Nam June Paik’s Electronic Opera no. 1 first aired in 1969 as part of The Medium is the Medium, a special “artist transmission” commissioned by WGBH-Boston featuring experimental segments by Paik and artists Allan Kaprow, Otto Piene, James Seawright, Thomas Tadlock, and Aldo Tambellini. Set to classical music and featuring “hippies,” a dancing model, and national political figures, Paik’s five-minute contribution is a form of what he called “participation television.” Here, he instructs you — his audience — to open or close your eyes while the hallucinatory images swirl and twist into frame. The original premiere marked Paik’s first foray into television broadcast and remains an early and ironic example of his ambition to turn inherently passive viewers into active and integral participants.

Nam June Paik’s Electronic Opera no. 1 first aired in 1969 as part of The Medium is the Medium, a special “artist transmission” commissioned by WGBH-Boston featuring experimental segments by Paik and artists Allan Kaprow, Otto Piene, James Seawright, Thomas Tadlock, and Aldo Tambellini. Set to classical music and featuring “hippies,” a dancing model, and national political figures, Paik’s five-minute contribution is a form of what he called “participation television.” Here, he instructs you — his audience — to open or close your eyes while the hallucinatory images swirl and twist into frame. The original premiere marked Paik’s first foray into television broadcast and remains an early and ironic example of his ambition to turn inherently passive viewers into active and integral participants.
1969-03-23
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Nam June Paik
7.0Canadian acting legend William Shatner takes viewers inside the creation of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the bold attempt in 1986 to recreate the success of the original television series, in which Shatner played Captain James T. Kirk.
5.9After her boyfriend ends their relationship, the dreamself of a heartbroken woman floats through the air over an industrial wasteland singing ballads of love.
6.9A teacher conducts an experiment in an American high school where students learn how easy it is to be seduced by the same social forces which led to the horrors of Nazi Germany.
6.6This film follows the remarkable and inspirational true story of Paul Potts, a shy, bullied shop assistant by day and an amateur opera singer by night.
7.2The history and adventures of the Battlestar Pegasus, from shortly before the Cylon invasion to shortly after Lee Adama is made commander. The story is told through the eyes of and largely focuses on one particular member of Pegasus's crew, Kendra Shaw.
7.2A melancholy poet reflects on three women he loved and lost in the past: a mechanical performing doll, a Venetian courtesan, and the consumptive daughter of a celebrated composer.
6.4Denise Crosby takes a first look at the huge fans of "Star Trek" from around America and how the series has affected and shaped their lives.
7.0Controversy and legal problems follow Dr. Jack Kevorkian as he advocates assisted suicide.
7.2Phineas and Ferb become the galaxy's unlikeliest last hope when they must return the Death Star plans to the Rebel Alliance.
7.3An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.
7.4The Marx Brothers take on high society and the opera world to bring two lovers together. A sly business manager and two wacky friends of two opera singers help them achieve success while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.
7.0A documentary exploring the legacy of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the reasons it went from the black sheep of Star Trek to a beloved mainstay of the franchise, and a brainstorm with the original writers on what a theoretical eighth season of the show could look like.
6.8An obscure Eastern cult that practices human sacrifice pursues Ringo after he unknowingly puts on a ceremonial ring (that, of course, won't come off). On top of that, a pair of mad scientists, members of Scotland Yard, and a beautiful but dead-eyed assassin all have their own plans for the Fab Four.
6.420 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control.
6.4People in the future live in a totalitarian society. A technician named THX 1138 lives a mundane life between work and taking a controlled consumption of drugs that the government uses to make puppets out of people. As THX is without drugs for the first time he has feelings for a woman and they start a secret relationship.
6.0With his partner, a celebrity performance artist publicly showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances. An investigator from the National Organ Registry obsessively tracks their movements, which is when a mysterious group is revealed... Their mission — to use the artist's notoriety to shed light on the next phase of human evolution.
6.9During the Republican run of the 2008 Presidential election, candidate John McCain picks a relative unknown, Alaskan governor Sarah Palin, to be his running mate. As the campaign kicks into high gear, her lack of experience, in both political and media savvy, becomes a drain upon McCain and his strategists.
6.6In 1960s China, French diplomat Rene Gallimard falls in love with an opera singer, Song Liling – but Song is not at all who Gallimard thinks.
6.1Lee Ray Oliver, a death row inmate, is given a second chance at life if he agrees to undergo a new chemical treatment used to modify behavior.