Scandal! Behind-the-Scenes Strife! Spinal Tap!

» Hear the 'Weekend Edition' story

Blind Items: In NPR's internal In Character wars, who said what about whom? And which fictional figure best embodies the In Character ideal? Read on ...

iStockphoto

Excuse me. Ahem. 'Scuse me. (Is this thing on?)

Austin Tichenor of the Reduced Shakespeare Company here.

Sorry to butt in here on the official NPR website. I've hacked my way onto the In Character blog because I ... I ...

I just need to share with you some shocking revelations. Revelations we uncovered back in mid-July, about the tensions and dissensions the In Character series has stirred up among NPR's most distinguished journalists.

Listen! To Madeleine Brand's startling Spinal Tap fetish!

Hear! Robert Siegel clam up about how he really feels!

Be shocked! When Peter Overby raises his voice!

And awed! At what David Kestenbaum is willing to say in front of a live mic!

Also: Check out this exclusive web-only interview I conducted with Scott Simon, in which the Weekend Edition host reveals everything his corporate masters at NPR wouldn't let him say!

Seriously: Click over and listen to the piece we did for In Character, which is finally showing up on the series homepage now that various technical difficulties have been overcome. (I'm lookin' at you, Trey Graham).

You'll hear some of your favorite NPR journalists as you've never heard them before. You'll hear what Nina Totenberg thinks about what we think about whether two fictional girl detectives are too many.

And you'll discover, toward the end of the piece, which fictional figure we at the RSC think best represents the In Character ideal -- a single character who embodies everything we are as Americans.

Then click over and listen to the Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast. It's "All Things Reduced" at ReducedShakespeare.com.

Just be sure to come back here, and tell us what you think about In Character's choices. Your comments chariot awaits ...

-- Austin Tichenor

12:50 PM ET | 08-14-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: Charlotte A. Cavatica

» Hear the 'All Things Considered' essay

Illustrator Garth Williams told the author of The Annotated Charlotte's Web that E.B. White himself amended Williams' concept for Charlotte, which had originally been based on arachnological illustrations:

"He put two dots on the edge of her face looking down and put 3 strokes to suggest hair on the top of her head."

The effect worked, Williams conceded, and Charlotte became a likable heroine without being recognizably anthropomorphic -- "but I contend [White] cheated."

Garth Williams/HarperCollins

Baltimore, Md., librarian Fran Glick was the NPR.org user whose essay about Charlotte A. Cavatica caught our attention back in February.

Now, from All Things Considered host Melissa Block, comes this on-air appreciation of the elegant, if complicated, arachnid at the center of Charlotte's Web.

Block talks to the granddaughter and stepson of author E.B. White -- and to the author of The Annotated Charlotte's Web -- about how much painstaking research went into the creation of the character.

And about how adults and children differ in their reactions to her story.

The producer of the 1970 audiobook edition talks about White's own "ridiculous" reaction when he tried to record the book's infinitely sad closing sequence.

(What was your reaction as a kid? How does it affect you now? Share your Charlotte stories in the comments.)

And it wouldn't be an 'In Character' story without some extras, so you can hear White himself read a passage from the book. It's all over here on the story page.

Enjoy.

-- Trey Graham

4:44 PM ET | 08- 4-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: Norman Bates

» Hear the 'All Things Considered' story

Alfred Hitchcock was a brilliant director, but he was probably equally skilled as a promoter. By the time Psycho was released in 1960, Hitchcock's rotund profile was well recognized by the American public, most immediately through his television show Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Hitchcock succeeded in creating initial buzz for Psycho by not offering preview screenings for critics. But that was just the beginning.

He came up with the notion that no one should be allowed into the theater once the movie had started. Incredibly, he got theater owners to go along with that stunt.

Also, in the lobbies of many movie houses were life-sized cutouts of the portly Hitch, admonishing audiences not to reveal Psycho's shocking ending.

Perhaps Hitchcock's greatest -- and certainly the most fun -- Psycho promotion was the six-and-a-half minute trailer for the film. It consists of the director's tongue in cheek tour of the Bates Motel, along with Norman and Mother's house behind it.

