Airing on Cox Cable in 2001-2002. Thhis show is no longer on cable, and we would like to thank our former viewers for their support! THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Sunday, February 4, 2001
Byline: With an office above Pacific Coast Highway and a back yard where Capistrano
swallows chatter and swoop low overhead, Christina Duane says she is
constantly faced with images of Orange County.
Last week, television viewers in 25 Orange County cities got a chance to
see them, too, with the debut of Duane's ``The Gold Coast,'' a 30-minute Cox
Cable program focused on county history and culture.
``There's no place better than this,'' said Duane, nodding toward the view
of Dana Point through her office window.
``I want people to celebrate the blessing of living here. That's the bottom
line.''
Duane said she thinks the show will appeal to adults who have lived in
Orange County or are interested in its culture and compared it with
documentaries seen on PBS and the Discovery Channel.
A new episode of ``The Gold Coast''
will air on Cox Cable Channels 31 and 96 each month. The first show features
the House of Photographic Arts in San Juan Capistrano, where director
Maryanne Charis and host tour the 2-year-old gallery's Marilyn Monroe
exhibit.
Charis said she hopes the show will spark interest in the $2 million
photograph collection and entice curious residents to the county's southern
cities.
``San Juan Capistrano seems like it's the edge of the world to a lot of
people, but really it's just down the street,'' she said.
Duane said the House of Photographic Arts isn't the only place residents
and visitors tend to miss and plans to highlight others.
``People perceive California as a crowded Mecca of entertainment, beaches
and surfing,'' Duane said. ``People aren't as aware of the little hidden
places in Orange County. You have to seek them out.''
Some of those places include the Ocean Institute in Dana Point and the
Orange County Bird of Prey Center in Lake Forest, to be featured this year,
she said.
But audiences should also get a sense of the region's history, and that
means visits to better-known locales, Duane said.
``You feel more of a connection with the past,'' she said. ``It makes your
California identity more rooted.''
EXPLORING SOUTH COUNTY
Mission San Juan Capistrano will be the focus of next month's show, in
which Duane will discuss the mission's history along with current happenings,
like the Fiesta Parade.
She said she is especially excited about a segment on the swallows that
will offer up-close shots of nesting grounds.
Public television's Huell Howser has secured similar footage for use on his
well-known California-themed show, she said.
About 500,000 people travel to the mission every year, but Tammye Dunn, of
the visitors center, said too many people take it for granted.
She said she hopes the new show will excite interest in the mission's
history and significance.
``We want people to recognize the mission as the birthplace of Orange
County,'' Dunn said. ``We're hoping for more exposure.''
Besides a history lesson, Duane said she thinks the episode will give
viewers a taste of California's European side with its look at neighborhoods
surrounding the mission.
``With the cafes and all the bougainvillea hanging, it has a very
continental feel,'' she said.
While she values its history and culture, Duane said what she appreciates
most about Orange County is its community.
After the failure of her 16-year marriage left her devastated, Duane said
she found relief in the people and surroundings of San Juan Capistrano.
``I rebuilt my life here,'' she said.
She said she will try to help others needing relief by featuring panel
discussions on topics such as health and grief management. These will appear
in at least three episodes.
Duane said she decided about four years ago to produce the television show
and has outlined enough episodes fill the rest of the year.
Each will open with a montage of Orange County scenes, from folklorico
dancers at the mission, to families enjoying a day at the beach.
Her ideas come from a lifetime of enjoying Orange County, she said.
She said she remembers frequent childhood visits to beaches and nature
preserves and annual trips to San Juan Capistrano for Swallows Day.
She has tried to share these experiences with her four children, and now
wants to broadcast them to as many as 233,000 cable viewers, she said, adding
that she plans to film and produce ``The Gold Coast'' until she retires. Duane
pays Cox to air the show, but would not disclose the amount.
``There's still so much to get to,'' Duane said. ``Ideas are in my face all
the time. It'll take me a while to exhaust all my favorite places.''
``The Gold Coast'' airs Saturdays at 11 a.m., Tuesdays at 6 p.m. and
Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. on Channel 31 and Saturdays and Sundays at 5:30 p.m. on
Channel 96.
Contact Torres at (714) 240-6439 or jtorres@notes.freedom.com
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