Mon, Oct 9, 1978
This is the story of Charlie Smith, a 134-year-old black man, who tells his life story, via flashbacks, to an orderly at his nursing home. The story moves from his childhood days when he was bought as a slave by a Texas farmer, Charlie Smith. Charlie treats the boy as a member of his family. When slaves are free, he decides to stay with Charlie until he dies. After Charlie's death, he assumes his name, as Charlie asked him to do. The story becomes picaresque, as Charlie moves throughout the Old West, being a ranch hand, gambler, train robber, bounty hunter, family man, honky-tonk owner, and, finally, circus sideshow attraction. Through his life the viewer sees the changes in the history of the Old West, including attitudes towards blacks and racism. After the dramatized account is finished, video footage of the real Charles Smith's 134th birthday party, filmed at his nursing home, is shown. The credits say that "his life has been the inspiration for this television fantasy."
Few places have so long a cultural history and so much dramatic landscape compressed into so few square miles. Soar over the treasures of Britain's western annex, from the southern tip of Cardiff to the summit of Mount Snowdon and from the religious grandeur of Tintern Abbey to the untouched natural beauty of the River Dee pools--all shrouded in mist and never too far removed from the coastline or the past.
Mon, Nov 13, 1978
This drama explores the relationships and shared history among three characters: Dr. Robert Lewis; his daughter, Clare; and his second wife, Eva. At the outset of the play, stodgy Dr. Lewis has brought Eva to a monthly family dinner at his bohemian daughter's Soho loft. The doctor quietly disapproves of the minimalist decor, but he manages to keep most of his feelings to himself throughout the early stages of the visit. Nevertheless, an ominous tension is palpable. In the middle of the meal, a citywide blackout occurs, compelling all three to look back on painful events in their lives during a similar blackout several years earlier. Each character's perspective is revealed in flashbacks, which are interspersed with events from the present. At the time of the previous blackout, Clare's mother -- and Dr. Lewis's first wife -- Sarah is dying of breast cancer, and Eva's marriage to her first husband is ending, in part because of her burgeoning affair with Robert. During the present blackout, the effects of a series of infidelities become painfully clear as the characters reexamine the connections that bind them together. (Paley Center for Media)