Latest News from The Interviews

Great-Grandpa John and Great-Grandma Livia

Producer's Pointers: How to Turn Your Holiday into Family History 101

 Mon, 12/19/2016 The holidays are often occasions when families gather together to share a meal, to catch up, and at times, to argue. Instead of the latter, if you are lucky enough to be surrounded by family members, consider taking advantage of having them all together by starting a conversation about your family's history. Ask your relatives about their most vivid childhood memories. Ask them what they know about your family's roots. Ask about birthdays, marriages, and family traditions. Start to gather the...
Grinch

You're Still a Mean One, Mr. Grinch: "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" Turns 50!

 Sun, 12/18/2016 He's a curmudgeon, he steals presents, he squelches Christmas cheer ... and then his heart grows three sizes and we all hold him dear! "The Grinch" has become an integral part of the holiday season, for How the Grinch Stole Christmas is now the lead-off holiday special on network television, signaling the annual broadcasting of the animated Christmas classics. The 26-minute short, an adaptation of Dr. Seuss' children's book of the same title, first debuted on CBS on December 18, 1966 and tells...
John Wells

John Wells: Master Storyteller

 Thu, 12/15/2016 Let’s just name a few of the series this man has written for: China Beach , Third Watch , The West Wing , ER , and Shameless . That’s just a sampling of his writing credits. And in addition to writing in general, this man is particularly skilled at the art of the series finale. He wrote the China Beach finale, with that amazing tribute at the Vietnam Memorial. He wrote the ER finale, with its perfect echoes of the pilot episode. And he wrote the West Wing finale, with Santos’ inauguration and...
Florence Henderson

Christmas Episodes: The Tradition Continues

 Fri, 12/09/2016 With the rapidly changing television landscape, we’re finding that some long-time traditions seem to be remaining in place, for the time being. Each September a spate of new series debut; each October a large number of those are cancelled. The networks still have “sweeps” periods every February, May, and November, when you can count on your local news to do sensationalized stories in the hopes of attracting more eyeballs. And one cherished television tradition that also doesn’t seem to be going...
Robert MacNeil

Aspects of the JFK Assassination: Our Interviewees Remember

 Tue, 11/22/2016 In its roughly seventy-year history, television has, at its best, served to bring the country together in times of crisis and sadness. Watergate, the Iranian Hostage Crisis, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, and 9/11 are a few that come to mind. But never more so than on November 22, 1963. The assassination of John F. Kennedy was the first time people looked to television for comfort, while everyone tried to make sense of what had happened and where to go from there. From the first news...