Hall" and its sequel "Bring Up the Bodies," Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance) is the brilliant consigliere to King Henry VIII (Damian Lewis, TV's "Homeland") and the story is told from Cromwell's perspective.
He is a pragmatic and accomplished power broker who must serve king and country while dealing with deadly political intrigue.
In trying to navigate the moral complexities of his duties he finds himself trapped between his desire to do what is right and his instinct to survive. The DVD has an additional 25 minutes of bonus video.
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If dad is a mystery fan, you can't go wrong with Masterpiece Mystery's "Grantchester" about a young vicar, Sydney Chambers (James Norton) who discovers he has a gift for solving mysteries and tracking down murderers. His partner in crime is Detective Inspector Geordie Keating (Robeson Green).
The series deals with their friendship and a series of challenging cases, revealing the dark side of early 1950s England following the end of WW II. The six stories are a blend of mystery, romance, faith, friendship and murder.
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Animals, like people, must provide and build homes for their families. In "Animal Homes," due out June 16, see how animals around the world build their remarkable homes ranging from cozy nests and bear dens to beaver lodges and spider webs.
The three-part series is narrated by ecologist Chris Morgan who serves as our guide to the materials, locations, neighborhoods and aesthetics of these animal homes.
With a PBS DVD you can share the fun and knowledge along with dad this Fathers Day.
