Pledge unit-of-time-of-unspecified-length

So, our PBS station finally wrapped up its latest pledge drive yesterday. Here's how the local newspaper's TV guide describes PBS pledge drive programming: "Acclaimed programming highlights a membership drive encouraging viewer support." Here's how I describe it: "We're going to keep showing the same interminable specials starring Andre Rieu, Rick Steves, and/or Celtic Woman, along with the same informercials by Dr. Wayne Dyer and Suze Orman, that we've been showing on pledge drives for the last decade and hold all the regular programming you actually watch hostage until you send us money."

I have to admit, I have fond memories from childhood of OETA's Festival, with B.J. Wexler and Richard Allen, or whatever the station director's name was, in tuxedos and asking for money. But back then, it was once a year and lasted like a week. Two weeks, tops. Now it seems like it's quarterly, and it goes on all month. And they take off all the kids' educational programming all afternoon to show the aforementioned Andre Rieu and Dr. Wayne Dyer, not to mention pre-empting "Keeping Up Appearances" in order to show "Behind the Scenes of British Comedy," you know, instead of actually showing British comedy. If it was once, fine, it's a special. The third or fourth time through in a month, it's just extortion.

The one bright spot this time around was the 25th anniversary concert of Les Miserables. Seeing it on the schedule, I didn't really register the number and assumed it was the 10th anniversary concert again, which is extremely well-done but, once again, seen it a million times. I accidentally flipped to it a few weeks ago and thought, "Wait, that looks like a different Valjean -- and I know the old Javert wasn't black!" So Faith and I sat down and watched some of it. The new Valjean was excellent, but the new Thenardier doesn't hold a candle to Alun Armstrong and one of the Jonas Brothers was pathetically out of his depths as Marius. Faith loved it and wants to go see it next time a tour comes through; Eric thought it was too long.