PBS plans to air Ian McKellen's "King Lear" on "Great Performances" sometime next year, but if you're expecting to see the full frontal nudity that was apparently a memorable part of Sir Ian's performance, you'll just have to wait and see.
Or not.
PBS president Paula Kerger, who saw McKellen in the play's limited run in New York, said she urged "Great Performances to film it upon its return to London.
She didn't seem interested in committing publicly to the nudity, one way or another.
As Kerger tried to avoid a definitive response to a reporter's question about whether we'd be seeing the full McKellen onscreen, another reporter, a a woman who generally maintains strict radio silence during these press conferences, could be heard crying, "Say yes!"
"I haven't seen the taped version yet," Kerger said. "Let's talk about this in January," when she's next scheduled to meet with members of the Television Critics Association.
You can't just sweep something like this under the rug, though. Not with a roomful of reporters typing away on their blogs.
Asked how she'd responded to McKellen's nude scene personally, she finally replied, "Me, personally? It's powerful."
But she also pointed out: "It's about what I think about it and what the FCC will think."
On a less racy note, Kerger also announced Ken Burns' next project, one that's unlikely to present the Federal Communications Commission issues raised by the very occasional profanity in "The War."
"The National Parks: America's Best Idea," a six-part series, will air in the fall of 2009, Kerger said.
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