DV Info Net - The Prairie Home Companion Special on PBS

On July 2, we got to watch the HD broadcast of the magical art of putting on a near-flawless live radio show. The picture quality and the camera work was great. The live video and audio acquisition must have presented quite a challenge for the directors and switchers. This is becoming a lost art with most shows. The complexity of movement around the stage was choreographed so well, as to be unnoticed by most viewers.

It was a real treat to see those that most of us have known only by their voices or musical performances. Watching and listening to Meryl Streep gave me the impression that she felt very honored and humbled to have been asked to be a featured guest. She knew that she'd become part of one of the best things in the world. The tears she shed when they sang, "America the Beautiful", came from her heart. What did Garrison Keillor do to be so lucky as to acquire incomparable people like Tim Russell, Sue Scott, his two sound-effects men and the musical ensemble?

On the first day this show went national on radio in the 1970s, I was listening. I knew right then, that I would never willingly miss any of the broadcasts. With the exception of a couple of sourpusses, the most famous people in the world thrive on being parodied on the show. Most of the top entertainers would be pleased beyond measure, to be its guest performers.

Hopefully, PBS will repeat this special TV presentation a few times for those who missed it. I have only 12 hours of HD recording capacity on my DVR and this program will be the first to which I have accorded a permanent space.