'AFP' fires cheap manipulation

'AFP: American Fighter Pilot' Airs: 7 tonight, CBS (Channel 5) Stars: Lt. Todd Giggy, Lt. Marcus Gregory, Lt. Mike Love and their instructors at Tyndall AFB, Fla. Who should watch: People who believe it's their civic duty to watch the Fox News Channel. The target audience for "AFP: American Fighter Pilot" wasn't even born when Gore Vidal invented the term "crypto-fascist." But that's about the best way I can describe this piece of worthless, MTV-styled propaganda. Shamelessly wrapped in post-9/11 patriotism, this "reality" show about F-15 fighter pilots in training apparently wasn't exciting enough on its own merits. So the producers, including Tony Scott and Ridley Scott (who directed "Top Gun" and "Black Hawk Down," respectively), raised the stakes by appropriating the images of the Sept. 11 attacks and suggesting that Osama bin Laden's martyrs got the trainees all fired up. One grunt says he's "become more serious" since 9/11; an instructor adds, "I'm an American fighter pilot. We're not gonna let that happen again." (Frankly, I'd feel better if those words came from an airport screener.) Beyond the shallowness of it all - did any fighter pilot feel differently about his job before Sept. 11? - this kind of viewer manipulation is part of a larger and disturbing trend. It is simply wrong for any television program, whether news or entertainment, to casually invoke that day of suffering to get our attention. And TV always wants our attention. Even without the flag-waving, "AFP" is pretty full of itself. For instance, when we first meet the wives of these would-be pilots, they complain about the long hours that take their hubbies away from them and their children. Only later do we learn that the trainees have weekends off. (And it will all be over in four months, for Pete's sake!) Most of the episode shows the pilots preparing for their maiden flights aboard the F-15. It's not much different from what you'd see on the Discovery channel, except that "AFP" has been tricked up with the irritating (and no doubt expensive) visual and audio wizardry. The result is a jingoistic hybrid of Fox Sports and a Mitsubishi car commercial. The episode's low point comes at the canteen where instructors and students gather for some after-hours mingling. Charles Moskos, the foremost authority on military life, has called the armed forces the most racially diverse workplace in America. Yet of the dozen or so men gathered in the bar that night, there is not a black or Latino face to be seen. In fact, the only non-white I spotted the whole hour was an African-American doing low-level work on the tarmac. "AFP" is a reality program in need of a reality check. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. AFP: American Fighter Pilot (7 p.m. on 5): We meet three F-15 fighter pilots, Lts. Todd Giggy, Marcus Gregory and Mike Love, on their first day at Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, Fla. They're about to embark on 110 days of training to become real "top guns" for the air force. But the reality of their choice strikes early when they're asked to write down who they want to alert their families in case they die. @ART CAPTION:Take to the skies with "AFP." @ART:Photo (color) @ART CREDIT:CBS

'Bunny'and 'Lopez' have little kick

'Greg the Bunny' Airs: 8:30 p.m., Fox (Channel 4) Stars: Eugene Levy, Seth Green, Bob Gunton, Sarah Silverman, Dina Waters, and show co-creator Dan Milano as the voice of Greg Who should watch: Not the kiddies, that's for sure All is not well on the set of "Sweetknuckle Junction," the shabby cousin of "Sesame Street." Ratings are down. The humans are unhappy. The puppets are unhappy. (I'd elaborate on that, but not everything these puppets say is printable in a family newspaper.) Then one day, Greg the Bunny - an unemployed sock with button eyes - accidentally walks into an audition and wows the show's fleshy producers. "He's like Robin Williams!" says one. "Only not as furry," says another. (Ba-dum.) And so it goes on "Greg the Bunny," a comedy about a madcap parallel universe in which puppets are self-sufficient "fabricated Americans." Yet despite the strong presence of Green and Levy, the potential of this show tended to be greater than its execution. Indeed, the more I watched, the less I laughed. It doesn't help that the third episode's satiric take on political correctness seems to trivialize three centuries of African-American progress. 'George Lopez' Airs: 7:30 p.m., ABC (Channel 9) Stars: George Lopez, Belita Moreno, Constance Marie, Masiela Lusha, Luis Armand Garcia, Valente Rodriguez Who should watch: Anyone who thinks "Grounded for Life" is too white-bread This mildly amusing family comedy is notable for its Latino cast and Spanish-language simulcast on the SAP channel. Of local interest, native Kansas Citian Robert Borden is executive producer (here's hoping for better luck than when he ran "The Brian Benben Show"). Lopez plays a newly minted manager at an airplane-parts factory, charged with supervising his old work buddies. His overbearing mom (Moreno), who works there too, drives everyone up a wall, though it's hard to see why. Compared with Mimi on the "Drew Carey Show," Mama seems like a pussycat. Overall, "George Lopez" feels like it's still under construction. For instance, while "My Wife and Kids" has a clear identity as an ethnic comedy, this show doesn't. But maybe I'm missing the point: Lopez might just be trying to prove that Latinos have as much right as anyone to bomb on ABC. 'Wednesdays 9:30 (8:30 Central)' Airs: Just when the title says; it's on ABC (Channel 9) Stars: Ivan Sergei ("Jack & Jill"), Ed Begley Jr., James McCauley, Melinda McGraw and Sherri Shepherd-Tarpley, with occasional appearances by John Cleese Who should watch: People who wondered when "Beggars and Choosers" would start being funny And I'll ask the same question I asked when "Beggars and Choosers" was on Showtime: Who besides the few thousand people connected to the television business wants to watch a comedy about the television business? ("The Dick Van Dyke Show" doesn't count; that show never cracked a single insider joke.) Don't get me wrong - tonight's episode has its moments. Sergei is terrific as the fresh-faced Midwesterner who lands a plum job as a TV executive because, as his boss puts it, he's "lived with those people." But will "those people" laugh at a joke comparing network presidents to canned cheese? Or care that Lori Loughlin of "Full House" is guest starring as Lori Loughlin of "Full House"? Speaking of canned, so are the laughs. Please, ABC, bring back "The Job"! To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com Wednesdays 9:30 (8:30 Central) (8:30 p.m. on 9): David Weiss (Ivan Sergei) has been hired by IBS, a new television network with its fair share of quirky workers ("Newsradio" with cameras, perhaps?), among them, the man who hired David, Red Lansing (John Cleese); stressed-out IBS president Paul Weffler (Ed Begley Jr.); and hot-shot Joanne Walker (Sherri Shepherd-Tarpley), who started at the company as an assistant just months ago, and is now the VP of programming. Tonight, David gets involved with a TV star (guest Lori Loughlin) who eventually slaps him with a sexual harassment lawsuit. @ART CAPTION:Seth Green co-stars with Greg the Bunny. @ART CAPTION:Sergei @ART:Photos (2, color)

They want Moore

Michael Moore likes to portray himself as a slacker who would rather be home watching ESPN. But lately he has belied that image, making twice-nightly appearances to promote his book *Stupid White Men And Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation,* a 266-page tirade against George W. Bush that has unexpectedly touched a nerve with readers.

Moore was in Kansas City Monday for two such appearances. Tami Burgess showed up an hour before the 7 p.m. talk at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She said Moore was venting complaints "that I wasn't hearing anywhere else." Reading his book, she said she realized "I wasn't the only one who feels this way."

