Rick Sebak

People love going to the beach for lots of different reasons. The sun. The sand. The salt-water taffy. In this slightly wacky documentary, we consider all kinds of things that draw people to the coast: board walks, seafood, lifeguards, even metal-detectors and roller skates. From Nantucket to Venice Beach, people relax and bounce in the waves. From the Outer Banks to Oahu, beachgoers bring along their fishing gear and hope to catch some dinner.

This documentary explores the wonders of downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Rick Sebak narrates while you are taken on a nostalgic journey through downtown Pittsburgh's rich history as a bustling American urban center. The film explores downtown Pittsburgh's culture, history, architecture, and secrets. With new and archival footage.

A documentary profiling cemeteries and cemetery-related businesses and events across the United States.

Enjoy an all-American celebration of what may be the country's most popular fast food. From Connecticut to South Carolina to California, Rick Sebak visits some of the nation's coolest hot dog places, taking viewers inside a giant hot dog-shaped building, stopping at some crazy late-night stands, and looking at how hot dogs are made. Wonder how and when hot dogs became so popular-or what toppings are tops these days? Tune in and find out.

Ever wonder what's below the surface of western Pennsylvania? Come for a hike into Laurel Caverns, investigate the fabled Fourth River, visit the Bug Rooms at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and zip through several tunnels around here. We ride the T, look under the Dormont Pool, and descend into several basements (including two at Marshall Elevator!) We consider a Pittsburgh potty and follow the sewer to ALCOSAN. You can watch the harvest at Creekside Mushrooms, see some of what's stored at Iron Mountain, and go 600 feet down to meet the coal miners at CONSOL's Bailey Mine in Greene County, among other things. Watch this one on your basement TV.

Maybe it's Pittsburgh's chipped-beef "Slammer" you're craving. Or Iowa's Maid Rite "loosemeat"? Louisville's "Hot Brown"? Escape fast-food sameness on a mouth-watering tour through America's distinctive sandwich landscape. Let veteran guide Rick Sebak (A Hot Dog Program, An Ice Cream Show) take you across the country to New Orleans for muffaletta, to Chicago for Italian beef, and New York City for pastrami on rye.

"Colonel" Elliott White Springs spearheaded an innovative ad campaign to sell bed sheets that changed the approach of the country's advertising industry. He began acquiring and commissioning artwork depicting attractive young women as "Springmaids." He copiously employed sexual innuendo in his ad copy. Many were outraged by his approach, but there was convincing proof that "sex sells."

Examines the history and culture of Shag, an official state dance.

Mmm, smell the bacon! Order the grits with red-eye gravy! Get the lobster hash! Try the veggie omelet! Part food show and part travelogue, Breakfast Special 2: Revenge of the Omelets is another celebration of getting up and going out for a memorable morning meal. Visit a diner in Connecticut, admire homemade biscuits in North Carolina, and savor some big pancakes in Pittsburgh. Along the way we find seaside specialties in New Hampshire, duck breast in Philadelphia, and salmon cakes in Detroit. On the Big Island of Hawaii, we sample loco moco, Portuguese donuts and scrumptious variations on all of the above! Cooks, servers, and regulars all across America share their love and loyalty for our most important meal of the day.

Happy Holidays in Pittsburgh looks at some of the things that make the end of the year and the start of the new one special times in Western Pennsylvania. It's a joyous, light-filled celebration of hometown happiness.

Whether you've walked its neighborhoods, driven around its streets, hiked and biked through its surrounding mountains and valleys, or watched out the plane window enroute to Pittsburgh International Airport, you have never experienced Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania like you will in Pittsburgh from the Air. Using the latest technology in HD aerial photography, this WQED Multimedia production takes you up in the air -- over neighborhoods, rivers and forests, inside the exploding spectacle of July 4th fireworks - to capture stunning aerial views of one of America's most vibrant regions. This is Western Pennsylvania at work and play -- in its glorious green seasons and in the cold, crystalline beauty of winter light. This is Pittsburgh from the Air.

