THE ABOLITIONISTS

PART THREE

TUESDAY, JANUARY 22 @ 7:00PM & 12:00 AM

By 1854, the battle over admitting new territories to the Union had reached a fever pitch. Kansas was the front line of a bloody battle between pro-slavery and free-soil contingents. In 1859, John Brown summoned Frederick Douglass to a secret meeting in Chambersburg, PA, and revealed his plan to capture the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, VA, and start a revolution; Douglass refused to join him. Brown went ahead with the raid, and was injured and captured. Before being executed, he managed to turn himself into a public figure and a martyr for the cause.

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ANTIQUING IN ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA

MONDAY, APRIL 15 @ 10:00PM

Join the pickers at the Gold Rush Olmsted County market in Rochester, Minnesota, to find something French.

From the producers of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, the hit PBS series and the forerunner of television’s popular antiques and collectibles genre, comes a new adventure for treasure seekers.

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BEAUTY IS EMBARRASSING

SATURDAY, JANUARY 26 @ 7:30PM

Take a ride through the life and current times of one of America’s most important artists, Wayne White. Raised in the mountains of Tennessee, Wayne White started his career as a cartoonist in New York City. He quickly found success as one of the creators of the TV show, Pee-wee’s Playhouse, which led to more work designing some of the most arresting and iconic images in pop culture.

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DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 3

SUNDAY, JANUARY 29 @ 7:00PM & 10:00PM

EPISODE 3

Two social revolutions arrive at Downton Abbey: the Irish civil war and the fight for women’s suffrage. A mysterious conspiracy keeps Anna and Bates apart.

The much-loved cast of Downton Abbey Season 3 includes Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern, Hugh Bonneville, Dan Stevens, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Penelope Wilton, and a host of others. Written and created by Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey, Season 3 marks the return of one of television’s most beloved and anticipated drama series to MASTERPIECE on MCPTV tonight!

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GRIDLOCK

FRIDAY, JANUARY 18 @ 9:30PM

On the first of two inauguration specials examining the advocacy group “Common Good’s” proposals to end bureaucratic gridlock and get the United States moving forward, “Need to Know” anchor Jeff Greenfield explores why it now takes nearly four times as long to complete infrastructure projects in the United States than it did in the 1970s.

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L’ELISIR D’AMORE

OPENING NIGHT

FRIDAY, JANUARY 18 @ 7:00PM & 11:00PM

Star soprano Anna Netrebko takes center stage as Adina, the irresistible heroine of Gaetano Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore (The Elixir of Love), on Great Performances at the Met.

Although L’Elisir d’Amore is one of the most popular comic operas in the repertory, this production marks the first time it has been performed on a Met’s opening night.

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THE SURPRISE SALMON

SATURDAY, JANUARY 19 @ 7:00PM

Find out what may have happened when a race of salmon faced the death of their natal river and were forced back to the open ocean tonight!

Narrated by Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons, Life on Fire series offers a close up look at volcanoes, providing viewers with a never seen before look at their effect on the environment around them.

Each episode of Life on Fire paints survival stories around different volcanoes. From the dark abyss to pristine snow-capped peaks, spectacular scenery provides the backdrop for the extraordinary animals and plants that have learned to juggle with fire. Each time a volcano erupts, animals have a choice: face the consequences or flee.

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FUNNY LADIES

SATURDAY, JANUARY 20 @ 6:00PM

Comedy crosses boundaries, and in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, many female entertainers struggled just to enter the male-dominated world of stand-up and television. Self-deprecation, acting dumb and playing down their looks were some of the strategies these funny ladies employed to be taken seriously. While many comedians today get their laughs from shock value, racial and sexual characterizations or expletives, the first female stars of network television had no such fallbacks and instead entertained with pure talent and screen savvy. “They are just funny — silly as hell,” is how Betty White describes these pioneers, who are also her peers.

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INSIDE OBAMA’S PRESIDENCY

THURSDAY, JANUARY 17 @ 7:00PM

As Barack Obama is sworn in for his second term, FRONTLINE takes a probing look at the first four years of his presidency. With inside accounts from his battles with his Republican opponents over health care and the economy to his dramatic expansion of targeted killings of enemies, FRONTLINE examines the president’s key decisions and the experiences that will inform his second term.

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SOUL FOOD JUNKIES

SATURDAY, AUGUST 31 @ 10:00 PM

Food traditions are hard to change, especially when they’re passed on from generation to generation. Baffled by his dad’s unwillingness to change his traditional soul food diet in the face of a health crisis, filmmaker Byron Hurt sets out to learn more about this rich culinary tradition and its relevance to black cultural identity.

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