Moore's one-man book promotion blitz that began at UMKC ended at 1:15 a.m. Tuesday - six hours, two performances and hundreds of autographs later - at the Uptown Theater. "I think 1:25 is the record," Moore said, looking at the clock. "Twenty-five cities, and not one of these has ended in the p.m. Always the a.m."

In just two days the 700 tickets for his UMKC talk were given away. Moore agreed to add a late-night encore at the Uptown, sponsored by the Free Speech Coalition. About 1,000 more people paid $5 to hear him there with musical guests Iris DeMent and the Wilders. At 10:25 p.m., while Moore was being shuttled across town, DeMent led the audience in a rendition of "This Land Is Your Land."

From California to the New York island, "Late Night With Michael Moore" has become one of the hottest tickets in literature. Other political authors have topped the nonfiction book charts - his book is currently No. 1 on the New York Times' list - but this sudden demand to see Moore in person suggests something more than a publishing phenomenon.

It's something that even Moore - who barely filled 300 seats at the Tivoli Manor Square four years ago - could not have anticipated when he sat down last summer to write *Stupid White Men*.

"I had a guy come up to me and say, 'This is the first time in six months I felt comfortable wearing this T-shirt.' The T-shirt said, 'I HATE GEORGE BUSH,' " Moore said Monday. "This isn't supposed to be a country where you're afraid to speak your mind. "This government has had its boot to the neck of the American people. It said, 'If you're critical of George Bush, you're unpatriotic.' That was a mistake."

Moore's book ridicules not only the Bush presidency but also members of the Bush Cabinet, American idiocy at home and arrogance abroad. The chapter on the 2000 presidential election is titled "A Very American Coup." After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the publisher, HarperCollins, refused to issue the book, fearing a political backlash. According to Moore, HarperCollins wanted him to rewrite 50 percent of the book and tone down the anti-Bush rhetoric. He not only refused, but began campaigning on his michaelmoore.com Web site to put pressure on HarperCollins.

Both factors - the publication delay and Moore's campaign - helped fuel the book's juggernaut. By the time Stupid White Men finally was released, uncut, Feb. 19, Bush's approval ratings had begun to ebb, the terrorism war was somewhat fading from view and Enron was at full boil. With Moore sounding the alarm, the opposition seemed to rouse from its collective slumber. Since then Stupid White Men has gone through 15 printings, and Moore says HarperCollins research indicates it is reaching a much broader audience than anyone expected.

"People want so badly to support America and do what's right," says Anne Winter, the owner of Recycled Sounds Records and Tapes and a member of the Free Speech Coalition, which helped organize the Uptown event. "But we're not necessarily behind the president and what he represents." It helps, said Winter, that Moore is a humorist-activist. "If we're not laughing, we're crying," she said. "Michael helps us to laugh."

On tour, Moore eschews the traditional book lecture for a more grueling one-hour performance that is part stand-up comedy act, part Green Party rally. Although at one point he apologized to his UMKC audience for using a bad word, he swore freely at the Uptown, while the noisy and supportive crowd egged him on. Moore repeatedly mocked Bush's policies, comparing his anti-terrorism crusade to the "permanent war" of Orwell's 1984. Moore's fingers shot up in the air and formed quote marks whenever he said "President" Bush.

Moore also gave a rollicking blow-by-blow account of his negotiations with HarperCollins. He recalled how a company executive told him the book was "out of touch with the American people," a remark that drew derisive laughter from the audience. When asked to come up with a different title, Moore suggested Bring Me the Head of Antonin Scalia. (HarperCollins doesn't dispute Moore's account, saying only that "there was a lot of discussion about the best way to move the book forward.")

Afterward he signed books for more than an hour, often stopping to chat with fans and pose for photographs with them. A young female attorney wanted advice on making documentary films. He suggested making one about her firm's largest client. "The best documentary you can make is something you know," he said, "You know stuff we don't. You've had a peek behind that curtain."

One man, at Moore's prodding, told him about the accident that put him in a wheelchair. A young woman handed him a book with a waterlogged title page. When Moore asked what had happened, she said sheepishly, "My roommate blew bong water on it."

Somebody asked Moore if he was planning a third season of his Bravo series, "The Awful Truth." Probably not: Moore is finishing up his next film, "Bowling for Columbine," and wants to write another book. Moore said he's developing a "very provocative" sitcom for Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment. It's about a white man who "thinks blacks have it so good in America ... and then the next day he wakes up and discovers he's black." He would love to see the show on a network, preferably CBS, where it can reach "the people who need to watch this." (HBO, he said, is aimed at "a cable elite that already agrees with my views.")

In Detroit and San Diego he was kicked out of meeting halls for breaking curfew. But at 1:45 a.m., he was the last man out of the Uptown Theater. He gathered the CDs, T-shirts and zines given to him by appreciative fans. Stuffing them into his tote bag, he laughed. "What am I going to tell the guy at the airport," he said, "when he asks me if any strangers have given me anything?"

New on the tube; No verdict yet on 'The Court'

'The Court' Airs: 9 tonight on ABC (Channel 9; don't worry, "Philly" is only taking a break). Stars: Sally Field, Craig Bierko, Christina Hendricks, Pat Hingle, Miguel Sandoval, Chris Sarandon, Diahann Carroll, Nicole DeHuff, Hill Harper, Josh Radnor. Who should watch: Legal analysts and speed freaks. Who knew the dowdy machinations of federal government would be so appealing to Hollywood screenwriters? So far in 2002 we've seen two shows, including this one, about life at the Supreme Court, another on foreign affairs (so to speak) at an American embassy - what's next, "The Postmaster"? So far, only "The West Wing" has connected with viewers. "First Monday" tried the steak approach, "American Embassy" went with sizzle. Both have been hard to chew. Now comes "The Court," from the shop that produces "The West Wing." After 30 minutes, I was ready to write it off. As this column was going to press, however, a second episode arrived - and was one of the better hours of drama I've seen this year. The problem, and it persists through the second episode, is that not even a two-time Oscar winner like Field is capable of sounding very High Court when she's forced to spew dialogue as if she were in a 1940s detective movie. It's as though the script came in a little long and, rather than cut for space, the producers just sped everything up. You may want to take notes, or better yet, watch the show with a court stenographer. About two-thirds of the way through tonight's episode, though, "The Court" takes a deep breath. We learn that Field's character, a surprise pick as the ninth justice, hasn't been on the bench in years. That everybody around her is trying to guess whether her stands on hot-button issues put her closer to, say, Norma Rae or That Girl. That her clerks are very smart and very unsure of themselves. That Field is plucky and resilient (wait, we knew that). So far, however, her fellow Supremes don't do much more than bicker. I like Diahann Carroll as the liberal justice, but her special-guest-star status suggests we won't see much of her. As they say in government, that's non-trivial. No one else really leaps off the screen (or page), except for the sexy TV reporters (Hendricks and Bierko) hunting for skeletons in Field's closet. Is it trite to say "the jury is out on this one"? In the case of "The Court," it's trite and true. You can reach Aaron Barnhart through the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com @ART CAPTION:Christina Hendricks and Craig Bierko star in "The Court." @ART CREDIT:ABC @ART:Photo (color)

Should you take this 'Bachelor'?

