An Empire of Reason

Six documentaries that portray American family life.

One in five Americans is taking a psychiatric drug, including millions of children. Pharmaceutical companies have over-hyped the benefits of these drugs, while hiding the risks and severe side effects including physiological dependence. "Medicating Normal" explores what happens when for- profit medicine intersects with human beings in distress.

To commemorate the first century of American filmmaking, the American Film Institute embarked on a celebration of America's greatest movies from the first 100 years of American cinema — 1896-1996.

MonsterVision is an American variety series that aired on TNT from March 1, 1993 to September 2000. The series was hosted by Joe Bob Briggs from 1995 to 2000, and featured classic B and cult films from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Penn and Teller guest-hosted MonsterVision marathons before Briggs came on board as the full-time host. Late in its run, the show changed formats, discarded "Last Call," and became Joe Bob's Hollywood Saturday Night and Monstervision.

In this documentary, award-winning filmmaker Susan Froemke explores the creation of the Metropolitan Opera’s storied home of the last five decades. Drawing on rarely seen archival footage, stills, and recent interviews, The Opera House looks at an important period of the Met’s history and delves into some of the untold stories of the artists, architects, and politicians who shaped the cultural life of New York City in the ’50s and ’60s. Among the notable figures in the film are famed soprano Leontyne Price, who opened the new Met in 1966 in Samuel Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra; Rudolf Bing, the Met’s imperious General Manager who engineered the move from the old house to the new one; Robert Moses, the unstoppable city planner who bulldozed an entire neighborhood to make room for Lincoln Center; and Wallace Harrison, whose quest for architectural glory was never fully realized.

Dolley Madison lived through the two wars that established the U.S., was friends with the first 12 Presidents, and watched America evolve from a struggling young republic to the first modern democracy in the world.

Dramatic documentary about the birth of the American Republic and the struggle of a loosely connected group of states to become a nation.

An exciting three-part series about one of the great adventures in the history of science: the long and continuing quest to understand what the world is made of. Three hour-long episodes tell the story of seven of history’s most important scientists as they seek to identify, understand and organize the basic building blocks of matter.

Edie Bouvier Beale and her mother, Edith, two aging, eccentric relatives of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, are the sole inhabitants of a Long Island estate. The women reveal themselves to be misfits with outsized, engaging personalities. Much of the conversation is centered on their pasts, as mother and daughter now rarely leave home.

A young filmmaking student turns his camera on a female friend as she gets ready to go out for the night. She confides in him something he struggles to come to grips with.

PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and technology, and highlights the people involved in scientific pursuits.

An epic yarn spanning most of the 18th century, the series follows Franklin's career from humble beginnings in Boston to international superstardom: first as a scientist and revolutionary, and then as a founding father and America's first diplomat to France.

Life and death in a cardiac critical care unit. We follow two amazing doctors for a month as they make their rounds. Their approach to treating patients shows a path toward solving the healthcare crisis in the US.

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

Gilda Radner is recorded during a live comedy concert. Radner's classic characters are seen in sketches that are sometimes more risque than when they appeared on television. During her breaks, the character Father Guido Sarducci takes the stage.

Set in 1958, the coming of age story follows four lower middle-class Brooklyn teenagers known as The Lords of Flatbush. The Lords chase girls, steal cars, shoot pool, get into street fights, and hang out at a local malt shop.