Your Top-16 PBS Shows

[MrCleveland]

PBS is about to turn 45, "Sesame Street" has already reached that mark...but what shows on PBS, Past or Present are your favorites?

Here's my list...

1-America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country (I only put them together since Christopher Kimball is the host of both shows).
2-Sesame Street (To me, this is the pinnacle show! And the first 25 years was educational yet fun)!
3-Hometime (It reminds me of Tool Time for some reason)...
4-Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (Not the animated series...the game show).
5-Mr. Bean (Though a Britcom, I saw this show on PBS)!
6-Square One (I especially liked Mathman...despite he wears a Michigan University Helmet)!
7-This Old House (Even after Bob Vila left...it's still enjoyable).
8-Mr. Roger's Neighborhood (And Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood STILL keeps the show alive)!
9-Primal Grill (With Steve Richaelin).
10-The Letter People (The original characters, not the newer ones).
11-Nature (Despite their opinions on Evolution...I like the show)!
12-Captain Kangaroo (Like Mr. Bean this show was syndicated on PBS)!
13-Mexico: One Plate at a Time (Featuring Rick Bayless, now this show is on Live-Well Network)
14-3-2-1 Contact (I liked The Bloodhound Gang segments)!
15-Ciao, Italia (For the love of Italian Food)!
16-The Electric Company (I wasn't around when this show was on, but thankfully YouTube made me like this show)!

Honorable Mentions

Evening at Pops
Mystery(I liked the Edward Gorey intro)!
Lamb Chop's Play-Along
Red Green Show
Reading Rainbow(LeVar Burton was great as the host)!
Gather 'Round/Cover to Cover (Only because Paul M Lally hosted BOTH shows).
Joy of Painting
Yan Can Cook
The Frugal Gourmet
Shining Time Station
That show where they showed a guy cleaning the Bookstore at the beginning (I dunno what that show was, it was 15 minutes though).
And...anything with John Robbins (He was the one who drew pics of the novels and stopped halfway through the story)!

[howilu]

One of my favorites was the numerous comedy specials with political satirist Mark Russell. They were usually live from Buffalo, NY and featured standup political comedy with songs he performed on the piano.

Another favorite was Monty Python's Flying Circus. When the Dallas PBS station started running the show, it paved the way for other stations to air Monty Python.

There was also Doctor Who, The French Chef, Mister Rogers Neighborhood and a quirky show that was produced in the Twin Cities Alive From Off Center. For a season, the show was hosted by performance artist Laurie Anderson.

[AMackII]

1. Great Performances
2. This Old House
3. Mister Rogers Neighborhood
4. Sesame Street
5. 3-2-1 Contact
6. Joy of Painting
7. Body Electric
8. Mystery
9. Reading Rainbow
10. Nature
11. Arthur
12.Masterpiece Theatre
13. Nova
14. Ghostwriter
15. Austin City Limits
16. The French Chef

[MA]

Sesame Street

Reading Rainbow

The French Chef

Ask This Old House

Antiques Roadshow

The Joy Of Painting

[Old School]

In No Order (I know it's more than sixteen but they all kept coming back to me as I thought about it):

• Zoom
• NOVA
• Nature
• Sesame Street
• The Electric Company
• 3-2-1 Contact
• Big Blue Marble
• Inside/Out
• Today's Special
• PBS American Playhouse
• Reading Rainbow
• Mister Rogers Neighborhood
• Bob Ross: The Joy Of Painting
• All About You
• Slim Goodbody
• Captain Kangaroo
• Newton's Apple
• Vegetable Soup
• Thinkabout
• Hot Fudge Show
• Mulligan Stew
• The Book Bird
• Self Incorporated
• On The Level
• Read All About It
• Trade-Offs
• Hodgepodge Lodge
• Degrassi Junior High/High
• The Great Space Coaster
• Mr. Wizard's World
• The Righteous Apples
• New Zoo Revue
• The Letter People

And most definitely a few more shows that I just can't remember right now... lol



Video Description: The classic Public Broadcasting Service Indent (Used from 1971-1984)

[SarahBellum]

What happened to Evening at Pops? I liked it when Arthur Fiedler was still around. After he left, they seemed to go in a different direction featuring more singing and less of the band.

[RetroGuy2000]

1. Doctor Who (my PBS affiliate even had a "horror host" who would intro/outro the show)
2. Nature
3. Degrassi Junior High/High
4. Sesame Street
5. Bob Ross/The Joy Of Painting
6. The Victory Garden
7. Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood
8. Captain Kangaroo
9. Reading Rainbow
10. Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
11. Hometime
12. This Old House
13. Today's Special
14. 3-2-1 Contact
15. Mystery (as Mr. Cleveland said, the Edward Gorey intro was awesome)
16. Nova

(I didn't include Mr. Wizard's World, as I found no source indicating it aired on PBS.)

[stevea]

Originally Posted by MA

Sesame Street

Reading Rainbow

The French Chef

Ask This Old House

Antiques Roadshow

The Joy Of Painting

I go with your list!

Nobody does cooking like Julia Child. Every sip of wine, she's happier!

And if you're tense, just put on the painting guy for awhile.

I'd also add the original This old House to this list, but it used to be better even 5 years ago than it is now. The early shows with Bob Vila and Norm Abram were really good -- simple, but good.

A few shows mentioned above weren't PBS shows, like New Zoo Revue (commercial syndication) and Captain Kangaroo (CBS) (but maybe reran on PBS).

[SarahBellum]

How about the Louisiana cooking show with Justin Wilson. What a funny guy - " I'm glad for you to see me, I ga run tee".

[GentlemanJim]

1. Nature
2. Nova
3. the Woodwright's Shop
4. American Experience

[Archie8]

Sneak Previews with Gene Siskel & Roger Ebert.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by stevea

A few shows mentioned above weren't PBS shows, like New Zoo Revue (commercial syndication) and Captain Kangaroo (CBS) (but maybe reran on PBS).

The reruns of CK were repackaged for PBS.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by SarahBellum

How about the Louisiana cooking show with Justin Wilson. What a funny guy - " I'm glad for you to see me, I ga run tee".

He was quite the character... I ga-run-tee!

[stevea]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

He was quite the character... I ga-run-tee!

Oh, he was entertaining! Even if you weren't gonna cook any of his stuff, he was great!

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by stevea

Oh, he was entertaining! Even if you weren't gonna cook any of his stuff, he was great!

Yeah, he liked things spicy, and I'm not a spice person. BUT he was entertaining, for sure. You could just watch and smile. I'm sad to learn he passed in 2001. I had no idea he's been gone for so long.