'The Bachelor' Airs: 8 tonight on ABC (Channel 9), for six weeks. Stars: Host Chris Harrison ("Mall Masters"), Alex Michel and 25 eligible women. Who should watch: People named Darva. If people can pretend there is such a thing as an upscale strip club, can't there be a high-class version of "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?" Well, that's what these 25 bachelorettes would like to believe. For the next six weeks, Michel, who holds degrees from Harvard and Stanford and is described by ABC as "a successful businessman" - take that, Rick Rockwell - will select one lucky lady from this field, but only after traveling around the world with the finalists, getting lots of attention and generally driving any feminists who might be watching up a tree. "The Bachelor" gets off to a slow start but maybe that's to be expected. It starts with a marathon mixer; Take "hi, my name is Angelique" and multiply it 25 times and you get the idea. Michel tells the women he is "humbled and honored" by the turnout, perhaps forgetting that ABC flew all the women to Malibu for the party. Finally, Michel presents 15 women with roses, leaving the rest to pack their bags. Even though we know next to nothing about these people, the scene is designed to stir up emotions among viewers. You can pretty much guess what they'll be talking about Tuesday on "The View."

An unbearable 'Gentle Ben'

It aired only two seasons before CBS canceled it in 1969, yet "Gentle Ben" is entrenched in the pop consciousness of my generation. "The Simpsons," our lexicon of cultural literacy, invoked "Gentle Ben" as a symbol of all that was good and decent - and deadly dull - about family television way back when. No surprise, then, that cable's Animal Planet, having already revived the "Lassie" franchise, should turn to the friendly black bear who followed America's Collie on Sunday nights. But apparently some TV executive thinks today's kids lack the attention span for the relatively tame adventures of Ben and his faithful companion Mark (most episodes involved the two getting lost for a few hours). By contrast, the made-for-TV movie that airs at 7 tonight on Animal Planet has been souped up with rifle-toting headhunters, greedy landowners, even a hint of sex. In fact, the slow-moving bear is about the only holdover from the CBS version. Too bad. The people who made this movie simply substituted one set of corny circumstances for another, while removing any of the charm "Gentle Ben" once had. What we get is a pile of something Ben would leave in the woods. In the Animal Planet version, Ben is on the run from a posse led by Corbin Bernsen, who suspects the bear of rustling his sheep. When young Mark (Reiley McClendon) gets wind of this, he runs into the forest, hoping to put himself between Ben and Bernsen's tranquilizer gun. It's a predictable and politically correct story line: Hunters bad, children good. And there's all sorts of second-rate dialogue and scene padding along the way, the most gratuitous being when Mark learns that his uncle (Dean Cain), who is single, has a girlfriend. Mark assures him that he knows all about "sex" - not "the birds and bees," but sex. Is this really necessary in a family film? It seems Animal Planet only wanted the name "Gentle Ben" for its nostalgia value. There's nothing nostalgic, or much entertaining, about this movie. As customary as an Easter egg hunt, television takes its annual post-Lenten plunge into ancient Christian history. "The Tomb of Jesus," airing at 7 p.m. Sunday on the National Geographic Channel (Channel 76 on Time Warner Cable), moves briskly through the 2,000 year history of the place where Jesus was said to be entombed after his crucifixion. National Geographic's cameras are allowed into the rarely filmed corridors beneath Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre that some say are the remains of the tomb. Though you might debate what this means to Christians, this special makes the matter seem vital and urgent. National Geographic Channel once again shows why it's the most impressive addition to the cable lineup since Turner Classic Movies. On consecutive nights, PBS programs take aim at the President Bush's education policy. "Misunderstood Minds" (8 p.m. Wednesday on KCPT and KTWU) reports on a growing recognition of the problems many children have learning in school. New teaching methods, it argues, are needed to help these problem learners. Then "Frontline" (9 p.m. Thursday) casts a skeptical eye on the increase in standardized testing in public schools, an issue near and dear to the Bush administration. Together the shows present a choice between specialization or standardization, and it's pretty clear on which side they come down. Two years ago a 65-year-old woman visiting Jacksonville, Fla., was shot and killed in front of her motel room. The police had their perp within two hours. Yet by the end of "Murder on a Sunday Morning," this week's "America Undercover" film on HBO (9 p.m. Sunday), you may find yourself wondering if the system, rather than justice, was served. Part of an emerging genre that includes fictional shows like "NYPD Blue" and "The Shield," this film focuses on the tactics used by detectives, who are depicted as seeming more interested in speedy convictions than a relentless search for the truth. More midseason TV is coming your way this week. Watch for my capsule reviews of "The Bachelor" (today), "The Court" (Tuesday), "Greg the Bunny," "George Lopez" and "Wednesdays 9:30 (8:30 Central)" (Wednesday) and "AFP: American Fighter Pilot" (Friday). To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com @ART CAPTION:PBS' "Misunderstood Minds" focuses on children's learning difficulties. @ART:Photo @ART CREDIT:PBS