As he walks the grounds, the director gives hints of the crimes to come -- but before he can go into much detail, he stops himself, saying things like, "It's too terrible to talk about."

And then there is the final brilliant scene of the trailer: Hitchcock stepping into the infamous bathroom of Room Number 1 at the Bates Motel, where Janet Leigh as Marion Crane is dispatched early on in the film.

Except that when Hitch flings back the shower curtain, a la Norman in the movie, who is it standing there screaming? Not Janet Leigh.

It's Vera Miles, who plays Marion's sister in the movie. The stunt throws off viewers as to who is really going to get sliced and diced at the motel.

-- Peter Breslow

5:05 PM ET | 07- 1-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: Nancy Drew

» Hear the 'Morning Edition' story

Pamela Sue Martin (left) as the teen sleuth and sidekick George Fayne, played by Jean Rasey, on the 1977-'78 The Hardy Boys Nancy Drew Mysteries TV series.

Universal Studios

With Renee Montagne's exploration of Nancy Drew we find the teenage sleuth is curious, freewheeling and, most importantly perhaps, independent.

It's the fact that she drove her Roadster over the speed limit that endeared her to comedian Fran Lebowitz and that she uncovered mysteries and did things only reporters were allowed to do that endeared her to Montagne.

Still, as cool as a maverick teenager could seem, Montagne tracked down a couple of fifth graders who found Drew's perfection grating. Just think how her car is always perfect or how polite she is to the criminals she's nabbed, says 11-year-old Zoe Dutton.

You can find the whole thing on the story page and leave your thoughts in the comments section.

-- Eyder Peralta

10:53 AM ET | 06-23-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: Jo March

» Hear the 'Morning Edition' story

Not an illustration: The publicists at Penguin (parent of Grosset & Dunlap) are still digging up permission for us to reproduce the illustrations Lynn Neary blogs about below. Meanwhile, here's your alternate Jo -- actress Sutton Foster in the short-lived 2005 Broadway musical version of Little Women.

Bryan Bedder, Getty Images

 

When I started to work on this story I dug out the copy of Little Women that I read as young girl.

When I opened it up, there was an inscription on the front page. It was dated May 4, 1953 -- my oldest sister, Maureen's, confirmation day. The book was a gift to her from our Uncle Buddy, a favorite uncle because he was young and handsome and always gave us great presents.

I was not yet old enough to read when Maureen got this present, but it was this same book that I would read many years later. It passed down from Maureen, to Jeanne to Joann and finally to me.

At some point, Joann signed her name in the front of the book. The four "Neary girls," as we everyone called us, felt a close connection with the four March sisters, and we each wanted to claim ownership of the book.

I think it was a major oversight that I, the youngest, somehow managed to spirit this copy of Little Women away when my parents' house was sold.

Though it's now falling apart, the book's illustrations are as vivid as ever. And it's the pictures that really make this edition so special: There are full-page color illustrations interspersed throughout the book.

In one, the four girls and Marmee stand around a piano in a softly lit room, singing songs. In addition to such tableaus, there are also black and white sketches, including the famous scene of Jo and Prof. Bhaer "under the umbrella."

I brought the book with me when I interviewed my friend Mary for this story. We both sighed as we turned the pages, our eyes lingering on our favorite illustrations.

Mary said she always waited to look at the pictures, feeling that it was cheating to jump ahead in order to find out what was coming next in the story. But thinking back, I don't think I was so disciplined. I'm pretty sure I couldn't resist sneaking a peek.

-- Lynn Neary

4:06 PM ET | 06- 9-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: Mr. Spock

» Hear the 'Weekend Edition Sunday' story

Leonard Nimoy (right) as Spock and Jeffrey Hunter as Capt. Pike in the original Star Trek pilot episode.

 

Mr. Spock: You think he's smart, standoffish, and sexy. But at the very beginning, NBC didn't find him quite so appealing. In fact, as Neda Ulaby reports in her In Character profile for Weekend Edition Sunday, network suits told Gene Roddenberry to "lose the Martian."

