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Jean Shepherd's America

DocumentaryComedy

In these humorous and affectionate television poems, humorist Jean Shepherd celebrates America in all its richness and diversity -- from cars to candy, baseball to beer, motels to money. Each week a different aspect of our national psyche is explored as Shepherd travels to the Okefenokee Swamp, Death Valley, Milwaukee, the Old South, and other far-flung locations -- using the PCP-90 portable camera.

Apr 11, 19712 seasons23 episodesEndedEN

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Jean Shepherd

Self - Host

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Seasons

Season 1

13 episodes

Premiered Apr 11, 1971

Season 2

10 episodes

Premiered Apr 16, 1985

Episodes

1–6 of 13

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Ep 1

The Phantom of the Open Hearth Lives -- Somewhere in Indiana

Apr 11, 1971

29m

Shep recalls the sights, sounds, and experiences of working in a steel mill at age 17, as the operations of a contemporary steel mill play out on screen.

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Ep 2

...One Man's Version of Heaven Is a Super Howard Johnson's with 28 Flavors and No Lines for the Rest Room

Apr 18, 1971

29m

Shep loses his bait but comes up with some tall tales on a fishing trip in Maine's backwaters on the banks of the Kennebec River, with a stop at the Skowhegan County Fair to meet Bob, champion horse weight-puller.

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Ep 3

...The End of an Era -- Riding the 'City of Los Angeles' on Its Last Journey Across the American West

Apr 25, 1971

29m

While rumbling across Wyoming aboard a Union Pacific railroad car, Shep recalls a previous trip during his World War II Army days when he pulled KP duty on a troop train.

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Ep 4

A Bunch of the Boys Were Whooping It Up at the Malamute Saloon

May 2, 1971

29m

Recalling the origins of his interest in Alaska in the second grade, Shep journeys through the Alaskan frontier exploring the captivating landscape, the sights and sounds of an Eskimo village, and the pervading silence.

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Ep 5

There's More to Life Than a Hostess Twinkie

May 9, 1971

29m

While he cracks lobster claws, Shep cracks jokes and stories about his crazy love affair with all manner of delicacies, from rainbow trout to pecan pie.

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Ep 6

And the Bad Guys Are Back on the Shore, Shaking Their Fists

May 16, 1971

29m

Recalling a comic-strip from his boyhood in which the hero escapes on a houseboat from the pursuing villains, Shep takes the helm of a houseboat and contemplates a nomadic life at sea.

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