A
Cemetery Special (PBS)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C Film: B-
When one thinks about a cemetery I would venture to guess
that most are not necessary drawn to them in the most appealing way. To most, they represent the final resting
spot for their body, but A Cemetery Special reveals some interesting
facts about various cemeteries located throughout America. Part of the 60-minute journey details some
of the factual information associated with some of the historical sites, while
other times we are given personal reflections by people that ‘enjoy’ going to
cemeteries or people that preserve them.
I must confess this particular program did not exactly
sound like something to sit down for the evening and enjoy, but that quickly
changed as I realized the program had more to offer than just factoids about
cemeteries. Rick Sebak is known for
doing incredible work, especially at Pittsburgh’s WQED, the nation’s first
public television station and home of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. You can access some of his other material,
which has been reviewed elsewhere on this site, and issued through WQED’s own
DVD arm. This one happens to be going
through the PBS label.
The program unfolds some higher thoughts on mortality and
various perspectives as to what a cemetery represents as in a ‘memorial’. Some of the old sites have various types of
architecture and the art of gravestones are slightly touched in this
program. I suppose a whole program
could be dedicated to the art of crafting gravestones, but this is also a lost
art nowadays.
The full-frame image looks good considering the program is
a bit older and was shot on video.
Detail and depth is the biggest issue and shows the limitation of the
format. Audio-wise, the Dolby Digital
2.0 stereo mix is good for the type of program that this is and does not limit
the experience. What is the target
audience for a program of this nature?
Good question. I would recommend
this to anyone who typically enjoys the PBS material that is on the
market. History buffs will also enjoy
some of the snippets, but even more so I would recommend this to anyone who is
looking for something a little ‘different’ than usual and are open to learning
about a different aspect of something we rarely think about. Extras are not necessarily plentiful, but
are appreciated as we get some Q&A post-program questions asking people
where they would like to be buried and there are also a few outtakes to round
things off.
- Nate Goss