We all know how that turned out.

In Neda's piece, Leonard Nimoy explains how Spock's signature line -- "Fascinating" -- came about. Plus expert commentary on the Vulcan's enduring appeal -- from a professor at MIT, no less -- and selected excerpts from your earlier conversation about Spock here on the blog.

It's all over there on the story page. Enjoy.

-- Trey Graham

6:00 AM ET | 06- 1-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: Troy Maxson

» Hear the 'All Things Considered' story

Courtney B. Vance (left) and James Earl Jones played Cory and Troy Maxson in the original Broadway production of Fences.

The John Willis Theatre World/Screen World Archive

 

Troy Maxson is the protagonist -- you can't quite say "hero," unless you add "tragic" in front -- of August Wilson's play Fences. Here on the blog, we've got YouTube video of the cast and director from a production at Portland Center Stage, talking about the play's characters and themes, and Wilson's dramaturgy in general.

For the radio piece, James Earl Jones, who first played the part of Troy Maxson, sits down with NPR's Allison Keyes to explain why the character is so unforgettable. And I've got online-exclusive interview extras for you, plus video of Jones' performance from the Tony Awards ceremony in 1987 -- the year he took one home for playing the part.

It's all over here on the story page. And that YouTube video is below. Enjoy.

-- Trey Graham

4:26 PM ET | 05-12-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: Indiana Jones

"That Belongs in a Museum!" Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones

Lucasfilm Ltd.

Who says archaeology is boring? What with the whips, the guns, the evil Nazis and the booby-trapped temples hiding precious -- frequently magical -- artifacts, what's not to like?

OK, so that's archaeology Indiana Jones-style. NPR's Christopher Joyce takes In Character into the field to talk with the real Indys -- who see the whip-wielding adventure-seeker in a different light.

"Indiana Jones walks a fine line between what's an archaeologist and what's a professional looter," says archaeologist Winifred Creamer.

And Christopher Joyce finds that in the movies, even Indy isn't sure what he is -- treasure hunter or historian.

And what of the crystal skulls that a (much) older Indy is apparently chasing in the upcoming film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull?

Smithsonian archaeologist Jane Walsh has the story behind the real-life crystal skulls in museum collections around the world. Some say they're ancient Aztec artifacts; some say they're powerful mystical objects.

Says Walsh: Not so fast.

4:48 PM ET | 04-17-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: Dora the Explorer

» Hear the 'Morning Edition' story

Explora-Dora: Indefatigably curious, invariably inventive, Dora the Explorer always finds a way.

Nick Jr.

So originally, they were thinking bunny. No, really: Dora the Explorer co-creator Chris Gifford tells NPR's Rolando Arrieta that when Nickelodeon set out to create a new kids'-show hero, they started in the animal kingdom.

"It was a bunny who would go on a trip with his mommy," Gifford says. Find out what happened to kill the wabbit over on the story page -- where my intern Justin and I have hooked you up with video clips from the series.

Enjoy.

-- Trey Graham

11:39 AM ET | 04-14-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

A Thorny Rose - Paired With a Nice Chianti

» Mama Rose on 'Weekend Edition Sunday'

» Hannibal Lecter on 'Weekend All Things Considered'

Two inevitabilities: Jeff Lunden, our Broadway go-to guy, gets Patti LuPone and Bernadette Peters to help him get under the skin of one of theater's most outrageous personalities. (Seriously: The real-life model for Gypsy's Mama Rose once pushed a hotel manager out the window.)

For the Web, we've got video from the new Broadway production, competing versions of "Rose's Turn" from the archives, and plenty of interview extras.

Then: You had to know this one was coming, right? NPR's Laura Sydell looks into what makes Hannibal Lecter stick so vividly in our collective imagination.

I've put up a couple of his best moments -- never fear, they're safe for the squeamish -- along with a few outtakes from Laura Sydell's interview with Jodie Foster.

Enjoy.

