The Carpenters Legacy Lives On...

The Carpenters TV Documentaries:

Here we take a closer look at some selected TV show documentaries that profiled the Carpenters.

Please note, as far as I know most of these Carpenters TV shows have never been officially released to the general public either on video or on DVD. The only way to see some of these Carpenters Television show documentaries, is to trade with individuals who have some home recordings of them.

As many of you know, you can sometimes purchase "bootleg" copies of these Carpenters TV Shows and documentaries from places like eBay, but technically they're not legal. I'm hoping, like many of you, that over time, more of these TV documentary shows will be released to the general public either on video or DVD. So many other wonderful "classic" TV shows and documentaries are being released all the time. So there's always hope.

Close To You: Remembering The Carpenters
1997

In my opinion this is the best TV show documentary ever made about the Carpenters. I have to admit I'm a bit biased because it was this documentary that rekindled my appreciation for the Carpenters music. It also rekindled an appreciation and caring for Both Richard and Karen Carpenter as individuals and thus, was an inspiration for this very website. Watching this documentary was literally the first time that I can recall actually seeing Richard and Karen Carpenter on TV. I knew thier wonderful music and album covers, but to finally match a "live-action" face to the great songs was really special. I like the fact that this documentary showcases many of the Carpenters songs by playing a generous amount of each song for the TV audience. This helps someone, who has never heard of the Carpenters, get a real sense for their music. Most Carpenters documentaries play very little of the Carpenters music. This documentary includes interview segments with Herb Alpert, Paul Williams, Petula Clark, and many others. It's also wonderful to just listen to Richard Carpenter tell a lot of the story behind "The Carpenters". I'm so glad that you can "officially" get this documentary on VHS or DVD. If I could only choose one Carpenters documentary to get, it would be this one.

VH1: Carpenters - Behind The Music
1998

The VH1 Behind the Music documentary about the Carpenters is actually pretty good. I think I originally expected more of a negative "tabloid-like" presentation from VH1, but it's actually done in a fairly straight-forward way. Richard Carpenter is interviewed, and gives the show a nice "moral base" for the entire documentary. Olivia Newton-John, Herb Alpert and others are interviewed. It's nice to see them talk about their friendship and relationship with the Carpenters. We also get to see Richard's children learning how to play the piano and sing. I don't think you can actually purchase this VH1 Carpenters documentary on video, but it is good enough to be on VHS or DVD.

A&E Biography: The Carpenters: Harmony And Heartbreak
1998

In my opinion the A&E Biography is just slightly "tabloidish" for my taste. Not that it's a bad documentary, it's a good TV show documentary, it just has a few moments that hype the "problems" & "tragedies" of the Carpenters. But overall, it's not too bad. Richard Carpenter also appears in this documentary. I do like the the fact that the biography in this show talks a bit about Richard and Karen Carpenter's parents and grandparents. For some strange reason this Carpenters documentary can't be bought from A&E's Biography website, while you can purchase just about every other A&E Biography TV show ever made - very strange.

The Carpenters Television:

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