specials-related stories
Posted Jun 26th 2009 3:00PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Ratings, Reality-Free
With all the press coverage given to Michael Jackson, you'd think a special about his life would trample the ratings of all the other networks. Apparently, that isn't the case as an ABC special about the life of Farrah Fawcett
won in the ratings against a similar Michael Jackson retrospective on CBS.
I think it likely helped that Barbara Walters hosted the ABC special (which was a
20/20 special and therefore had more name value than a generic special), whereas the special on Jacko was simply a CBS documentary. I'm still amazed at the rapid turnaround time that the networks can produce specials like these. They have turned it into an art.
It is debatable over who was the bigger name, although both were icons on their time. Jackson seems to be getting more coverage because his death was more of a surprise than Farrah's. Either way, Thursday was a hell of a day.
Posted Jun 25th 2009 8:02PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: News, OpEd, Celebrities, Obituaries, Reality-Free
Wow. Busy day in celebrity deaths. First we hear that
Farrah Fawcett finally lost her battle to cancer, then suddenly we hear that, after being rushed to a LA hospital in cardiac arrest,
Michael Jackson also died. He was only 50, and he was about to embark on a comeback concert stint in London that he hoped would revive his career.
ABC News was already scrambling to move up the Farrah special they had planned to air on
20/20 this coming Friday. That special, where Barbara Walters interviews Ryan O'Neal, will be shown tonight at 10 PM ET. They also just announced that they will be airing an MJ retrospective at 9 PM ET.
Other networks are following suit with
their own specials, according to THR.com.
It's interesting how most news outlets aside from Fox didn't confirm MJ's death even though our friends at
TMZ had the news first. I guess it wasn't legitimate enough for them. Either way, it's a shockingly sad day in the entertainment biz, no matter what you may have thought of Farrah or Jackson.
Posted Aug 7th 2007 3:02PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Programming, Web
One of my favorite series this summer has been Ice Road Truckers on the History Channel. If you haven't seen it, a quick synopsis: truck drivers in northern Canada haul critical supplies hundreds of miles across frozen lakes to diamond mines owned by DeBeers and other corporations.
Ice Road Truckers is the kind of reality show I can dig, because it features real people with an extraordinary occupation. There's some drama, but it's never contrived or played up for the cameras. I stopped watching Dog the Bounty Hunter because I got sick of egregious musical cues dictating when I was supposed to feel something, and Ice Road Truckers is mercifully void of such manipulation. The fact that these men are driving heavy rigs with only a few inches of ice between themselves and the water is dramatic enough.
Continue reading History Channel keeps on Ice Road Truckin'
Posted Jun 6th 2007 2:02PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Music and Variety, Documentary
How are you? That's good. I just wanted to take a moment from your usual reading of sitcom/drama/reality stuff and tell you about some specials and documentaries popping up this month that looked rather interesting to me. I hope you think so, too. Here's what I found:
If you like music, PBS has two specials coming up you might like: Great Performances: We Love Ella! A Tribute to the First Lady of Song, and Paul Simon: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The Ella special, which features contemporary artists performing songs by iconic jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. The Paul Simon tribute will air on June 27, also at 9:00 p.m. Simon is the first songwriter to receive the prize, and will be honored during a ceremony featuring several singers, songwriters, and other people of note, including his former collaborator, Art Garfunkel.
Continue reading Some documentaries to check out in June
Posted Aug 22nd 2006 4:20PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: ABC, News, Web, Podcasting
ABC recently announced it will be offering news specials from its archives for purchase on iTunes. Customers will be able to pick from the library of ABC News Specials which include a ride-along with gang patrol cops in LA, a behind-the-scenes look at Grey's Anatomy, and a special on UFOs. The first two might be worth checking out, but I'll save all of you $1.99 right now by telling you UFOs aren't real. Don't bother to thank me, I do this out of love. There's also an archive of celebrity interviews, and another selection called "The Day It Happened," which looks at major events in history. It should also be pointed out that ABC does offer free news content through iTunes as well.
Posted Apr 12th 2006 2:57PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: PBS, Children
Twenty-six special episodes of
Sesame Street will air in Kosovo as a way
to promote ethnic diversity among children. The series, which is essential seen by children worldwide now, first
came to the region in 2004. The new episodes, which will broadcast in both Serbian and Albanian
languages, will combine footage from the series featuring the beloved Muppets with footage shot in the region.
Kids fell in love with the series when it premiered there two years ago, and it was also praised for promoting respect
among different ethnic groups. Maybe we could actually achieve world peace if we all just watched
Sesame
Street all day. At least up to the point when the Grover supporters wage an attack on the Cookie Monster
sympathizers. Then the whole mess just starts over again.
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