-- Trey Graham

3:53 PM ET | 04-12-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Cartman Gets an 'In Character.' No, Really.

» Hear the 'Weekend Edition Saturday' story

Respect his authori-tah: South Park's Eric Cartman isn't taking any crap from you.

South Park Studios

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to In Character, NPR health-care policy reporter Julie Rovner ponders one of the most pressing questions about our national mental health:

Why do we find a filthy-mouthed, foul-tempered fourth grader so %*#&@ irresistible?

We've got South Park co-creator Trey Parker and author Toni Johnson-Woods on tape to help explain, and I've loaded up the page with Cartman's ... er, "finest" moments doesn't seem quite the right word, but y'know.

Plus: Cartman answers the Proust Questionnaire. (Hey, we did it with Cookie Monster, so why not with an arguably less-bridled id?)

Enjoy...

-- Trey Graham

7:26 AM ET | 04- 5-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: Long Duk Dong

» Hear the 'All Things Considered' radio story

"What's happenin', hot stuff?" Gedde Watanabe played Sixteen Candles' Long Duk Dong.

Universal Pictures

Blanche DuBois. Walter Mitty. Captain Ahab. We know, it's been feeling a little like school, maybe.

But just when you thought In Character had planted itself firmly in the literary alps, NPR's Alison MacAdam comes to the rescue with a look at an '80s character who's not so much famous as infamous: Long Duk Dong, the wacky exchange student in Sixteen Candles, the debut film from high-school-movie hero John Hughes.

Ali talks to Gedde Watanabe, the actor who caught no end of grief for playing what many see as an eye-popping example of Hollywood stereotyping.

Also heard in the piece: Giant Robot co-founders Eric Nakamura and Martin Wong. Like many Asian-American kids in the '80s, they grew up being hassled by classmates who'd seen the movie -- and who thought asking an Asian guy to say "Oh, sexy girlfriend!" was the height of wit.

Don't remember Long Duk Dong being that outrageous? I've got the incriminating evidence over on the story page. Enjoy ... though maybe that's not quite the right word.

-- Trey Graham

Bonus info: Did you know there's an '80s cover band called Long Duk Dong? In Kentucky, no less.

4:14 PM ET | 03-24-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: Jack Bauer

» Hear the 'Morning Edition' radio commentary

Gun playa: Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer strikes some as quick on the draw. Others think we need a few more like him.

Kelsey McNeal, FOX

Here it is: The one you've been waiting for since, oh, at least Jan. 14.

NPR's homeland security correspondent Pam Fessler, who usually covers real-world developments in national security, goes digging for answers about why 24's corner-cutting patriot Jack Bauer inspires fanboy crushes on both ends of the political spectrum. (You gotta wonder what it is about a serial torturer, however fictional, whose admirers include both an ACLU mucky-muck and the boss-man at the DHS.)

Fessler, being an actual reporter, gets both men on tape -- we critics, having been diligent English Lit students, tend to just riff on what we think the likely answers are -- and also talks with civilian fan Stephanie "Melia" Romanski of 24addict.com and 24 co-creator Bob Cochran.

And with an assist from Fessler's producer, Felix Contreras, I've put a handful of Season 3 clips on the page for you.

Enjoy.

-- Trey Graham

5:36 PM ET | 03-17-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: Catwoman

» Hear the 'Weekend Edition Sunday' radio commentary

Cat on the attack: The modern antiheroine may have some new tricks, but her self-confident independence has long made her an appealing, strong female character.

Courtesy DC Comics

NPR's Allison Keyes takes a look at the ever-alluring Catwoman. The lady in the black suit may have made her debut nearly 70 years ago, but you'd never know it, what with her new outfit, martial-arts moves and even a daughter. The Cat's enduring appeal may well rest in her basic identity as an independent, no-nonsense woman, equal parts crook and (more recently) courageous heroine.

"This was one of the first female characters we saw on television that really spoke to empowerment," Suzanne Colon, author of a book on the life and times of Catwoman, tells Keyes. "Not only empowerment; a proto-feminism that was very sexy and pretty and female, and yet very take-charge."

