PBS show looks at life from all sides

NEW YORK -- Right on cue, "Life 360" has arrived as a weekly magazine series exploring the human condition in imaginative ways.

You could set your watch to it (well, sort of): Every decade or two, public television introduces such a series, which wins critical praise and even a loyal audience, then abruptly disappears. "The Great American Dream Machine" was an innovative hodgepodge of interviews, filmed segments and satirical features whose contributors during its brief 1971-72 run included Chevy Chase and Andy Rooney.

Then in 1992, PBS unveiled "Edge," a droll, quirky and critically acclaimed pop-culture hour that was yanked after a handful of episodes.

Now, let us hope for better with "Life 360," which makes its third appearance at 8 p.m. Friday on most PBS stations.

"Life 360" co-exists with a like-minded series, "EGG," which calls itself an "arts news digest" and premiered on PBS in January. Both are welcome departures from the traditional public television recipe of British costume dramas, nature specials and pledge-month concerts by John Tesh.

So far, no glimpse of Tesh on "Life 360," whose weekly mission is "to look at one issue or topic or idea by applying all the different artistic and journalistic tools," explains executive producer Janet Tobias. "This allows you to have fun and be amused, but also to probe deeply, and be surprised."

Stories the heart of show

Future topics include "Leaving Home," "Bridges," "Flying" and "Owning Up."

But the overarching idea for "Life 360" is storytelling.

Last week's program (theme: "A Place in Time") profiled 14-year-old Wendy Osborn, who, a dozen years ago, vanished on her way to school. This poignant story was produced by filmmaker Kelly St. John, another kidnap victim of Wendy's murderer.

"Fate works in its own mysterious way, its twists and turns echoing through our lives," continued "Life 360" host Michel Martin as she turned to a romance about the clock in the lobby of Manhattan's Biltmore Hotel.

The Biltmore is gone, but writer Ron Suskind established that the famous clock (under which guys and gals, including his future in-laws, rendezvoused a half-century ago) remains. And keeping good time.

In the show's cabaret setting, "Late for Your Life" was performed live by singer Mary Chapin Carpenter. Then in a monologue, Margaret Cho observed that "circles are all around us, they're who we are, they're inescapable, and they are very hard to draw ... without a compass."

The hour concluded with Kronos String Quartet performing a requiem for those lost in the Sept. 11 attack on America.

Timely and timeless

As with other episodes, last week's area of inquiry (why do things happen, and to some people but not to others?) was decided months ago. But on Sept. 11, it gained urgency.

"We see 'Life 360' as a blend of timeliness and timelessness that speaks to fundamental human meanings," said Tobias, adding, "After Sept. 11, I think there's a more fundamental hunger for meaning than there was before."

Although the tone of last week's "Life 360" was subdued, that's not always the case.

A whimsical report revealed that viewers have likely inhaled a few of the several trillion molecules Julius Caesar exhaled in his dying breath 2045 years ago.

"We are all connected across time," declared Robert Krulwich. "What THEY breathe out, YOU breathe in."