A new home, a familiar old feeling

Sunday's telecast of the 74th annual Academy Awards marked yet another step in the ongoing convergence of television and the movies. The academy moved into a new theater with a boxy stage tailor-made for TV. Ben Stiller and Cameron Diaz clowned around as if they were on "Saturday Night Live." And the showiest entertainment of the night was provided by Cirque de Soleil, an act many viewers would know only from watching Bravo. With a moviemaker behind the camera - first-time producer Laura Ziskin - and four-time host Whoopi Goldberg in front of it, the Oscars felt like one of those really good all-star "spectaculars" from the 1970s in which A-list movie stars canoodled with TV celebrities. The telecast did not open as previous ones had - outside, with a dozen or so snapshots of stars stepping onto the red carpet. (The academy now has a half-hour "pre-show" for that.) Instead, viewers saw the stars inside, mindlessly applauding, looking like David Letterman's audience when it claps and stares up at the monitors. Then came an inspired shot. As Tom Cruise stepped onstage, the camera pulled back, way back, calling the viewer's attention not to Cruise but to the backdrop of the Kodak Theatre. Draped in deep muted reds and vibrant coppers, it looked great. Its proscenium arch appeared to be held up by thousands of threads of tightly strung piano wire. Cruise's speech didn't come off a prompter. It appeared instead to come from the heart. Recalling how the movies were a constant companion in his youth, as his family moved from town to town, Cruise called the theater "my safe haven." The speech struck the right balance, acknowledging the residual effects of Sept. 11 without wallowing in them. After that, you knew Goldberg was not going to enter quietly. Sure enough, she was lowered by trapeze from the rafters, wearing a suit that made her look like a peacock - more precisely, a peacock trying to do Nicole Kidman's scene from "Moulin Rouge." Goldberg did not exactly reinvent the monologue. Her jokes had a certain Bob Hope quality to them, as when she declared that security was "tighter than some of the faces," although it's unlikely Hope could have gotten away with joking that after the mud-slinging of the Oscar campaign, "all the nominees look black." There was a jokey quality to the whole evening. Stiller and Owen Wilson did a comedy routine dressed up in preposterous-looking costumes. Roberto Benigni recalled, hilariously, watching "Ben-Hur" backward at an outdoor theater. But the best line of the night may have been spoken by Woody Allen, making a rare if not unprecedented appearance in Hollywood to introduce a tribute to New York City. As he stepped onstage, the academy members leaped to their feet with an enthusiastic ovation. "Thank you very much," Allen said. "That makes up for the strip search." Inviting Allen to attend the Oscars was a gracious gesture. And so was asking documentarian Errol Morris to make a film of people, famous and not so famous, talking about their favorite movie moments. What made it gracious was that Morris, one of the most creative and celebrated documentary filmmakers, has been overlooked for Academy Awards more times than Ron Howard. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. USELESS OSCAR FACT The length of the red carpet leading into the Academy Awards auditorium was 500 feet. Speaking at Oscars "Thank you very much. That makes up for the strip search." - Woody Allen acknowledging the audience's standing ovation before he introduced a special film tribute to New York. "Mine doesn't. I think they do with age, but what doesn't?" - Dame Maggie Smith answering Joan Rivers' question about whether her two Oscars tarnish. "I think that beast is in all of us. Because we're civilized we keep it in check, but we know it can come out at anytime. We are not angels. We have to work at being angels very hard." - Ben Kingsley on E! about playing "Sexy Beast." "I panicked because I thought they wanted their Oscars back (and) the pawn shop has been out of business for ages." - Allen again, on his response when the academy called him about doing the tribute. "I had fun when I went through the metal detector." - Sally Kirkland, who wore a metal-alloy dress with ruffles, which she had to adjust to get through security. "My jewelry keeps getting stuck, and I'm constantly adjusting to make sure everything's covered," - Kirsten Dunst telling CNN about her problems with her outfit. "I can't feel my legs. I'm so excited." - Renee Zellweger telling ABC about problems with her outfit. "I didn't know what they were calling for because my movie, "Curse of the Jade Scorpion," wasn't nominated for anything. Then it suddenly hit me. Maybe they're calling to apologize." - Allen one last time. Berry days At about the same time Halle Berry was speaking live to Joan Rivers on E! during the red carpet affairs, she was being interviewed on tape by Barbara Walters on ABC. Before that segment ended, Phillip Bloch, her stylist, was telling CNN live how it took days to bead the dress she was wearing and put the flowers "in the right place so everything was covered." He also said Berry was wearing a pumpkin diamond from Harry Winston worth $3.5 million. For all that, she got an 8.5 final score on E!'s fashion counter, but at least that was better than self-proclaimed "fashionista" Jennifer Lopez. Lopez, who confirmed to Joan Rivers that yes, those are her real teeth, got a 6.5. Tight fits For security reasons, only 400 spots were available in the fan bleachers this year to watch the red carpet walk-ins and 5,000 applications were taken for them. By the time the stars started arriving, 2,500 more fans were gathered outside of the areas leading up to the theater, along with a small army of police that included SWAT teams on the roof. "It's very L.A. - it's too crowded," said Anouchka Van Riel, who just moved to Los Angeles from Paris. "I'm going home to watch it on TV." We should be hearing more about how it was inside the theater this week. Though the new Kodak Theatre in Hollywood is larger than the Shrine, where the Oscars were held for 25 years, it has almost 900 fewer seats to accommodate camera angles for TV. A lottery determined what academy members got in and almost 300 who wanted to go did not. "Those who fail at the lottery get a priority for the following year," academy director Bruce Davis said. "It's as fair as we can make it." @ART CAPTION:Allen; Goldberg @ART CAPTION:A spectator outside the Kodak Theatre @ART:Photos (4, color, one uncaptioned)

Documentaries find home on cable; Four of five Oscar nominees have pay-channel roots

For all the media coverage of this year's Academy Awards, this will probably be the only story you read about documentaries. And that's a shame, because this happens to be the golden age of documentary films. There are more of them being made than ever, by some of the most creative directors in the history of the genre. And thanks to cable TV, you and I are able to watch more "docs" than ever. Some of the best are even nominated for Oscars. But most are not. Truth be told, the motion picture academy treats documentaries like a red-headed stepchild and has done so for years. The Oscars have snubbed some of the era's most innovative and important docmakers, including Michael Moore, Errol Morris and Judith Helfand. In 1995, Roger Ebert led an angry mob of reviewers demanding justice when "Hoop Dreams," a beautifully made account of two inner-city basketball prodigies, and arguably the most successful and acclaimed documentary ever, failed to earn an Oscar nomination. It was charged, but never proven, that the old-school types on the committee shut off the film after 10 minutes. After that fiasco, reforms were promised. And indeed, Ebert says, "The selection process at least seems improved." But he and other critics feel the committee's tastes remain stuck in the past. As proof, they point to "Fast, Cheap and Out of Control." This brilliantly idiosyncratic documentary was a critical and box office hit for Errol Morris in 1997 but wasn't even nominated for an Oscar. If there's one party that's thrilled by the academy's documentary tastes, it's HBO. This year, four of the five Oscar nominations went to docs produced for HBO and its sister channel, Cinemax. (Though they qualified as 2001 films, they won't air until later this year.) The two channels combined will air 120 hours of new documentary film this year, including HBO's popular "America Undercover" series (9 p.m. Sundays). Unlike HBO, Robert Redford's Sundance Channel doesn't produce documentary films. But it also has assumed a leadership role in promoting the genre. In a typical month it airs two dozen different nonfiction titles, including a classic every Monday night at 8, such as Barbara Kopple's "Harlan County U.S.A." (about Kentucky coal miners) and Frederick Wiseman's "The Store" (a day at Neiman Marcus). Earlier this year, Redford announced plans to launch an all-documentaries channel by 2003. Thanks largely to HBO and Sundance, "cable has evolved into the natural home of docs," Ebert says. That's great news for people who do much of their movie-watching on the small screen. About 85 percent of U.S. homes receive either cable or satellite TV, and one in three get HBO. Public television has also stepped up its support of documentary films in recent years. Best known for the decidedly middle-of-the-road fare of Ken Burns, public TV was home to the pathbreaking 1970s film "An American Family" and routinely airs the work of Frederick Wiseman, who is considered one of our greatest living filmmakers. The PBS series "American Experience" recently expanded its schedule and is starting to add documentaries by outsiders. One of the first to air will be "Daughter From Danang," winner of the top prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Risky business "Daughter From Danang" is a good example of what sets documentary films apart from run-of-the-mill TV "documentary" fare. It was risky to make because it did not follow a predictable storyline and did not tie up neatly at the end. Filmmakers Gail Dolgin and Vicente Franco heard about a young woman who was born in Vietnam but raised in Tennessee by an adoptive mother. The woman had recently contacted her birth mother and was planning a trip to Vietnam to see her. The woman agreed to let Dolgin and Franco accompany her. The filmmakers weren't sure what they would come back with; Dolgin imagined, at worst, they'd make a 20-minute short film. Mother and daughter had a tearful reunion, yet Franco said he "had this sixth sense" of strains resting just beneath the surface. As the week in Danang played out, those tensions began bubbling up - and then they erupted. The 20-minute short quickly mushroomed into a feature-length documentary with extraordinary emotional depth and power. "You dream of experiences like this," Dolgin said. "You go expecting one thing, but just like real life, you have to abandon your expectations." "Daughter From Danang" will air on PBS in early 2003. It also will be eligible for the Oscars next year, assuming PBS can break HBO's strangehold on the docs category. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com The Oscar nominees The nominees for Best Documentary Feature and their airdates: "Murder on a Sunday Morning": (see description in story). (HBO, March 31) "LaLee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton": Susan Froemke and Deborah Dickson detail an impoverished family in the Mississippi Delta and how the legacy of slavery affects them. (HBO, May 12) "Children Underground": Filmmaker Edet Belzberg followed five of an estimated 20,000 abandoned Romanian children for more than a year as they tried to live in a subway. (Cinemax, July) "War Photographer": Swiss filmmaker Christian Frei spent two years following American photographer James Nachtwey. Nachtwey talks about the horrors he has seen as he captures more war images from the Middle East and Kosovo. (HBO/Cinemax, TBA) "Promises": The story of seven bright youngsters, four Israelis and three Palestinians. Filmmaker B.Z. Goldberg made it during relatively peaceful times between 1997 and 2000, but the children still talk poignantly about war, religion and how they view each other. (No airdate) @ART CAPTION:With hope and a piece of vinyl siding in hand, Judith Helfand visits vinyl makers in search for answers about polyvinyl chloride (PVC). @ART CREDIT:HBO @ART CAPTION:Mai Thi Kim and her daughter Heidi Bub meet at the airport in Danang. @ART CREDIT:GAIL DOLGIN @ART:Photos (2, color)