2:18 PM ET | 03-16-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: Blanche DuBois

» Hear the 'Weekend Edition Saturday' radio commentary

Fierce creatures: Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski (Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando) in Hollywood's version of A Streetcar Named Desire.

Getty Images

I love that the streetcar never gets mentioned again. (Unless I'm forgetting something; y'all correct me if I'm wrong.)

It shows up in Blanche's opening lines: "They told me to take a streetcar named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at Elysian Fields." And that's the last we hear of it.

But oh, how much distance that streetcar travels: Desire, that irrepressible impulse of the living, stops at Cemeteries, and our bruised but indomitable heroine ends up in Elysian Fields. New Orleans landmarks, all of them, but metaphors, too: the Elysian Fields is the resting place of dead heroes in Greek myth, and Blanche DuBois is nothing if not grand enough, mad enough to be a mythical character.

And yes, her struggle -- the entire arc of the play -- is nothing less than the struggle of individual vitality against universal entropy, which makes it at once magnificent and banal, ordinary and extraordinary. What makes it magic is Tennessee Williams' incomparable language, those purple prose-poems knitting the stuff of life and death together.

In today's installment of In Character, NPR's Lynn Neary asks why Blanche DuBois is such a tantalizing role -- and such dazzling actresses as Shirley Knight, Rosemary Harris, Laila Robins and Glenn Close offer answers.

Enjoy.

-- Trey Graham

7:00 AM ET | 03-15-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: Harriet the Spy

» Hear the 'Morning Edition' radio commentary

Good cover: Harriet the Spy was far from perfect -- which helped make her a touchstone for kids who felt different.

Courtesy Louise Fitzhugh Estate

NPR's Neva Grant takes a look at Louise Fitzhugh's kid-lit classic Harriet the Spy this morning. Turns out she's a role model for outsiders of all stripes.

"She gives us permission not to be one of those bridge-players sitting around the table acting like your mom," children's book expert Anita Silvey tells Grant. Much more, including what happens when classmates steal Harriet's spy notebook and read all her secrets, over on the story page.

11:20 AM ET | 03- 3-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: Hester Prynne

» Hear the 'All Things Considered' radio commentary

Hester help us: No, Demi Moore's portrayal of Hawthorne's heroine isn't a major part of Andrea Seabrook's essay.

Hollywood Pictures

We promised you a Scarlet Letter essay, and boy, did we deliver. Video clips (from two, count 'em two, movies separated by 60 years), plus half a dozen readings from Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel.

A note for audiobook connoisseurs: If you think you recognize the superb consonants of actress Jennifer Mendenhall, who came to NPR last week to record the Scarlet Letter passages we used in Andrea Seabrook's piece (plus the extended excerpts we're serving up on the story page), it might be because you've taken a road trip or two with Mendenhall's alter ego, Kate Reading. She's recorded Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series, among other titles.

Or, if you're a theater geek, you may have seen her in Ethan McSweeney's new staging of Shaw's Major Barbara, running now at the Shakespeare Theatre Company here in D.C. She's playing the Salvation Army boss lady, Mrs. Baines.

Either way, enjoy.

-- Trey Graham

4:29 PM ET | 03- 2-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: Gordon Gekko

» Hear the 'Weekend Edition Sunday' radio commentary

This morning, biz reporter Jim Zarroli digs into one of the movies' most famous claims: "Greed is good."

Did you know there's a sequel in the works? The screenwriter tells Zarroli that Michael Douglas' Gekko was so charismatic that he undercut the movie's cautionary-tale impulse:

"What do you want to be coming out of the movie? Do you want to be Bud Fox, broken and downtrodden and never having quite made it? Or do you want to be Gordon Gekko, who, yeah he's going to jail, but what a swashbuckler he was until the very last moment?"

Check it out.

-- Trey Graham

9:45 AM ET | 02-17-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: The Little Tramp

» Hear the 'All Things Considered' radio commentary

An icon's icon: Lucy Carmichael (Lucille Ball, right, with Dick Martin) pays tribute to another classic comic figure: Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp.

