EGG, the Arts Show

EGG, the Arts Show
Narrated by	Elaine Stritch
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	4
Release
Original network	PBS
Original release	January 13, 2000 – April 8, 2005

EGG, the arts show was an American nonfiction television program that aired on PBS from January 13, 2000 to April 8, 2005. EGG documented both the famous and the unusual aspects and projects of classical and modern arts; its narrator was Elaine Stritch.

Produced by WNET, Jeff Folmsbee served as Executive Producer. Mark Mannucci was series producer. EGG won a Peabody Award in 2002.^[1] Trio channel cable network has aired the series in reruns.

Pat Rabdau worked as a producer and cameraman.

Episodes

Season 1 (2000)

• Who Needs It (January 13, 2000)
• Working Dancers (January 20, 2000)
• The Body (January 27, 2000)
• Space (February 3, 2000)
• Homegrown Sounds (February 10, 2000)
• Love, Longing, Desire (February 17, 2000)
• Money, Greed, Power (February 24, 2000)
• Machismo (March 2, 2000)
• What Is the Ideal Woman? (March 23, 2000)
• Who Am I? (March 30, 2000)
• Theater on the Edge (April 6, 2000)
• Who's the Art Boss? (April 13, 2000)

Season 2 (2001-2002)

Series #	Season #	Title	Original air date
1	1	"How to Be Happy/Body Language"	April 6, 2001
Launching its first national season, this series presents new episodes that take viewers off the beaten path to focus on the excitement, diversity and raw energy of the arts nationwide. The first episode covers works by visual artist Jeff Koons, the ancient practice of bonsai, the poetry of 85-year-old retired dry cleaner Isidore Elfman and the art of yodeling, while the second offers an immersion course in three forms of body language
2	2	"Flight"	April 13, 2001
The first episode explores our fascination with flight and how it has inspired works of arts and music throughout the ages.
3	3	"Hair!"	April 20, 2001
The first episode combs America for four stories inspired by hair and delivers a full-bodied, manageable show.
4	4	"Unnatural Science"	April 27, 2001
The first episode looks at how art and science can miraculously converge.
5	5	"Collectors"	May 4, 2001
The first episode visits some of the most inspirational collectors and collections in America.
6	6	"The Desert"	May 11, 2001
The first episode examines how the desert can be fertile ground for human expression.
7	7	"Made in the U.S.A."	May 18, 2001
The first episode celebrates the ingenuity of homegrown American artists.
8	8	"What's the Big Idea"	May 25, 2001
The first episode examines art that is about ideas, questioning what art is and what it can be.
9	9	"Close to Home"	June 1, 2001
EGG profiles Jeanine Pohlhaus, Chris Verene, Gregory Crewdson and Joe Rodriguez - photographers who take intimacy as their muse and pictures that hit close to home. Is the camera friend or foe? Are they violating the privacy of their subjects or communicating human stories that need to be told?
10	10	"Hair (encore)"	June 8, 2001
EGG combs America for four stories inspired by hair and delivers a full-bodied, manageable show. The episode covers "hair artist" Wenda Gu, elaborate African hairstyles, a performance of the musical Hair by a community theater troupe in Apple Valley, Minnesota, and the crafting of violin bows from Chinese horsehair.
11	11	"The Play's the Thing"	June 15, 2001
Where do plays come from? How are they made? EGG asks an actor, a theater company and a playwright to explore the journey words take from the page to the stage. Bill Irwin creates a theater piece from Samuel Beckett's Texts for Nothing, a series of plotless ruminations on existence; the Tectonic Theater Company crafts interviews with residents of Laramie, Wyoming, into a play about the murder of Matthew Shepard; and August Wilson adds to his cycle of 10 plays that chronicle the African-American experience in the 20th century.
12	12	"Art: Who Needs It?"	June 22, 2001
This program demonstrates how the arts can enrich lives and change the way people think - and how art can be fun. Gene Pool's "can" suit is powerful enough to make even the grumpiest New Yorkers stop in their tracks, ponder and ...smile. Cornerstone Theater Company of Los Angeles takes theater to communities across the country - without a cast; community members become the performers. Four artists place their works on the streets. And Hawaiian steel guitar players, like the Campbell Brothers, move congregations with their sound and take their highly spirited and emotional music to secular audiences all over the country.
13	13	"Working Dancers"	June 29, 2001
Joy. Pain. Discipline. Sweat. EGG looks at the life of the working dancer, from the tenderfeet, new to the professional world, to company veterans; from classic ballerinas to modern dancers who push dance to a new level. The episode features a 72-person performance staged in New York's Grand Central station; Pilobolus, a modern dance company; the Oregon Ballet; and 62-year-old dancer Dudley Williams, a 35-year veteran of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
14	14	"The Body"	July 6, 2001
This program looks at the body as art's most classic and enduring subject.
15	15	"Space"	July 13, 2001
This episode looks at the ways artists have explored deep space while staying within Earth's atmosphere.
16	16	"Off the Charts"	July 20, 2001
This episode looks at music by gifted musicians who play for the thrill of it and to keep the music they love alive.
17	17	"Money, Greed, Power"	July 27, 2001
This episode explores the questions of how much money and power is enough, and why both are so addictive.
18	18	"Who Am I?"	August 24, 2001
This episode features the work of four photographers with vastly different approaches to demonstrate the unusual capacity of the lens to reveal identity.
19	19	"Machismo"	August 31, 2001
This episode explores what it means to be a macho man today.
20	20	"What is the Ideal Woman"	September 7, 2001
This episode looks at the experiences and expectations of women through the eyes of today's artists.
21	21	"Scrambled Eggs 2"	September 28, 2001
Highlights from past episodes are featured. Included: pinhole cameras; polka music from Pulaski, Wis.; Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist; sacred music played on Hawaiian steel guitar.
22	22	"Scrambled Eggs 3"	October 5, 2001
Showcasing the best of previous episodes, this program examines the human body as the subject of art, body adornment and butoh, Japan's dance of darkness.
23	23	"Scrambled Eggs 4"	October 12, 2001
“Scrambled Eggs 4,” a compilation of highlights from past episodes. Featured: bonsai; the New York Fringe Festival; artist Nancy Berson's “Human Race Machine” (video of faces morphing from one race to another); choreographer Ron Brown; violin-bow making; and filmmaker Craig Baldwin's collages.
24	24	"Scrambled Eggs 5"	October 19, 2001
“Scrambled Eggs 5,” a program featuring highlights from past episodes, features West Texas's Chianti Foundation, where large installations are on display; Los Angeles's Museum of Jurassic Technology (a mix of modern art and pop-culture artifacts); and Robert Pinsky's Favorite Poet Project.
25	25	"Let's Get Physical!"	November 2, 2001
“Let's Get Physical” explores the role of body parts in art. Included: a pianist's hands; the Alvin Ailey Dancers.
26	26	"Working Actors"	November 9, 2001
This episode follows three actors at different stages of their careers, each trying to tackle very different material.
27	27	"Meet the Micrecians"	November 16, 2001
This episode explore the micro-cinema movement -- showing small, independent films in alternative non-theatre venues -- and the unique vision of the filmmakers behind it.
28	28	"Paint by Numbers"	November 23, 2001
This episode explores how anyone can make art by setting the artist inside you free.
29	29	"Working Dancers 2"	November 30, 2001
This episode explores what it means to be a working dancer.
30	30	"The History of Sound, Part III"	January 18, 2002
Included: the Smithsonian's Folkways archive; Nepalese Tuva singers; Swiss composer (or “sound artist”) Christian Marclay; and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” composer Tan Dun.
31	31	"Kiss and Tell"	January 25, 2002
This episode explores what happens when artists share their private lives with the public.
32	32	"The Play's the Thing"	February 1, 2002
This episode puts the spotlight on theater with stories about playwrights at different "stages" of their careers.
33	33	"Men Have Feelings, Too"	February 8, 2002
This episode features various male artists attempting to explain why men act tough and have difficulty communicating their feelings.
34	34	"The Road"	February 15, 2002
This episode examines giant roadside sculpture, car design, the art of Ed Ruscha and grass-roots radio.
35	35	"A Day at the Met"	February 22, 2002
This episode celebrates the extraordinary Metropolitan Museum of Art and the importance and power of art.

