Queen of France at sixteen, widowed at eighteen, Mary Stuart defies pressure to remarry and instead returns to her native Scotland to reclaim her rightful throne. By birth, she also has a rival claim to the throne of Elizabeth I, who rules as the Queen of England. Mary asserts her claim to the English throne, threatening Elizabeth's sovereignty. Betrayal, rebellion, and conspiracies within each court imperil both Queens, driving them apart, as each...

The celebrated French puppeteers Compagnie Philippe Genty demonstrate their artistry with several different kinds of figures, ranging from the human to the dreamlike. This program features sketches that explore the nature of the puppet experience and are tuned exactly to being viewed within the film rectangle. These "puppets" go far beyond the idea of non-human actors; they have their own sound effects, may overcome their masters, and usually do the...

This episode looks at the life and work of the 15th century Italian artist Piero della Francesca. With only 26 surviving works Piero has been seen as one of the mystery men of western art. But his calm, monumental, often enigmatic images mark an important step in the development of Renaissance art. This fascinating film reveals the man behind the myth, an artist that paved the way for likes of Leonardo and Michelangelo. In his typically enthusiastic...

Depicts events in Washington after Abraham Lincoln's assassination as seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, the Vice-President, and the Secretary of State.

On this episode of Camera Three, Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher describes her influences, her biography, her love of food, and her writing. The novelist reads excerpts from The Art of Eating and The Gastronomical Me.

The subject of women and their roles at home and at work is one of the major and continuing stories of the day. Mary Catherine Bateson, anthropologist and author, has written on topics ranging from the social consequences of the AIDS epidemic to life with her celebrated parents, anthropologists Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson. One of her primary areas of interest is the social consequences of the changing roles of women. In this program with Bill...

The Chappaquiddick affair: funeral of Mary Jo Kopechne

Journalist and novelist Bidisha was fascinated by Bronte's Jane Eyre as a teenager, but re-reading the story as an adult left her feeling uncomfortable. What Bronte had to say about sex and race was darker and more disturbing than she remembered. Revisiting this classic Victorian novel, Bidisha sees her role model, and the society which spawned her, through very different eyes. Is Jane Eyre really the spirited, independent woman Bidisha admired as...

A six part program which examines the Lincolns' family life and marriage, Abraham Lincoln's presidency, and the Civil War era.