She Likes to Watch

Central Coast history buffs, rejoice!

Tonight, the PBS show “History Detectives” airs a segment filmed in Grover Beach in March.

As first reported in The Tribune, a crew from the show “History Detectives” came here March 14 to investigate an aluminum Airstream trailer that has been at a Le Sage Riviera Mobile Home Park property since 1968.

Owners Doug and Suzy Carr called the show to try to determine whether their trailer was one of 41 that Airstream Inc. founder Wally Byam led on a 221-day, 14,307-mile trek from Cape Town, South Africa, to Cairo, Egypt, in 1959.

“A neighbor told us one day that our Airstream might be famous,” Suzy Carr told the Tribune in March. “So we started researching it ourselves. But that only took us so far.”

“History Detective producers say they were able determine whether the local trailer was part of the caravan. They’re not spilling the beans, however, until the show airs.

Tune in tonight at 9 p.m. for an all-new episode of “History Detectives” on KCET, Channel 8.

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Speaking of history, I just finished watching HBO’s “John Adams.”

Starting Paul Giamatti as the title Founding Father, this well-crafted miniseries sheds new light on the genius and integrity of our nation’s first statesmen — while highlighting the countless hardships of life in colonial America.

It also serves to vindicate the memory of Adams, a dedicated public servant who served as a Massachusetts congressman, ambassador to France, the Netherlands and Great Britain, vice president and president.

It’s a pity that America’s second Commander-in-Chief never gained the popularity of contemporaries Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson or George Washington. If this miniseries — which was co-written by historian and Adams biographer David McCullough — is any indication, he was their equal in wit and tenacity.

That said, “John Adams” does not shy away from its subjects’ human side.

Adams frequently comes across as stubborn and bad-tempered.

He spends years away from his wife and children, letting his long-suffering wife, Abigail, cope with sickness and poverty on her own. And he regularly feuds with colleagues and friends.

At the same time, his deep love and respect comes through in his relationships with Abigail (played capably by Laura Linney) and fellow statesman Thomas Jefferson (British actor Stephen Dillane).

“John Adams” is at once a moving portrait of a man and his friends, and a believable, painstakingly accurate depiction of one of our nation’s most turbulent eras.

Catch the show that’s been nominated for five Emmy Awards. It’s available on video right now.

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Tribune photo by David Middlecamp.