Meeting of Minds

I've only ever seen two or three episodes of this series, but they enthralled me. I only wish it were possible to buy them on DVD.

Who else but Steve Allen would conceive of a talk show that had Genghis Khan debating with Emily Dickinson? Pure genius! Highlights from the other episodes that I've caught featured:

* The Marquis De Sade giving a most wonderful soliloquy on the sadism of God -- to the booing of the audience.

* Gandhi debating with a woman (whose name I forget) on the value of birth control (Gandhi was very much against).

* There was an entire episode entirely about Shakespeare and his various characters, but it was IMHO, one of the weakest of the episodes.

I was first turned on to "Meeting of Minds" by my high school Humanities teacher during my senior year in 1977, the year it debuted. I'd had some interest in history and historical figures for a few years but NOTHING I'd ever seen before (or have seen since) brought history to life quite like this show. It's one thing to read about the likes of Socrates, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Jefferson, Karl Marx, Teddy Roosevelt, et al., but to actually see them as characters in a talk show/interview format was simply incredible. There has never been a TV program like this one.

It's borderline tragic that this series has never been issued in a DVD format because it's a terrific learning tool and if I was a history teacher, you'd better believe I would incorporate "Meeting of Minds" into my in-class curriculum). Thank goodness several episodes are viewable on YouTube, but it really deserves to be available as a set and I don't know why PBS or Steve Allen's estate (whoever owns the rights) has never issued a boxed set. Some things deserve to be considered beyond rights fees and this series is one of them.

If all the songs Steve Allen wrote are forgotten, if nobody remembers that it was he who invented the late night talk show, and if nothing else he did makes a difference, Meeting of Minds is the one thing Steve Allen should be remembered for. It is television at its best: entertaining, yet also intellectually stimulating and educational. It doesn't sacrifice entertainment for education, or education for entertainment: it combines the two in a way that creates a whole that is infinitely greater than the sum of the parts. It must never be forgotten.

I remember watching this show on PBS in the late '70s / early 80s. It is without doubt one of the most fascinating, educational, entertaining shows ever put on TV (I rank it with Carl Sagan's Cosmos).

I have volumes #1 - #4 on VHS; It was pure luck that I saw Steve Allen's office address in a magazine in the 80s. I wrote to him and his assistant responded with an order form for the tapes. Although approx. $15 / tape, I could only afford those 4 volumes (I often kick myself for not grabbing the entire series).

I certainly will vote on the website to request they be released on DVD. They should be required viewing in all high schools / colleges. What a shame that shows of this caliber are so rare.

if only this show was available for purchase. i was an avid viewer when i was in junior high. the "interviews" with historical figures were a real impetus for me to learn more about these people. steve allen's manner of chatting and questioning had the viewer forgetting these were actors dressed like paganini or voltaire. in the same manner that someone might see a musical artist on some TV show today and buy their cd, i was watching this show and then going to the library to check out books and records. i am a bertrand russell fan to this day. i believe schools could benefit from owning copies of these shows and incorporating them into their curriculum. totally engrossing.