Kennywood Memories
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B Main Program: B+
There are
so many great new technological steps forward that you can loose track, like
the DVD making us all quickly forget VHS and LaserDiscs, but there are some
things that cannot be replaced. Like
books surviving TV and handwritten messages and books surviving the internet,
the videogames boom and the excitement of virtual reality (the most overblown
idea since 3-D movies of the 1950s) have not replaced the amusement park. Tourists, even after terrorism concerns,
continue to make it a multi-billion dollar business.
Like
going to the movies, with the split between big multi-screen cineplexes and
chains and the great mom and pop establishments and drive-ins that remain, we
have the same parallel with amusement parks.
Including theme parks, you have movie studios that own some (Universal,
Disney, Warner Bros. has Seven Flags, Paramount has King’s Island), and other chains top boot. There are name specialty destinations like
Dolly Parton’s Dollywood, but many of the great mom and pop amusement parks
remain. One that has been around for
over a century is Kennywood Park, located in Duquesne, PA, not far from Pittsburgh.
Kennywood Memories crosses
the documentary and special interest categories with what turned out to be the
debut of a remarkable, exceptional series of specials made by the very first
public television station: WQED-TV in Pittsburgh.
They are the home of Mister
Roger’s Neighborhood.
Production
began in 1988, with a 1990 debut that was one of the most successful in the
history of any public TV channel. It
also made a household name of the already-known station personality Rick Sebak,
who had been a voice-over guy and pledge drive host already, among many other
duties at the station. However, unlike
the on-camera hosts of many a cable channel about lifestyles, Sebak takes a
back seat to the many people and personalities met along the way. His shows always tell the story about it
subject, as well as the people and history of the area that surrounds it.
Rick Sebak’s neighborhood is spelled out in ways that anyone
anywhere can identify with, as his fact-dense shows become some serious time
well spent. When this show came on, Pittsburgh and surrounding areas were going
through a second Renaissance project, but the people were far from readjusted
from losing the very prosperous steel industry.
Dozens of major corporations also left the area, so this show
single-handedly served as a turning point in rethinking what the area had to
offer and what it and its people were worth.
The happy days were not just about the industry, but about how their
time was spent. It also pointed out to
something very uniquely American, where a great melding of so many proud ethnic
cultures came together and synthesized into The American Dream; especially the
part where you work hard and get to then go out and have a good time.
So, yes,
this is about an enduring amusement park and it many great rides and
attractions, but it is about how lived in it is and by whom. It is also something that could only be made
possible by an area with a thriving working and middle-class, as so many of the
best results of anything in the U.S. is. That tends to hold true for so many of the
great thing to come out of the U.S. that we think of as
American. The Amusement Park is such a
phenomenon and Kennywood is the epitome of that, like a great independent film
production company standing tall among chain competitors, the park has existed
for over 100 years and is still going strong.
Its Thunderbolt rollercoaster is considered one of the greatest of its
kind ever made, especially from the wooden coaster era. It is also among many at the park, which has
great claim to the phrase “rollercoaster capital of the world”. The park is also known for its food,
character, variety of rides, and traditions of events. This includes the opening and closing
rituals, as well as many unique characteristics no chain will ever be able to
recreate.
As is the
case with all of these incredible programs, Kennywood Memories is loaded with rare footage and
once-in-a-lifetime interviews. The
research that went into this program had one heck of a learning curve for all
involved, so the efforts to make this were extraordinary and the results are on
the screen.
The full
frame image is nicely reproduced off of the original analog video materials and
may show their age, but look clean. The
film clips also look good and there is plenty of newer video to compare
to. The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is a mix
of stereo and monophonic sound, but there are also patches of silent footage in
the supplement section, so do not be surprised by that. This is a good presentation.
The great
extras include two revisits to the park.
One is for the DVD in 2003, with Sebak on camera tying everything
together, while the other is a segment produced years later for the PBS special
Great Old Amusement Parks that Sebak
hosted and should also be finding its way on DVD soon. The Pittsburgh History Series Kennywood Memories launched was so
successful, that Sebak is fitting national PBS shows in between them. There is also a clip from The Best of the Pittsburgh History Series
that enhances things. Robert Qualters,
whose art has been the used as the visual motif for Kennywood Memories, is featured with several of his works. He did several along on Kennywood
itself. The vintage TV ads and silent
theatrical film ads (remember, this park was a hit before films had sound!) is
great, as is some early silent footage of the park in its early days, that
lasts about 18 minutes. It was
beautiful; even then. A great, full
color Kodachrome silent short of the WABCO (Westinghouse Air Brake Company)
picnic form July 12, 1941 (!!!) has survived remarkably and was a stock only
six years old. It is the most pleasant
surprise in the extras, unbelievable in its color fidelity and the nice choice
shots that were taken. Wait until you
see the classy title cards. Finally, you
get promo spots for this and many other great shows in the series.
Rollercoaster,
travel, and amusement park fans have to get this one, but its appeal goes far
beyond a few groups. It is so
rewatchable, that even if you go and visit the place, you will still want to
rewatch this program. Even if you have
never been to Kennywood or any other amusement park for that matter, this is
television at its very best and you will not find typically find this on cable
or satellite channels. IT is also proof
of how vital Public Television is to all of us.
Find out more at www.wqed.org
- Nicholas Sheffo
