List of This American Life (TV Series) Episodes - Season One (2007)

Season One (2007)

These six episodes aired on Showtime in March and April 2007. Episodes were available for free streaming following the broadcast. Showtime announced on April 16, 2007 that the series would return in 2008 for a second season with six more episodes. The production staff ended the series after two seasons, citing the cost of producing the program.

101	"Reality Check"	March 22, 2007 (2007-03-22)
Plans that started out as a good idea or a dream come true, but turn sour: the unpleasant experience known as a "reality check". All of the stories had been aired previously on the radio show, but were developed into film for the TV series. Prologue: Pee Girl — Heather McElhatton Act I. If by Chance We Meet Again — Jane Feltes/Ira Glass (originally from radio episode #291) Ralph and Sandra Fisher's gentle and beloved Brahman bull "Chance" was nearing the end of his long life. The Fishers couldn't bear to live without Chance, so they asked researchers at Texas A&M University to clone him—the result being the first ever bull clone, whom they dub "Second Chance". But Second Chance is not as gentle as his namesake. Act II. The Spy Who Loved Everyone – Jorge Just (originally from radio episode #286) The flash mob group Improv Everywhere decides to give Vermont band Ghosts of Pasha their "Best Gig Ever" and pack a small club posing as highly devoted fans. But when the band realizes it was a prank, the effect is devastating.

101

"Reality Check"

March 22, 2007 (2007-03-22)

Plans that started out as a good idea or a dream come true, but turn sour: the unpleasant experience known as a "reality check". All of the stories had been aired previously on the radio show, but were developed into film for the TV series.

Prologue: Pee Girl — Heather McElhatton
Act I. If by Chance We Meet Again — Jane Feltes/Ira Glass (originally from radio episode #291)
- Ralph and Sandra Fisher's gentle and beloved Brahman bull "Chance" was nearing the end of his long life. The Fishers couldn't bear to live without Chance, so they asked researchers at Texas A&M University to clone him—the result being the first ever bull clone, whom they dub "Second Chance". But Second Chance is not as gentle as his namesake.
Act II. The Spy Who Loved Everyone – Jorge Just (originally from radio episode #286)
- The flash mob group Improv Everywhere decides to give Vermont band Ghosts of Pasha their "Best Gig Ever" and pack a small club posing as highly devoted fans. But when the band realizes it was a prank, the effect is devastating.

102	"My Way"	March 29, 2007 (2007-03-29)
An exploration of the benefits and costs of stubbornness. Prologue: Side by Side – Ira Glass interviews Larry Wegielski, a man who spends several hours a day with his wife, in the family mausoleum. Act I. Untitled — Ira Glass Joe Kendrick, age 14, doesn't want to fall in love. Thus, he has chosen to never fall in love. Act II. And Nothing but the Truth – Nazanin Rafsanjani Dr. Brad Blanton ran for Congress in 2006 under a platform of Radical Honesty, i.e. refusing to lie. Act III. Still Life – Josh Seftel (part of his upcoming documentary feature) Photographer Marcus Halevi discusses a sequence of tragic photos he took that led him to change his career path.

102

"My Way"

March 29, 2007 (2007-03-29)

An exploration of the benefits and costs of stubbornness.

Prologue: Side by Side – Ira Glass interviews Larry Wegielski, a man who spends several hours a day with his wife, in the family mausoleum.
Act I. Untitled — Ira Glass
- Joe Kendrick, age 14, doesn't want to fall in love. Thus, he has chosen to never fall in love.
Act II. And Nothing but the Truth – Nazanin Rafsanjani
- Dr. Brad Blanton ran for Congress in 2006 under a platform of Radical Honesty, i.e. refusing to lie.
Act III. Still Life – Josh Seftel (part of his upcoming documentary feature)
- Photographer Marcus Halevi discusses a sequence of tragic photos he took that led him to change his career path.

103	"God's Close-Up"	April 5, 2007 (2007-04-05)
Stories where the faithful and the not-so-faithful cross paths, and where unexpected things happen when people try to get closer to God through pictures: hundreds of Polaroid camera-toting believers gather in the Mojave Desert each month hoping to see God. And an artist, his Jesus model, the model's atheist girlfriend, and her religious father face off over The Last Supper.
104	"The Cameraman"	April 12, 2007 (2007-04-12)
Stories of how people act differently behind the camera can change a person, even if the camera isn't real. Prologue: Untitled – Cartoonist Chris Ware illustrates a story of an elementary school art project and how a camera, even though it wasn't real, changed the way kids acted Act 1. The Cameraman G. J. Echternkamp makes a documentary of his family life in order to humiliate his parents (particularly his step-father, who was the bass player for the 1980s pop band OXO) for all the trouble they caused him. However, while doing this, he uncovers another side of his parents.

105	"Growth Spurt"	April 19, 2007 (2007-04-19)
What do you do if you don't like where you are in life? You simply decide to move forward into the next stage by sheer force of will. A widow; an ambitious, first-time screenwriter; and a 13-year-old girl all charge forward into their futures with uneven results. The first-time filmmaker is screenwriter Susan Knode, who produced her short "Bandida" with help from her cohort at the Burbank Senior Arts Colony.
106	"Pandora's Box"	April 26, 2007 (2007-04-26)
Three stories of consequences that follow from human beings doing what we do best: poking our noses everywhere, fixing things that may or may not be broken, and opening our big mouths. A hot dog stand in Chicago unleashes dark forces in the human soul and scientists try, unsuccessfully, to create perfect pigs.

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