Photo: Ralph Crane, Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

 

Editor's note: Turns out writing and producing an 8-minute radio essay wasn't enough to get all the Chaplin out of Bob Mondello's system. He offered up a sidebar on the best of the Little Tramp onscreen; I told him to save it for the blog. Enjoy. -- Trey Graham

When I was in college, I took only one film-appreciation class — cured me of them, actually. My professor had a sort of dictatorial way of talking about movies ... expected us to accept his judgment of them. As a budding critic, I was disinclined to accept without question anyone else's opinion.

One thing he made us memorize for the midterm was "the five greatest Chaplin films in order of their greatness." It was that last phrase that got me: I still remember he thought The Great Dictator was tops. But that was the one in which Chaplin was not the Little Tramp -- and even then I knew that was crazy.

Chaplin made dozens of films starring the Tramp, but only five full-length features. They're all pretty glorious, and though I have my personal favorite (Modern Times), I'll not argue if you like City Lights or Gold Rush better. (We might have a dustup if your fave is The Circus.

Otherwise, I'd say just enjoy. The five features, in order not of their greatness, but of their release:

The Kid (1921) The Little Tramp adopts a tyke (Jackie Coogan) and wades into serious sentimentality for the first time. Audiences complained that Chaplin was trying to take their comedy away, but they showed up in droves. Besides, Chaplin taught Jackie Coogan all his mannerisms, and watching the Kid doing the Tramp's tricks turns out to be every bit as funny as it is adorable.

The Gold Rush (1925) Much of the picture features the Little Tramp snowbound in a cabin while he's prospecting for gold with just one other prospector (Mack Swain as Big Jim McKay). But the film's scale is so grand that it's acknowledged as one of only two great silent-comedy epics. (The other is Buster Keaton's The General.) Highlights include the dance Chaplin does with dinner rolls, the boiled shoe he serves for Thanksgiving dinner, and the cabin teetering on the edge of a cliff.

The Circus (1928) A bedraggled circus entertains absolutely no one until the Little Tramp stumbles into the ring one afternoon and cracks up the audience without meaning to. The circus manager hires him immediately — the only problem being that the Tramp only makes people laugh when he's not trying to. He can't do it on purpose. Sort of a primer on comedy ... a little strained in spots, but a must for anyone who wants to know how comedy works.

City Lights (1931) Sentiment's in full glorious flower in this story of a blind flower seller who doesn't realize that the guy who's offered to pay for an operation so she'll see again is a tramp. (Chaplin as a boxer, street sweeper, buddy to an eccentric millionaire who only likes him when he's drunk.) All hilarious, and after laughing all through it, the ending wrings tears without even trying. Thought by many critics to be the Little Tramp's finest film.

Modern Times (1936) The last film in which the Little Tramp appeared is my unabashed favorite. At the height of the Depression, a down-on-his-luck Chaplin takes a job in a factory (and gets caught in its gears), takes a night-watchman job in a department store (and becomes a Nijinksky on roller skates), goes to jail, leads a protest rally, sings a song (the only time audiences ever heard the Tramp's voice) — and ends up with "the Girl" (Paulette Goddard). Transcendent.

-- Bob Mondello

Editor again here: Do make sure you check out the All Things Considered story. I promise you'll want to listen, when the audio is live, not just read it; Bob's essay is really lovely, and all the more impressive for being a radio piece about a silent film star. -- Trey Graham

Tags: Movies | Reluctant Hero | Romantic Heroes | Working Class Heroes

5:30 PM ET | 02-11-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: Cookie Monster

» Hear the 'All Things Considered' radio commentary

Watch the Video:

Elizabeth Blair led off this blog with a post that confessed her fondness for Cookie Monster. Now her magnificent obsession has made it to the radio -- and to the video.

As part of our In Character explorations, we convinced Cookie Monster to come to NPR's New York studios, where Elizabeth talked to him about the boundaries of his appetites -- and got him to answer a version of the Proust Questionnaire. The video is above, as well as on the story page.