Season 3 (2002-2003)

• Giving Up the Ghost (September 20, 2002)
• Eat Me (September 27, 2002)
• Freedom (October 4, 2002)
• Slippery When Wet (October 11, 2002)
• Family (October 18, 2002)
• The Mysteries of Life Explained to You (October 25, 2002)
• Inspiration (November 1, 2002)
• Gimme Shelter (November 8, 2002)
• The Voice (November 15, 2002)
• Jerry Stiller & Anne Meara: Jerry Needs a Hobby (January 10, 2003)
• Jerry Stiller & Anne Meara: Jerry Goes Macho (January 17, 2003)
• Jerry Stiller & Anne Meara: Jerry Feels Sad (January 24, 2003)
• Jack LaLanne's Dance Spectacular (January 31, 2003)
• EGG's Big Experiment (February 7, 2003)
• Best of Egg: Love, Fear, Hope and Dreams (February 14, 2003)
• EGG's Lucky Loyal Viewer Sweepstakes (February 21, 2003)
• The Spencer Kayden Show (February 28, 2003)
• When Good Puppets Go Bad (April 4, 2003)
• When Pad Puppets Apologize (April 11, 2003)
• Broadway Workshop (April 18, 2003)

Season 4 (2004)

• The Jesus, Buddha & Mohammed Show (February 13, 2004)

Season 5 (2005)

• Body Parts (December 2, 2005)

References

1. Peabody Award Archives

External links

• Official website
• Past episodes on Little Big Pictures