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Early 'Sesame Street' Deemed Unfit for Today's Kids
19 November 2007 (StudioBriefing)
DVDs of early seasons of Sesame Street bear a warning to parents that they may not be appropriate for small children, the New York Times observed today (Monday). Carol-Lynn Parente, executive producer of Sesame Street noted that in the early days of the show, a regular feature was a parody of Masterpiece Theater, featuring Alistair Cookie, played by Cookie Monster, who appeared with a pipe. "That modeled the wrong behavior," Parente observed. Oscar the Grouch appeared too grouchy. "We might not be able to create a character like Oscar now," she said. The Times also noted that in the DVDs (Volumes 1 and 2) Cookie Monster can be seen "in his former inglorious incarnation: a blue, googly-eyed cookievore with a signature gobble ('om nom nom nom')."

Movie Reviews: 'Pride & Prejudice'
24 November 2005 (StudioBriefing)
Also opening wide this holiday weekend will be Focus Features' Pride & Prejudice, which in limited release has been packing them in. (Last weekend, it had the second-highest per site average in the top ten, behind only Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.) Some critics have fairly swooned over this latest remake of the Jane Austen novel -- and especially over star Keira Knightley. Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times writes that her "performance is so light and yet fierce that she makes the story almost realistic; this is not a well-mannered Masterpiece Theatre but a film where strong-willed young people enter life with their minds at war with their hearts." Stephen Holden in the New York Times seems downright smitten: "When this 20-year-old star is on the screen, which is much of the time, you can barely take your eyes off her," he writes. Jami Bernard in the New York Daily News writes a sort of star-is-born review: "Keira Knightley, all of 20 years old, takes her place in the sun," she proclaims. Wesley Morris in the Boston Globe concludes his review by remarking, "Those of us who put ourselves through King Arthur and Domino looking for signs of a great actress can leave Pride & Prejudice ecstatic. We finally get what we paid for." Indeed, writes Stephen Hunter in the Washington Post, moviegoers may not be attracted by the familiar story, but by the actress who carries it. "Lord God, can this little gal take control of a scene, dominate a movie, project to the last seat, radiate power and personality unto the rafters. For this movie really is far more about Knightley than it is about Austen."

Curtain May Fall on 'Masterpiece Theater'
9 July 2004 (StudioBriefing)
Following the loss of ExxonMobil as its longtime corporate underwriter, PBS's flagship drama Masterpiece Theater is facing the possibility of cancellation, PBS chief Pat Mitchell told the Television Critics Association's summer press tour in Los Angeles Thursday. "It used to be that if the CEO of a company just loved Masterpiece Theater, they just wrote the check," Mitchell told the group. "There are very few companies that operate that way [now]," she said, noting that funds for philanthropic work are placed in the hands of advertising agencies to distribute. As for Masterpiece Theater, she said, "We've got to get an underwriter here, and we are determined to do it."

Broadcasting Pioneer Alistair Cooke Dead at 95
30 March 2004 (StudioBriefing)
Alistair Cooke, who pioneered the television magazine format as host of Omnibus from 1952-1961 (it aired on each of the major networks) and later went on to host PBS's Masterpiece Theatre for 22 years, has died in New York at the age of 95. He had been heard on the BBC's Letter From America for 58 years, airing his final commentary on Feb. 20.

No Underwriter Found for 'Masterpiece Theater'
14 January 2004 (StudioBriefing)
A corporate underwriter has yet to emerge to replace the $6-8 million a year that ExxonMobil has contributed to keep Masterpiece Theatre on the PBS schedule, according to the network's president, Pat Mitchell. Mitchell told the Philadelphia Inquirer that she had not expected to find the going so rough in landing a replacement for ExxonMobil, which is the longest running nighttime dramatic program on U.S. TV. "We are all concerned and unhappy about it. It's a pretty high price tag. ... If we don't find an underwriter, I don't know if we can keep going." However, she added, "I'm optimistic. I can't imagine we won't find someone who will recognize this opportunity."

30-Second Spots Coming to PBS?
19 December 2002 (StudioBriefing)
Whichever company supplants exiting ExxonMobil as the underwriter of PBS's Masterpiece Theatre, it is likely to be given favorable on-air sponsorship terms, perhaps including 30-second ad spots, the Boston Globe reported today (Thursday). Current PBS underwriters receive a maximum of 15 seconds. Moreover, the newspaper observed, Boston public station WGBH-TV, which produces Masterpiece, is now pushing for sponsorship of other nonbroadcast assets, including its websites and home videos. But William Hoynes, author of Public Television for Sale, warned: "The more they have to fight it out in the competitive media marketplace, the less claim they can have for public resources. It undermines their argument that Congress and state legislatures should support their distinctive noncommercial broadcasting system."

ExxonMobil Dropping Masterpiece Theatre
16 December 2002 (StudioBriefing)
In a blow to public television, the ExxonMobil oil company announced Friday that after 2004, it will no longer underwrite Masterpiece Theatre. The program, produced for PBS by WGBH-Boston, has been public television's flagship drama series 1969. In a statement, PBS President and CEO Pat Mitchell said that the public broadcaster will try to find a replacement sponsor. "This series is highly valued by our member stations and supporters, and PBS will do all we can to assist WGBH as they look to secure funding for the series beyond 2004," Mitchell said.