'Andy Richter' is a prime-time dream

'Andy Richter Controls the Universe' Airs: 7:30 tonight on Fox (Channel 4), replacing "Undeclared" until at least May Stars: Andy Richter, Paget Brewster, James Patrick Stuart, Jonathan Slavin, Irene Molloy

Who should watch: Those who stayed up late to watch Andy - and everyone else who didn't. Conan O'Brien's former sidekick has cooked up a prime-time show as daffy and entertaining as any of his old late-night gags. As a daydreaming office drone named Andy, his life jumps from one wildly absurd fantasy to the next. Dream sequences are a familiar motif from shows like "Ally McBeal" and "Scrubs," but Richter takes them to a whole new and even funnier level.

One part sketch comedy, one part workplace sitcom, the show plays to Richter's comic gifts as an improvisational performer and lovable straight man. He's aided by a talented and instantly likable ensemble, especially Brewster, who bounced around her share of lesser comedies before landing this dream role (so to speak) as Andy's boss. In the third episode, which she steals, Brewster binges on all-night parties before paying the price in an instantly classic, pitch-perfect scene.

Critics once said Richter wasn't fit for late night; now he's a prime-time player.

UPDATE 3/24/2009: Finally! "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" is on DVD

'Con Man' will steal your attention; KCK native is focus of fine Cinemax special

Con Man," the latest gem out of Liz Garbus and Rory Kennedy's documentary shop, tells the story of a Kansas City, Kan., native named Jim Hogue. Like many Americans, he wanted to leave the hometown behind and make a fresh start. So he reinvented himself - literally. At Palo Alto High School in California, Hogue stole the identity of a deceased infant and passed for a 16-year-old. He was 26 at the time. Later, posing as a brilliant 18-year-old named Alexi Santana, Hogue got admitted to Princeton University. On a scholarship. He asked Princeton for a deferment because, he said, his mother was dying of leukemia. In fact, at the time Hogue was in prison. "Con Man," airing at 6 p.m. Tuesday on Cinemax as part of its "Reel Life" series (which, by the way, is reason alone to get Cinemax), is a fascinating and sympathetic study of an obviously brilliant guy with a pathological aversion to living by the rules. "Con Man" is also about the person who made the film, Jesse Moss. He had befriended Hogue at Palo Alto High; 15 years later, Moss went looking for him. This film records his cross-country search for the elusive "real" Hogue, who had rarely been seen after serving his last jail sentence. Along the way, Moss interviews classmates and associates who were fooled by Hogue. Most of them still speak of him with awe and respect, even affection. An old friend from KCK astutely compares Hogue's passion for long-distance running to his habit of deception: "When you run, you're telling your body a lie," says the friend. After two years, the filmmaker finally catches up with his subject, now a loner living in one of the most desolate parts of the United States. He seems a broken man but also strangely defiant about his life choices. He tries to pass it off as just his alternative lifestyle. This 55-minute film humanizes the onetime Washington High School track star. Yet I thought Moss could have looked more critically at Hogue. One person says he committed a "victimless crime," but Hogue was a thief as well. "Con Man" mentions his role in a stolen bicycle ring but doesn't bring up a more serious conviction for stealing jewelry (at Harvard, no less). One admirer said that if Hogue hadn't been caught, he probably would've wound up on Wall Street one day. Now there's a comforting thought. Other highlights: To mark its premiere of "Startup.Com," Sundance Channel on Friday airs three documentaries about the rise and fall of e-business. Meet Kaleil and Tom. Best buds from childhood, they brainstorm a can't-miss idea, jump on the dot-com bandwagon - and off we go. "Startup.Com" (8 p.m. Friday) moves at a brisk pace. The cameras follow the two entrepreneurs everywhere: taxicabs, meetings with venture capitalists, media feeds, employee pep rallies, even the bedroom. In more scenes than not, they're on the phone. The venture, which seems to have had a sounder business plan than, say, Enron, grows rapidly. The founders ride this wave to the top - and then come crashing down with it. And we see it all, including the collateral damage done to their lifelong friendship. (Happy ending the film doesn't tell you: They've reconciled and are now in another venture ... rescuing other failed dot-coms.) "E-Dreams" (6:25 p.m.) wants to be another "Startup.Com" but spends too much time joyriding with the founders of Kozmo.com, a delivery service that burned through millions on a business plan that was shaky at best. "Revolution O.S." (5 p.m.) tells the story of a merry band of computer geeks who essentially designed the guts of the e-conomy - the software that drives millions of Internet computers - and then gave it away for free. The "O.S." stands for both "operating system" and "open source," and understanding these terms is essential to staying interested in this film. To its credit, "Revolution O.S." helps us do just that. In other documentary news, HBO's "Taxicab Confessions" returns with an all-new episode from, where else, Las Vegas, at 9 p.m. Sunday. And St. Luke's Hospital and Shawnee Mission Medical Center are home to two of the maternity wards featured in "Labor and Delivery," airing on TLC at 8 tonight. Seems like "The Job" just came back to television, and now it's going away again. So we have to put up with 22 episodes of tired old Drew Carey while settling for six measly instant classics from Denis Leary and the gang. Tells you what kind of mess ABC's gotten itself into, doesn't it? Wednesday's episode at 8:30 p.m. on Channel 9, ends with a cliffhanger. Let's hope "The Job" returns next year - or sooner - and doesn't leave us hanging. @ART CAPTION:At the time he was admitted to Princeton University - under the alias Alexi Santana - James Arthur Hogue was in prison. "Con Man," a fascinating documentary about Hogue's life and crimes, airs at 6 p.m. Tuesday on Cinemax. @ART:Photo @ART CREDIT:HBO

