Jean Shepherd's America

Light Fantastic

In this romantic drama, a plain, lonely secretary wins three dance lessons. Her handsome instructor tells her that she is quite talented and cons her into signing a long-term contract. She soon finds herself in love with him, and an affair begins. The normally cold-hearted instructor is surprised when he finds himself genuinely returning her affections. Trouble ensues when she dances with another instructor who gives her exactly the same sales pitch.

Tiki Tiki

A producer monkey pitches a fairytale extravaganza to a sceptical financier. A psychedelic meta-comedy that mixes animation with excerpts from a Soviet science-fiction fantasy spectacle.

Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss

From Jean Shepherd (A Christmas Story) comes the story of 14 year old Ralphie's first job, and the family vacation the family is planning to a rustic fishing cabin on Lake Michigan. Originally made for the Disney Channel, this film is a delightful family comedy.

A Christmas Story

The comic mishaps and adventures of a young boy named Ralph, trying to convince his parents, teachers, and Santa that a Red Ryder B.B. gun really is the perfect Christmas gift for the 1940s.

The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski (a Tale of Gothic Love)

A comedy written and Narrated by Jean Shepherd. The story involves several different events such as Ralph's first serious romance with his new neighbor, Randy playing a turkey in the school Thanksgiving Day play, The Old Man setting his sights on a yellow buick and the High School basketball rival game of the season.

Shadows

The relationship between Lelia, a light-skinned black woman, and Tony, a white man is put in jeopardy when Tony meets Lelia’s darker-skinned jazz singer brother, Hugh, and discovers that her racial heritage is not what he thought it was.

Babe Ruth

As its title implies, this video attempts to go beyond the public persona of one of major league baseball's greatest stars. Accepting Ruth as a larger-than-life figure, this 59-minute video doesn't attempt to rationalize, apologize, or analyze his behavior. Rather, it endeavors to present an unbiased account of the life of George Herman Ruth, contradictions and all.

The Phantom of the Open Hearth

This comedy/drama was written by Jean Shepherd, who appears at the beginning and the end and narrates it through voiceover. It tells the story of several events as they occur through the eyes of Ralph, a high-school-aged boy. Ralph is anticipating the upcoming prom and is working up the courage to invite Daphne Bigelow, a beautiful and popular student who does not seem aware of his existence.

The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters

An adult Ralphie Parker narrates several humorous stories about his teen years in an Indiana steel town.

American Playhouse

American Playhouse is an anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service in the United States.

A Christmas Story Christmas

Follows Ralphie, now adult, who returns to the house on Cleveland Street to give his kids a magical Christmas like the one he had as a child, reconnecting with childhood friends, and reconciling the passing of his Old Man.

Inquest

A woman is suspected of killing her husband after a revolver is found in her attic. A coroner is determined to prove that she did it, but thanks to the assistance of a quick-witted lawyer she is eventually found innocent.

It Runs in the Family

It is now summer in the Parker family; and the usual amount of numerous events are happening in their separate lives. Ralphie is searching for the perfect top to use to beat the school bully with, the Old Man is in battle with their hillbilly neighbors, the Bumpus, while eagerly awaiting the discovery of the perfect fishing spot, and the Mother is attempting to collect all of the pieces of a glass china set at a local movie theater.

A Christmas Story 2

The original traditional one-hundred-percent red-blooded two-fisted all-American Christmas continues five years later with Ralphie, Randy, mom and the old man. This time Ralphie has his eyes fixed on a car. But trouble is sure to follow.

Lenny Bruce: Without Tears

The outrageous, groundbreaking comic Lenny Bruce, whose iconoclastic material in a conservative era got him into tragic trouble, is profiled by a close friend, Fred Baker, who prefers to remember the laughs Lenny Bruce's memory evokes instead of the tears. By presenting Bruce's landmark skits on the Steve Allen Show, his failed TV pilot episode and a candid interview with Nat Hentoff, Bruce's genius and anguish show through the dramatic and tragic trajectory of his career from aspiring artist to hunted "lawbreaker".

A Christmas Story Live!

A live broadcast of the Broadway hit "A Christmas Story: The Musical" in which Ralphie wishes for nothing more than a Red Rider BB Gun for Christmas.

The Andy Griffith Show

The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised on CBS between October 3, 1960 and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays the widowed sheriff of the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina. His life is complicated by an inept, but well-meaning deputy, Barney Fife, a spinster aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee, and a precocious young son, Opie. Local ne'er-do-wells, bumbling pals, and temperamental girlfriends further complicate his life. Andy Griffith stated in a Today Show interview, with respect to the time period of the show: "Well, though we never said it, and though it was shot in the '60s, it had a feeling of the '30s. It was when we were doing it, of a time gone by." The series never placed lower than seventh in the Nielsen ratings and ended its final season at number one. It has been ranked by TV Guide as the 9th-best show in American television history. Though neither Griffith nor the show won awards during its eight-season run, series co-stars Knotts and Bavier accumulated a combined total of six Emmy Awards. The show, a semi-spin-off from an episode of The Danny Thomas Show titled "Danny Meets Andy Griffith", spawned its own spin-off series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., a sequel series, Mayberry R.F.D., and a reunion telemovie, Return to Mayberry. The show's enduring popularity has generated a good deal of show-related merchandise. Reruns currently air on TV Land, and the complete series is available on DVD. All eight seasons are also now available by streaming video services such as Netflix.

Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days

Michael Palin attempts to copy the exploits of fictional character Phileas Fogg, by trying to travel around the world (without flying) in 80 days.

Pole to Pole

Michael Palin undertakes an epic journey of 23,000 miles, traveling from the North to the South Pole across 17 countries with a minimum of air travel, all on a tight deadline.

Stephen Fry in America

Stephen Fry journeys across America, hoping to visit all 50 states of the country which has always fascinated him.