NBC assures viewers that mistakes of Sydney won't repeat
When NBC broadcast the 2000 Summer Games from Australia, the network was roasted by critics and viewers alike. Friday night in Salt Lake, the network wasted no time signaling that it had learned its lesson. Two years ago, viewers complained about the shortage of actual sports, which it seemed were interrupted every five minutes for an up-close-and-personal feature story or a commercial break. And they blasted NBC for airing everything on tape delay. This time, coverage of the 2002 Winter Games opening ceremonies felt like a throwback to Olympiads of old, back to the days when ABC, not NBC, was the broadcaster and Jim McKay, not Bob Costas, was the host. Indeed, as NBC's telecast began, it was McKay's airy and upbeat voice that viewers heard first. NBC borrowed the 80-year-old legend from ABC, where he is apparently under lifetime contract, though he has rarely been seen or heard from since the 1988 Winter Games. McKay's first on-camera appearance did not go well; he seemed to have trouble speaking, and apologized to Costas and "Today" show host Katie Couric for "stuttering." Later, as he called parts of the opening pageantry, he sounded more like the McKay we remember. NBC promised that most of its coverage of these Winter Games will be live, and it wasn't shy about letting us know that Friday's proceedings had not been prerecorded. A "LIVE" bug occupied the top left corner of the screen for most of the night, and at one point Costas made a joke about the change. As the team from Australia, the host country in 2000, made its appearance in Friday's "parade of nations," Costas interrupted Couric to say: "Hold it, hold it! I've been waiting a year and a half to say it: We're live and this is Australia!" There was even something refreshing about the inevitable technical flaws that cropped up during the live broadcast. As Jimmy Roberts interviewed American skater Apolo Ohno, a prominent audio hum could be heard. On a couple of occasions the video signal flickered or failed. And certainly, had McKay been on tape, Costas and Couric would have insisted that the three of them redo their banter. But NBC served up a nearly perfect visual feast, as one might expect for something that looked like it had been planned down to the second. There were plenty of pretty overhead shots and eye-pleasing colors, especially the reddish glow and moody cobalt blue that often lighted Rice-Eccles Stadium. The specter of Sept. 11 hung over the stadium, which was surprising given that the Olympics is a global event, and two major sporting events already have been essentially dedicated to those who died in the attacks and those rooting out terrorism abroad. One of the night's most moving moments was the entrance of the World Trade Center flag. Millions of Americans have grown familiar with the sight of these tattered stars and stripes, damaged in the Sept. 11 attacks and later displayed at the World Series and the Super Bowl. Yet its emotional heft was felt again Friday in this symbolic gathering before the world's nations. An honor guard of New York firefighters and police brought in the flag as the entire stadium fell into a reverent silence. A camera cut to a live picture of troops in Afghanistan, watching the ceremony on TV, standing at attention. NBC caught a tear in a woman's eye - and it was fair to say that her face mirrored millions of teary-eyed faces in homes around the world. For all the impressive (and occasionally goofy) symbolism on display, some of the most striking moments were those - like the flag ceremony - that seemed more spontaneous. But with the level of security around these Olympics, that was highly unlikely. Another such moment was the sudden appearance of President Bush among the American athletes in the stands, accompanied by what looked like a single bodyguard. An Olympian who sat next to the president couldn't believe her luck: She called her parents on the cell phone, then handed it to the commander in chief. NBC's opening video montage mixed classic Olympic footage with by-now-familiar pictures of Americans responding to the crisis of Sept. 11. Images of the Statue of Liberty and New York firefighters appeared with those of the U.S. men's hockey team's improbable 1980 Winter Games victory. There was a replay of Hermann Maier's spectacular spill during the 1998 downhill event, bringing to mind McKay's memorable phrase about "the agony of defeat." Couric had the unenviable task of playing the prim, information-please parade announcer to a wisecracking Costas, and of reading a deadly earnest script during the ceremony's unintentionally hilarious "artistic portion," entitled "The Fire Within," which sounded like a visualization technique the crowd might have used to stay warm. With skaters in glittery costumes racing around the ice rink, followed by what Costas called "giant icicles" in large pointy outfits, Couric said with a straight face, "Obviously this is an allegory that works on many levels." Couric apologized for the number of commercial breaks during the first hour of the program, explaining that this would allow NBC to show much of the ceremony commercial-free. Less apologetic were the many companies that paid millions for the privilege of having their corporate logos affixed with the Olympic rings. Budweiser, an official corporate sponsor of the Games, billed itself as "America's beer." Couric even introduced her "Today" show colleague, Al Roker, as "America's weatherman." In fact, some of the commercials unveiled Friday night were better than the ads seen during Sunday's Super Bowl, including a Gateway spot that featured a cow dreaming it was in the ski-jump competition. In a new Coca-Cola ad, a truckdriver picks up a hitchhiker, and is stunned to learn that he's hitched all the way from Moscow. "I start with a 12-pack," explains the Russian. - Reach Aaron Barnhart through the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com.