Rock steady, then run away

'My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star' Airs: 7 and 7:30 tonight, WB (Channel 62) Stars: Oliver Hudson, Michael Des Barres, Lauren Hodges, Rick Overton, Kevin Rankin, Shannon Tweed, Emmanuelle Vaugier Who should watch: Prison inmates who can't tune in any other channel. We're told that this show is "based on the popular British comedy," which makes you wonder about British TV viewers. Or perhaps something just got lost in the translation. It's hard to believe this brain-damaged teen sex farce came from the same place that brought us "All in the Family" and "Ab Fab." Jace (Kate's brother Oliver Hudson) is lead singer and driving force behind a Seattle area garage band that he believes is headed for greatness. We know this because he tells us that, along with a million other things on his mind, as the show's interminable narrator. His fellow bandmates are even less likable. And his dad, a burned-out heavy metal rocker himself, is a screaming loony - an instant turn-off. But my true loathing is reserved for the show's writers, who filled the two episodes I watched with puerile dialogue, hackneyed story lines, corny coincidences and, above all, incredibly thoughtless attempts at humor. A dirty word from the mouth of a young girl. An epileptic fit. A teen-ager killed playing football (the moment, I think, is supposed to be poignant, but it left me cold). To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com.

KMBC would have made no concessions for Letterman

So David Letterman has decided not to take his bag of tricks - and his stupid pet tricks - over to ABC. And for that his fans in Kansas City can breathe a sigh of relief. That's because "Late Show With David Letterman" would suddenly have begun airing 90 minutes later, at 12:05 a.m., in place of "ABC News Nightline," at an hour otherwise known for cheesy dating shows and infomercials. Take a moment and imagine yourself fighting off sleep, night after night, just to see Letterman. Imagine your frustration, even anger. Now you have a taste of how "Nightline" devotees here have felt. It was 22 years ago this month that ABC turned its nightly "America Held Hostage" into a permanent program, anchored by Ted Koppel. Channel 9 sent "Nightline" to the back of the line, scheduling it after reruns of "M*A*S*H," "All in the Family" and "The Bob Newhart Show." Today it airs after "Seinfeld," "Cheers" and "Entertainment Tonight." Other than the titles, not much has changed over the years. ABC executives have tried pleading, cajoling, harassing and even paying KMBC to move up "Nightline." "They bugged us constantly about it," recalls Pat Patton, KMBC's program director during the 1980s and '90s. But the station said no dice every time. Surely, though, the chance of landing a big-time entertainer like Letterman might have changed things, right? After all, Letterman would have brought youth to ABC - not his own, of course (he'll be 55 next month), but large numbers of youthful viewers that advertisers love. Those are the same advertisers, we must assume, who told ABC they thought Koppel's audience was getting a little long in the tooth. Unfortunately for those partisan to Dave, these arguments do not carry much weight with Channel 9 management. Frankly, they're glad the Letterman deal didn't go down. They might have needed to add another switchboard operator just to handle all the calls from outraged Letterman fans, on top of the ones the station already gets from outraged Koppel fans. Currently Channel 9 airs "Seinfeld" at 10:35 and plans to do so for a long, long time. The station has a huge financial stake in "Seinfeld" and the rest of its late-night lineup, and management sees no good that can come from messing with it. Here are the reasons they list: 1. As owner of the city's top-rated 10 p.m. newscast, KMBC builds up a head of steam that propels its audience through the next 90 minutes. This block of time is crucial because it's loaded with commercial breaks, and Channel 9 gets to sell nearly all the commercials. During "Nightline" and "Politically Incorrect," by contrast, KMBC must share much of the commercial time with ABC. 2. When late-night viewers who watch Channel 9 get up the next morning, their TVs are pre-set to 9's morning programs. It's no coincidence that KMBC has traditionally excelled in late nights and early mornings. 3. As ABC's troubles continue to pile up (it hasn't had a breakout hit since "Millionaire," which is now out of gas), affiliates like KMBC become more dependent on non-ABC programs. In this regard, Channel 9 is lucky. Every night at 10, thousands of viewers who were watching NBC, CBS or cable faithfully switch back to watch its news. In fact, KMBC is usually the only station in Kansas City where the late newscast typically draws a larger audience than the show that preceded it. In February, Channel 9's audience grew 50 percent at 10 p.m., despite the added competition of NBC's Winter Olympics coverage, which ran until 10:30 on KSHB, Channel 41. 4. KMBC is contractually obliged to air "Seinfeld" at 10:35 p.m. until March 2006 - yes, 2006. If Channel 9 bumps it to 11:05 or later, it has to compensate the company that distributes "Seinfeld." Thus, to persuade its Kansas City affiliate to move "Nightline" to 10:35, network executives would have to compensate Channel 9 for all the commercial time it was giving back to ABC as well as cover the penalty fee for "Seinfeld." Fat chance. "We've always been open" to negotiating the 10:35 time slot, says KMBC general manager C. Wayne Godsey. "But the economics of the deal have not been there." And this is a particularly bad time for ABC to be pitching either Koppel or Letterman to Channel 9. "Seinfeld" is one of the most popular sitcoms in syndication, and KMBC will be adding "Will & Grace" repeats this fall at 11:05. This will give the station its most formidable late-night combo since "Roseanne" and "Grace Under Fire" hit their peak. "These programs are doing much better than 'Nightline' would do in this time period," Godsey says. Though it's a bit of an apples-oranges comparison, Channel 9 once again won the local news derby in late news, while KSHB, Channel 41, boosted by Olympics coverage, ranked second. (The orange is the fact that NBC 41's newscast aired at 10:30, when audience levels are lower.) Managers at stations not affiliated with NBC were quick to dismiss the February ratings book as being overly skewed by the Winter Games. It didn't help, they said, that the one week that was Olympics-free was wiped off the books thanks to the ice storm, which knocked out the area's Nielsen meters. Channel 9 edged out "Fox 4," WDAF, for morning supremacy. KCTV, Channel 5, picked up viewers with its new 4:30 a.m. newscast but still lost the time period to a Fox 4 rerun of "Cops." Regent Ducas has been named news director at KCTV, replacing Don North. He starts next month. Ducas is currently assistant news director at NBC affiliate WDIV-TV in Detroit and has served as acting news director there. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com @ART CAPTION:Then-New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (left) presented the Top Ten Things I Will Miss About Being Mayor on David Letterman's show in November. @ART:Photo (color)

