GBH Openvault

New Television; New Television, Episode 409; Ballplayer

Part of New Television Workshop.

In Chip Lord's "Ballplayer" Richard Marcus delivers a stark monologue about the disintegration of a relationship and his interest in baseball. Marcus describes how an unnamed woman met his plane at the San Francisco airport and told him, "I'm seeing someone else. " He describes his reactions and his (not unrelated) interest in the upcoming baseball season. Marcus discusses the loyalties fans have for the sport and for particular teams, even as players move from club to club and teams move from city to city. He recounts his participation in a pick-up game and a big play he makes to win the game. "On the strength of that catch, I'm a ballplayer again, " he tells us. Except for headshots of Richard Marcus, there is little peripheral footage. Scenes from the San Francisco airport precede his monologue, and images and sounds of a baseball stadium bring the piece to a close. In this short excerpt, Chip Lord reminisces about the big play he makes to win the game, and his miraculous catch. Approximate date: 1986

Series

New Television

Program

New Television, Episode 409

Program Number

409

Title

Ballplayer

Series Description

"New Television" began as a local pilot production of WNET (New York) in 1986. In 1987, WGBH signed on as co-producer, and the shows were aired in Boston and New York. In 1988 and 1989, KCET (Los Angeles) and WETA (D.C.) became producers in association. In 1991, PBS picked up "New Television," and it was broadcast nationally. The following year, the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, replaced WNET, WETA, and KCET as co-producer with WGBH. In 1993, WGBH ceased to be a co-producer for the series, and the "home base" moved to Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) in Hartford, CT.

"New Television" commissioned, produced, and acquired programming. In its early years, "New Television" broadcast works commissioned by The Contemporary Art Television (CAT) Fund. Increasingly, experimental films as well as video works were broadcast as a part of this series. Many of the later episodes of "New Television" contain works that play with and deconstruct the documentary genre. Series release date: 1986

Program Description

Contains Chip Lord’s “Ballplayer,” a monologue-based work with Richard Marcus, and “Dancers, Buildings, and People in the Street,” a video dance homage to critic Edwin Denby by Rudy Burckhardt with choreographer Douglas Dunn.

Asset Type

Clip

Media Type

Video

Subjects

Baseball

Marcus, Richard

Lord, Chip

Interpersonal relations

Topics

Film and Television

Publication Information

WGBH Educational Foundation

Citation

Chicago: “New Television; New Television, Episode 409; Ballplayer,” GBH Archives, accessed April 16, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_E508719CE74843849BD87505154CF464.

MLA: “New Television; New Television, Episode 409; Ballplayer.” GBH Archives. Web. April 16, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_E508719CE74843849BD87505154CF464>.

APA: New Television; New Television, Episode 409; Ballplayer. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_E508719CE74843849BD87505154CF464