Whether you saw Pearl Jam Twenty during its brief Cinerama run or not, the Cameron Crowe-directed documentary on the band is well worth seeing on the small screen, in the privacy of your own (PJ shrine-sporting) home, when it airs on PBS, as part of the station’s American Masters series, on Friday at 9 p.m.

The film doesn’t dive as deep as I would have expected on some myth-making topics, but it’s a truly fascinating look at the band’s evolution from initial rehearsals to recent world tours, highlighting Pearl Jam’s struggles, tragic surprises, creative processes, and amazing live shows along the way.

Crowe, who has been friends with the band’s members since before casting some of them in the Seattle-set Singles, does a remarkable job of assembling thousands of hours of archival footage and freshly-shot interviews into a story not of how Pearl Jam achieved worldwide success, but of how its players coped with that and resisted implosion and stayed true to their ideals to become what many (smart) people consider to be the greatest existing American rock band.

Pearl Jam Twenty gives us a look, too, at who the band’s musicians are and how they’ve grown as individuals and as a unit since 1991—or earlier, if you count the Mother Love Bone years (and Eddie Vedder’s inspiration in the San Diego surf). Yes, they’re amazingly talented and famous artists. But they’re amazingly normal, down-to-earth people, too. It’s obvious that they appreciate the opportunities they’ve had, and the fans who still make them happen.

Tune in to KCTS channel 9 and see for yourself this Friday. Public TV airwaves haven’t rocked like this since Wayne and Garth.