'Shield' is risky and terrific

'The Shield' Airs: at 9 tonight on FX (Channel 62 on Time Warner Cable) Stars: Michael Chiklis, CCH Pounder, Catherine Dent, Walton Goggins, Michael Jace, Kenneth Johnson, Jay Karnes, Benito Martinez Who should watch: Grown-ups looking for a grown-up cop show From the "not what we expected" department, the cable channel best known for the raunchy Howard Stern-produced "Son of the Beach" and "M*A*S*H" repeats brings us the year's riskiest venture - a drama that celebrates police corruption. And it works, thanks to great writing and a terrific lead character who lives just across the thin blue line from Tony Soprano. Vic Mackey (Chiklis) is the LAPD's secret weapon: He's an unscrupulous detective who always gets his man. He's a sleazeball, but an endearing sleazeball, with a normal wife and kid at home. The whole division knows he's dirty but he's making L.A. safer, right? A new captain (Martinez) thinks otherwise, yet even he comes to appreciate having Mackey as his personal pit bull. Pounder, once described as the queen of "serious black women in the background" before her recent work ("ER," "Boycott"), sparkles as an icy lieutenant who gets results. As if that weren't enough, "The Shield" also features heart-stopping action scenes, the steady backbeat of its addictive soundtrack and highly entertaining chatter. The combined effect will kick down your door. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com @ART CAPTION:'The Shield' stars CCH Pounder as Claudette Wyms and Michael Chikis as Vic Mackey. @ART:Photo (color) @ART CREDIT:FX

Letterman show to stay on CBS

David Letterman ended 10 days of media speculation about his future Monday night when he announced on his late-night show that he would be staying with CBS. His announcement was greeted with enthusiastic applause, which Letterman then characteristically followed with a joke. "I know it sounds pretty good to you, folks, but there goes the vacation to Disney World," he said. The Walt Disney Co., which owns the ABC network, had made overtures to Letterman in recent weeks about moving his show to ABC. When reports of these negotiations were leaked to the press, it touched off a firestorm within ABC's news division. Disney executives had promised Letterman the time period for its long-running news program "Nightline," but had failed to tell this to "Nightline" anchor Ted Koppel or ABC News chief David Westin. Letterman's new CBS deal will run five years, but he will have a yearly option to retire beginning in 2004. Other terms were not announced, but The New York Times reported that both networks had been offering Letterman about $31.5 million a year. He was making $30 million under his last deal at CBS. Though Letterman praised Disney for being "gracious and generous and very patient," he heaped more praise on Koppel and indicated that one reason he rejected ABC's offer was the effect it would have on "Nightline." He also alluded to the controversy surrounding Disney's decision to jettison a prestigious news program in favor of an entertainment show. "Ted Koppel," Letterman said, "at the very least deserves the right to determine his own professional future. Absolutely no less than that." Koppel reacted to the news by issuing a terse statement in which he described his show as "collateral damage" of ABC's pursuit of Letterman. It appeared that Letterman had patched up things with CBS chief Leslie Moonves. The two men have sparred over matters of promotion and scheduling problems. Their personalities - Moonves the smooth Hollywood insider, Letterman the lonely outsider - reportedly do not mesh well. "I think the hard feelings were overblown," said "Late Show" executive producer Rob Burnett in a telephone interview Monday. "What happened here is that CBS had an opportunity to make a deal with us. That deal didn't get done, and as a result, ABC cropped up." Burnett said that Letterman felt "obliged" to entertain ABC's offer. "It's a nine-year marriage and there are tussles," Burnett said. "They have different priorities sometimes. We got upset when we were delayed because the Grammys ran long. There's a lot of that in any long-term relationship." Letterman had privately complained that CBS wasn't doing enough to promote his show across the spectrum of youthful networks owned by CBS' corporate parent, Viacom, such as UPN, MTV and VH1. Burnett said CBS showed "how badly it wanted Dave to stay" in part by offering broader cross-promotion with Viacom. Still, Letterman couldn't resist getting in a few pokes at his current and future employer Monday night. "CBS, all of the sudden, they can't kiss up to me enough," he said. "I finally got a get-well card for my bypass surgery two years ago." To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. @ART CAPTION:Letterman @ART:Photo

Stupid White Men man does KC

Michael Moore will be in Kansas City March 25 to speak and sign copies of his best-selling new book, Stupid White Men. The free event will be at 7 p.m. in the Spencer Theatre for the Performing Arts at UMKC. Free tickets will be available starting today at Recycled Sounds, 3941 Main; Hollywood at Home, 9063 Metcalf; and Rainy Day Books, 2706 W. 53th in Fairway. Stupid White Men has become a publishing phenomenon, seemingly despite the efforts of the book's nervous publisher, HarperCollins. Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, HarperCollins delayed the book's release, then asked Moore to tone down the book's incendiary rhetoric, which is strident toward the Bush administration and, in particular, its cozy relationship with Enron Corp. @ART CAPTION:Moore @ART:Photo

You'll want to see 'Beyond the Prairie'

Whole lotta television going on. Besides the programs highlighted below, I'll be spotlighting three series this week in FYI: "The American Embassy" (today), "The Shield" (Tuesday) and "My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star" (Thursday). There will be no lack of warm fuzzies when CBS unveils the latest repackaging of the life of Little House on the Prairie author Laura Ingalls Wilder. "Beyond the Prairie II" follows up the highly rated 2000 CBS movie that told the "true story" about grown-up Laura, husband Almanzo, daughter Rose and the family's adventures on the South Dakota frontier. "Prairie II," which airs at 8 p.m. Sunday on CBS (Channel 5), doesn't try to match the original mishap for mishap. No blizzards or diptheria outbreaks or prairie fires this time; just a few scary moments and the loneliness that comes from moving away from Ma and Pa in South Dakota and heading to your own homestead in Missouri. (The Wilders settled in Mansfield, about 50 miles east of Springfield, at the now-enshrined Rocky Ridge farm.) Walton Goggins and Meredith Monroe have returned to play the ambitious young couple. Rose is played by Skye McCole Bartusiak, the expressionless waif who's become quite the popular little child actress (you'll recognize her from various movie and TV appearances). Once again, screenwriter Stephen Harrigan has plumbed Wilder's writings, as well as Rose's recollections, in crafting the sequel's script. If you're a stickler for historical accuracy, you know how TV movies play fast and loose with the facts. Ingalls fans found that out with the original "Beyond the Prairie." One Web site pointed out more than two dozen inaccuracies with the movie (like the fact that Laura's hair was brown, not blond like Monroe's). They'll probably have a field day with "Prairie II" as well. For example, the movie introduces a loner with a tragic past named Loudermilk (Thomas Ian Griffith). Laura finds him skulking around their house and scares him off with a pistol. Later, according to the movie, she seeks him out when she realizes Almanzo is too weak to clear the land. Loudermilk comes to work for the Wilders and reveals that he lost his family in a tragic fire. It's true that a hired hand helped the family during its first winter in Missouri. But according to an interview Rose gave in 1938, the "stranger" still had his family, and what's more, he sought out Laura for work, not the other way around. But I suspect most viewers don't tune in to movies like this for a history lesson. They expect a family-friendly, heartwarming tale of survival in the American West. They won't be disappointed, except for the ones who had hoped to see more of Laura's pa. Despite his top billing, Richard Thomas barely appears in "Prairie II." Also on Sunday, "New York at the Movies" (7 p.m., A&E, repeating 11 p.m.) is a dazzling look back at the most popular location site in the history of cinema. This two-hour special offers fresh perspective on iconic New York films like "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "Sweet Smell of Success" and uncovers a few long-buried gems as well. It recalls how New York galvanized the public's interest in films about crime and show business, and the lengths to which Hollywood went to re-create New York neighborhoods on their studio lots. Peter Bogdanovich, Liza Minnelli, Martin Scorsese and Lauren Bacall are among the celebrities happy to gab about Gotham, but the real insights come from Celluloid Skyline author James Sanders. Remember George Willig? The guy who climbed the World Trade Center one sunny morning 25 years ago, using his own homemade clamps? See him again on "Fame for 15," a new series about briefly famous people from the folks who go "Behind the Music" and "Inside TV Land." These cheapo documentary shows irritate me, especially when they're padded with pointless interviews (who cares what Kevin Nealon thinks about people who climb tall buildings?). And I was bothered by what seemed a manufactured moment, when Willig traveled to New York last fall to look at the rubble of the tower he once scaled - with cameras tracking him every step of the way. Still, the program rang true with my own recollections about the event, which cheered up New Yorkers and made them appreciate their ugly industrial towers about as much as they ever did prior to Sept. 11. Willig's 30 minutes begin 7 p.m. Friday on TNN as part of a "Fame for 15" marathon, followed by a profile of Sears Tower climber Dan Goodwin. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com @ART CAPTION:Scorsese; Bacall; Minnelli; Bogdanovich @ART CAPTION:Walton Goggins and Meredith Monroe star in "Beyond the Prairie II" at 8 p.m. Sunday on Channel 5. @ART:Photos (5, color and b/w) @ART CREDIT:CBS

