Decrying the state of commercial television is a "no-brainer" task. Comedies are often not funny, and many dramas are tragic only in that they exist.
But that doesn't provide a full picture of the tube's fare. Occasionally it may be worth letting the remote stray from public television.
Reali-TV
On the heels of the "coverage" of the Persian Gulf war, interest in "realistic" TV series increased, and so Homefront (ABC) and I'll Fly Away (NBC) were added to the schedule. The former presented dramatically post-Great War America, and has been relegated to mid-season replacement this year. That was bad news for the latter.
As I write, this season's final episode of I'll Fly Away has just aired. NBC today announced this impressive hour drama will not be renewed. Even though it is critically acclaimed, it hovers (with many of the Fox TV offerings) near the bottom of the Nielson ratings.
Airing on Friday nights, this drama presents uncommonly realistic representations of the civil rights movement. Joshua Brand and John Falsey, producers of the hit Northern Exposure and the new Going to Extremes, have developed deep and interesting characters who don't share the quirkiness of those of the other shows. The decision not to treat the segregated South of the 1950s as just another exotic setting for a love story was a good one.
The acting in I'll Fly Away is superb, if understated. Sam Waterston plays awakening liberal lawyer Bedford Forrest, whose primary interest is justice under the law. His housekeeper, Lilly, played by Regina Taylor (who just won an NAACP Image Award for this portrayal), humanizes the lawyer's theories of fairness. Injustice becomes personal.
Topics covered in recent episodes include voter registration of the elderly, government surveillance of activists, interracial dating, the stability of the black community even within the Jim Crow South, and conflicts within the freedom movement between competing civil rights organizations. What is amazing is not the laundry list of topics, but the quality of the coverage.
This show's low numbers may result from its willingness to buck all forms of political correctness, demonstrating the limitations of both conservative and liberal ideologies. For instance, in one sequence two high school friends (a white boy and a black girl), are riding a motorcycle together and are stopped by a white police officer. Both their communities disapprove, with assumptions about their behavior running rampant in each.
With both kids suffering criticism leveled from their friends, the boy asks, "Why do you talk about integration? Why do you want to be around us?" The girl answers, "We don't want to be around you. We just want to be treated like people. We just want an education."
This show combines the power of drama with the depth of documentary. Historical and political movements are presented via personal relationships. Since all politics is personal, this show captures the down-and-dirty of American life in the late '50s.
Uncharted Dimensions
NBC's Sisters is a very interesting drama, focusing on four sisters who represent, in classical Greek-drama fashion, the basic elements of life: air, ice, earth, and fire. While in plays characters can only be stereotypical representations of these properties, in this weekly drama they add an additional dimension -- depth -- by sometimes straying from narrow formulas. They avoid becoming clichés by opting for the unexpected just at the moment of predictability.
The four main characters have contemporary adult personas, as well as adolescent forms who float through scenes as the adults remember past experiences that affect the present. The antecedents to current dysfunctional behavior are related to past events; actions have consequences is the message. But, unlike much of the self-help movement, these sisters have learned to take responsibility for their actions. This in itself makes it an important contribution to our time.
True, this show can take on unrealistic dimensions, which can be hard to follow if you're not a regular viewer. Don't dismiss it without a couple of tries.
And for those who choose to watch shows that go where no one has gone before, Star Trek: The Next Generation's spin-off recently has been released to mixed reviews. Personally, I prefer the darker, grittier feel of Deep Space Nine to its antiseptic, though brilliant, sibling.
DSN may take some getting used to, though, as the characters don't carry the initial "wow" that TNG's cast did. The cast is one branch further out on the intergalactic limb, with more non-Earthen characters than the original or its offspring. The space station's cast of characters don't exhibit the warmth of TNG's regulars. And as one Star Trek fan at the Sojourners office opined, the women are strong but "manly"; she'd prefer strong women qua women. Seems fair.
DSN is set in a space station near a wormhole (the secret passageways of intergalactic travel) and the planet Bjorn. The interesting spirituality of the indigenous people should keep ethical and philosophical issues front-and-center, as was the case with the earlier series.
These three programs offer a little for everyone -- history, fantasy, and relationship. Anyone, including families, could watch them and probably benefit.
Bob Hulteen was Under Review editor of Sojourners when this article appeared.
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