Great Books Season 3 Episodes

Episode 1

The Odyssey

Sat, Sep 14, 1996

This epic poem follows the Greek hero Odysseus on his journey home after the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War. Along the way, he encounters many obstacles including mythical creatures, divine beings, and natural disasters. Meanwhile, back in Ithaca, his wife Penelope and son Telemachus fend off suitors vying for Penelope's hand in marriage, believing Odysseus to be dead. The story concludes with Odysseus's return, his slaughter of the suitors, and his reunion with his family.

Episode 2

The Republic

Sat, Sep 14, 1996

The Republic has intrigued, provoked, appalled, and inspired readers since it was written in Athens 2,500 years ago. Its author, Plato, has been called the father of philosophy, the first fascist, a revolutionary, and the original idealist. The questions Plato first posed in this book of ideas address conflicts people continue to grapple with today.

Episode 3

The Scarlet Letter: A Romance

Sat, Sep 14, 1996

A look at "The Scarlet Letter," Nathaniel Hawthorne's tale of scandal, morality and hypocrisy in Puritan New England. Included: re-creations of the novel; the author's views on life and relationships; and comments from historians.

Episode 4

Moby-Dick

Sat, Sep 14, 1996

The most mysterious character in American literature may well be a great white whale. It represents what is at once beautiful, terrifying and incomprehensible in the universe. The story of an obsessed captain and his quest to hunt down and kill the great white whale has become part of our consciousness re-told in everything from comic books to Hollywood movies. It's a tall tale about pursuit into the unknown, a tale encompassing humankind's history on earth, and its struggle between reason and madness, good and evil.

Episode 5

The Prince

Sat, Sep 14, 1996

A look at Machiavelli's "The Prince" includes interviews with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former Sen. Gary Hart.

Episode 6

Native Son

Sat, Sep 14, 1996

This novel tells the story of Bigger Thomas, a young African-American man living in Chicago's South Side during the 1930s. Bigger's life takes a tragic turn when he accidentally kills a young white woman. The incident leads to his arrest and trial, revealing the deep-seated racial prejudices and injustices prevalent in American society at the time. The narrative explores themes of poverty, systemic racism, fear, and the effects of oppression.

Episode 7

Gulliver's Travels

Sun, Sep 15, 1996

Jonathan Swift's satirical masterwork Gulliver's Travels is much more than a children's classic. Seventeenth-century England was a country ripe with social ironies, and Swift plucked them all, placing them in a story alive with narrative drive. Discover the inner and outer worlds of Swift and how his prickly prose remains on target today.

Episode 8

Catch-22

Sun, Sep 15, 1996

Episode 9

The Interpretation of Dreams

Sun, Sep 15, 1996

Using a unique series of dream sequence reenactments based on Freud's revolutionary book, experts and artists escort viewers down the road of the unconscious and into a deeper understanding of the inner life of humans.