NPR and PBS

Because I am a Masterpiece Theater nerd, I've been quietly watching the fight over public radio and television with interest and this editorial arguing that public radio deserved saving at the expense of PBS caught my eye. The editorial makes a good point about NPR working in a tough field: radio. I don't honestly know anyone who listens to any other radio station, unless it's this one. NPR has either found or created its own niche, and it works this audience brilliantly, doing exactly the sort of stories those audience members want. But the idea of losing PBS makes me go cold. I love PBS, and yes, things have been a little disappointing lately, but PBS still has great children's broadcasting and some great news programs. Those things would be missed if we threw them away.

Any Human Heart Actors

Most people know that, as an English nerd, I have a certain fondness for Masterpiece Theater. For those of you lucky enough not to be obsessed Britian, right now they're showing Any Human Heart. Many of the actors in the miniseries are also from various Jane Austen adaptations, as this brief rundown explains. I found myself, being a ridiculous anglophile, wanting to add notes to it, like mentioning that Atwell also was in The Duchess and Broadbent was in some of the Harry Potter movies and The Young Victoria and Hollander was in (with Broadbent) Bridget Jones's Diary and the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. See what I mean? I could play six degrees of separation if it was with British actors.