« A Very Special "West Wing" | Main | 'West Wing' takes bold step with attack-related episode »
October 03, 2001
The New Reality TV
By ERIC DEGGANS
St. Petersburg Times
Two fictional series buck the Hollywood trend and take on the terrorist attacks: tonight's special episode of The West Wing and a three-episode arc of Third Watch that begins Oct. 15.
For most of Hollywood's dream factory, the response to tragedy is immediate and predictable: lie low until the controversy passes, then return to business as usual.
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, that meant snipping out shots of the World Trade Center, delaying the premieres of violent films and reconsidering whether characters could say Osama bin Laden's name.
The West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin had a different response: Let's talk about it.
Tonight, viewers will see the result in what may be one of Hollywood's gutsiest responses to the nation's tragedies. "Isaac and Ishmael," which Sorkin wrote in days, reportedly focuses on tolerance and opposing anti-Arab prejudice (Isaac and Ishmael are the sons of Abraham whose descendants became the world's Muslims and Jews, according to the Bible).
West Wing is not alone in this unprecedented effort. Third Watch, an NBC drama about police, firefighters and paramedics in Manhattan that is executive-produced by West Wing/ER mastermind John Wells, begins airing on Oct. 15 a three-episode arc focusing on the World Trade Center attacks.
In the Oct. 15 episode, cast members talk with real emergency personnel, who will tell their stories in an unscripted hour.
"We have the great privilege of telling a few of the fictionalized stories of these wonderful men and women every week," Wells said in a statement. "We thought the best way to proceed . . . would be to allow them to tell their own stories in their own words."
On Oct. 22, the show's characters are shown in an episode set on the day before the attacks. On Oct. 29, viewers will see the characters' lives one week after the trade center's collapse, which killed hundreds of police, fire and rescue workers.
Few people at NBC and the shows are willing to talk, fearful of looking like they're trying to capitalize on a tragedy. NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker told the Associated Press that executives held back on approving tonight's West Wing episode until they saw Sorkin's script, which he called "moving and engaging."
"A couple of days after the events of Sept. 11, Aaron said he had something that he wanted to say, and he thought it would be important in the history of The West Wing to be able to say it," Zucker said.
Three directors worked to complete the episode (normally, it takes weeks to progress from Sorkin writing a script to a filmed episode). Reports say the episode will feature the White House locked down under heightened security, though not specifically because of a terrorist attack.
At the start of tonight's show, which occurs outside the series' continuing story lines, the cast will address the audience out of character, talking about the show's inspiration. The West Wing's previously planned season premiere airs next Wednesday: Martin Sheen's President Josiah Bartlet prepares to run for re-election.
Over the next two episodes, Bartlet spars with a high-powered political consultant (Reversal of Fortune's Ron Silver) who wants him to apologize publicly for not disclosing his multiple sclerosis. Oliver Platt returns as an attorney who tells the president's personal aide, Charlie (Dule Hill), he may need a very expensive attorney to deal with a special prosecutor investigating Bartlet's lack of disclosure.
Will audiences appreciate a return to Lewinsky-tinged presidential scandal? As with so many things related to the terrorist attacks, the answer may come only over time.
- Times wires were used in this report.
Posted by Ryo at October 3, 2001 09:52 AM