Oh, and you'll definitely want to watch through to the end. Check the expression on Blair's face when Cookie pulls that [spoiler deleted] off the desk to eat it. If you're wondering what she's so alarmed about, I'm guessing it's whether she's going to have to pay for a replacement: Those things run thousands of dollars apiece.

--Trey Graham

Tags: Comedy | TV

12:30 PM ET | 02-10-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

The 'In Character' Blog on the Radio

Funny business: Louise (Isabel Sanford) looks dubious, but George's Thomas Jefferson getup is all part of a Bicentennial-themed marketing plan.

Bettman/Corbis

 

The In Character Blog got another shot at drive-time today -- this time on Morning Edition. Host Renee Montagne read excerpts from this essay on George Jefferson for something like 13 million coffee-swilling NPR junkies -- complete with a clip from the beloved TV series.

Congrats to Jeffrey Alexander Brathwaite of Atlanta, Ga., who made the nomination. You could be next -- but only if you've submitted yours.

Tags: Comedy | Rebels | TV | Working Class Heroes

10:57 AM ET | 02- 4-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: 'The Sheik'

» Hear the 'Morning Edition' radio commentary

This morning, NPR's Neda Ulaby takes a close look at a singular American icon: The Sheik, as embodied by Rudolph Valentino (an Italian actor, no less) in the Hollywood movie of the same title.

In this video (also available on the story page), Neda goes all film-school on us, offering up additional background on the "transitional moment"The Sheik arrived in, culturally speaking; on how the film's heroine is punished for her independence; and how its treatment of female sexuality differs from, say, that of Birth of a Nation).

There's a personal story in there, too, so click to play. And weigh in with your own thoughts on The Sheik ...

-- Trey Graham

6:00 AM ET | 02- 4-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: The Lone Ranger (Plus Web Extras!)

» Hear the 'All Things Considered' radio commentary

Hiya. So many submissions today -- you guys are outta control. Sorry I haven't been more vocal, but I was a little distracted today, publishing your comments and building the Web version of Robert Siegel's piece on the Lone Ranger.

If you missed it on the radio, be sure you give it a listen over here. The on-air piece weaves in a lot of great sound -- including some terrific musical segues that help illustrate just how widespread TLR's influence has been.

Plus: Bonus audio from comics artist John Cassaday. And the entire Lone Ranger Creed, right there on the Web page. Can't get that on the radio...

-- Trey Graham

Tags: Comics | Movies | TV

7:57 PM ET | 01-14-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

Unmask that Man

On this evening's All Things Considered, Robert Siegel focuses his lens on the Lone Ranger. What a backstory! I had no idea. Now I understand why every boy I knew growing up was a fan.

We've received well over a hundred essays from listeners. Perusing the entries I can tell you we've got lots of fans of Forrest Gump and Cinderella. (She's not American so we won't be putting her on the couch. But Gump is a strong possibility.)

Just a reminder to essay writers: Be sure to tell us why this character is important to you on a personal level.

-- Elizabeth Blair

3:57 PM ET | 01-14-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: Lassie

» Hear the 'Morning Edition' radio commentary

So, In Character is in full swing now. JJ Sutherland's piece on Bugs Bunny has gotten plenty of attention here on the blog already. But did you all catch Ketzel Levine's Morning Edition story about Lassie on Monday?

-- Elizabeth Blair

Tags: Sidekicks | Superheroes | TV

4:02 PM ET | 01- 8-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail

On Air: Richard Pryor's Mudbone

» Hear the 'News & Notes' radio commentary

Before I sign off, a quick note about the first on-air In Character piece, which aired on NPR's News & Notes.

Author and academic William Jelani Cobb ruminates on the character of Mudbone, who was the aged, truth-telling alter ego of comedian Richard Pryor. Give a listen.

And then, of course, you're invited to come back here and tell us what you think.

Tomorrow: Your questions, comments and character nominations. Thanks for joining in!

--Trey Graham

4:55 PM ET | 01- 2-2008 | permalink

comments () | | e-mail