A Flea Market Documentary is a new PBS special and an all-American celebration of open-air shopping across the country. On any weekend, there may be no better place to find out what makes America great than at a flea market. A Flea Market Documentary is an unabashed celebration of the unusual people and the enticing things that can be found in parking lots, fairgrounds, drive-ins, sidewalks, and wherever else someone has posted a sign saying "Flea Market." It's capitalism mixed with craziness. It's amazing old stuff, great salespeople, the ancient tradition of the open-air market, and the possibility of finding a bargain, all uniting shoppers across the nation. Produced by WQED Pittsburgh, A Flea Market Documentary travels from the gigantic Rose Bowl Market in Pasadena, California, to the busy but modest- sized Eastern Market in Washington, DC, talking with organizers, vendors, food merchants and shoppers.

This documentary from PBS travels throughout America in search of the best breakfast places the country has to offer. Along the way, the patrons, employees, and owners of such establishments give their take on what makes for great breakfast fare, and what keeps a customer coming back for more.

Writer, producer, puppeteer, songwriter--America's Favorite Neighbor takes a thorough look at the career of legendary children's television host Fred Rogers. Produced for Pittsburgh's WQED, this informative documentary tracks his rise as floor manager for various NBC programs, such as Your Hit Parade, to the major awards he received later in life, such as the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Along the way, he's seen launching public TV programs The Children's Corner, which featured a soon-to-be-famous puppet named King Friday, and Canada's MisteRogers. The latter, naturally, was followed by Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, which made its national debut in 1968, and would eventually became the longest running program in PBS history. Hosted by fellow Pennsylvania native Michael Keaton (Batman), who worked on his show in the early days, America's Favorite Neighbor is suitable for all ages, but is geared more towards adults, particularly parents and educators.

Looking in other people’s houses can be fun. And in southwestern Pennsylvania, it doesn’t matter if you live in a city neighborhood like Friendship or in rural Washington County, you can find wonderful houses not far away that reveal much about the history, the culture and the people in this comfy corner of the state.

Bakeries are popular places. They smell great. They are full of wonderful things to eat, from crusty breads to gooey and sweet treats. And they often become neighborhood meeting places, where bakers work hard and where people often leave with good feelings as well as fresh baked goods. In this documentary, we celebrate A Few Great Bakeries across America, never claiming that this is a list of "Best Bakeries" but rather just a few warm ones worth checking out. All of these places seem connected by early mornings, long hours of hard work, delicious products and customers who love them. We happily celebrate these few bakeries and hope that everyone will be inspired to look for more great ones all across America.

In an age when every fast food place seems the same, diners have remained distinctive, fun places to stop, full of local flavor. This program takes a look at several of the most interesting diners in Pennsylvania, and also considers a few other roadside restaurants (like Midway Plaza on the Pennsylvania Turnpike) that have interesting histories and reputations for good “home-cooked” food. So get a cup of coffee. Have a seat. And come along as we visit great little restaurants from Wellsboro to Downingtown, from Milford to Conneaut Lake. Let’s go to Potato City, to the Melrose in Philly and to unforgettable little places from Pittsburgh to Poconos. Whether it’s the middle of the night in State College or lunchtime in Smethport, this documentary gives you an unusual taste of Pennsylvania and some of its quirkier cuisine.

Everybody loves ice cream. It’s cool, sweet and delicious. It’s also the tantalizing topic of this happy documentary program that takes viewers to ice cream places across America from Vermont to Hawaii, highlighting outstanding places to get a cone or a bowl. An Ice Cream Show features mostly small ice cream lovers – from makers and eaters to collectors and cone-makers.

Covering everything from the Spoleto Festival to Vegemite, the team led by Host and Producer Rick Sebak experienced Melbourne, Australia. They also make stops at Port Fairy in Victoria, and in Hamilton near the Grampian mountains where they met emus, kangaroos, and koalas. The crew returned to Melbourne to film the rest of the Spoleto festival and interview festival founder, Gian Carlo Menotti.

It’s roller coasters! French fries! And lots of good times! It’s a high-flying, double dipped, screeching, squealing, scream-your-eyes-out documentary about one of America’s greatest amusement parks, Kennywood!