Star makes ESPN's Knight shine; Accuracy disputes don't detract from Dennehy's performance

During "A Season on the Brink," ESPN's movie about controversial basketball legend Bob Knight, actor Brian Dennehy plays the volatile coach with maniacal gusto. He yells and swears a blue streak and throws temper tantrums. It's a great performance, if highly unflattering to the real Bob Knight. You would think that the outspoken coach would be raising a fuss over "A Season on the Brink," which airs at 8 p.m. Sunday on ESPN. But Knight, who was in Kansas City this week with Texas Tech for the Big XII tournament, hasn't said much about it. Instead it's author John Feinstein, on whose 1987 book the movie was based, who's making the biggest racket. Feinstein was appalled at the liberties ESPN took with his nonfictional account, written over the course of a year he spent with Knight's Indiana University team. After viewing a rough cut of the movie, Feinstein denounced it as "half fiction," saying that it draws "a cartoon" of the man who seemingly embodies the best and the worst qualities of college athletics. He pointed out scenes in the movie that were not in his book - and passages in his book that would have deepened the on-screen portrait of Knight, but were inexplicably (to him) left out. Well, Mr. Feinstein, welcome to my world. In the movies, including those made for television, the imperatives of screenwriting can be baffling to journalists, even as the remuneration has tempted many an ink-stained wretch to chuck his AP Stylebook for good. Even scripts that are "based on a true story" routinely include composite characters. In Hollywood, few would object or even blush. In "Season on the Brink," Knight launches a vicious attack on his players during halftime of a game against Iowa. It is a fearful outburst beyond all proportion, abusive rather than motivational. It's good television, as they say. And it took place three years after the movie alleges it did, in 1988, after Feinstein had written his book. Details, details. Nearly every made-for-television movie has enough fudge in it to give my editor fits. But if movies were meant to be compared with journalism, they'd leave the house lights on. Visual and written media tell stories in very different ways. To me, the only time a movie based on true events gets into trouble is when it misleads its audience. And so, as a longtime follower and sometime admirer of coach Knight, I asked myself: Did "Season on the Brink" confirm my overall impression of the man or not? Did I see in Dennehy's Knight a person driven to succeed by some amoral inner demon, who valued loyalty above all other virtues, did not hesitate to use blunt force (physical or emotional) to punish disloyalty (real or perceived), and whose behavior toward individuals - callous, sadistic, respectful, even tender - seemed as arbitrary as the weather? You bet your red sweater it did. And give all credit to Dennehy for that. For even if the movie had followed Feinstein's story to the letter, it could not have conveyed its essence had not the veteran Chicago actor portrayed Knight with such remarkable complexity and clarity. ESPN's advertising campaign got it right: Brian Dennehy "is" Bobby Knight. There is a quasi-documentary look and feel to "Season on the Brink." Film clips of actual 1980s games are cleverly blended with staged play to lend the movie games extra authenticity. The real Digger Phelps makes a cameo appearance as Notre Dame's coach, which he was at the time. We also watch man-on-the-street interviews with everyday Hoosiers (actors, I assume) who are asked what they think about Knight. Nearly all like him. They especially like his emphasis on discipline and hard work. Coach Knight even shares some of his unique philosophy with the camera. "Nice is for women's magazines," he says. "These boys come to Indiana because they want to be men." Much of the film is shot inside a dimly lit athletic facility. Here the team practices all winter, in endless drills that never seem to go to Knight's satisfaction. He berates them constantly, telling them to "think!" and focus on fundamentals: passing, teamwork, a pure shot. On good days he can be wickedly funny. "If God intended basketball to be played one-handed," he barks at a player, "there'd be an arm growing out of your (patootie)!" On bad days the coach erupts in obscenity-laden tirades. (In an unusual show of corporate synergy, ESPN2 will simulcast the movie with the bad words bleeped out, just like they do on "SportsCenter.") Perhaps Knight's most troubling habit is of singling out players for humiliation, dressing them down in front of their teammates, even ejecting them from practice. Afterward the assistants pick up the pieces. To one shaken young player, an assistant says, "He only picks on the good ones," explaining that Knight puts pressure on his players so they won't wilt during games. Is this good cop/bad cop? Is the coach just doing a Brian Dennehy impression when he wails, "You don't want it as much as I do"? This is the enduring mystery of Bob Knight, soon to become the college game's all-time winningest coach. There is a point where Knight the master motivator ends and Knight the tormented soul begins. Somewhere the relentless jerk becomes the caring father figure, seen here in precious single-dad moments with his son. (Feinstein says they were totally concocted.) Thanks to an outsized performance by Dennehy, we don't get any closer to figuring out where that line may be. And we're left with the distinct impression that when these players left Knight's tutelage, they may not have become men so much as children who had learned to tiptoe around their volcanic and unpredictable father. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. @ART CAPTION:Brian Dennehy (right) stars as big bad Bobby Knight in "Season on the Brink," airing Sunday. @ART CAPTION:Brian Dennehy delivers a strong, though highly unflattering, performance of basketball coach Bobby Knight in ESPN's "Season on the Brink." @ART:Photos (2, color and b/w) @ART CREDIT:DAVID GIESBRECHT

'Osbournes' has sweet quality; UPN shows have some appeal

"The Osbournes" Airs: 9:30 tonight on MTV Stars: Ozzy, Sharon, Jack and Kelly Osbourne Who should watch: People entertained by parents swearing at their kids. Despite the heavily bleeped soundtrack on this show - shot around the household of the notorious rocker - there's actually kind of a sweet quality to "The Osbournes," like when the kids go out and Dad admonishes them, "Don't get drunk or stoned tonight." The son, Jack, is an oddball and a bit of a loner, but you might be too if your old man once played in Black Sabbath. Kelly is in full-out rebellion, but Sharon, Ozzy's long-suffering bride, somehow keeps her in check. As for Mr. Osbourne, his big drama is that he can't get the bleepin' remote control on his bleepity-bleep new big screen to work. (See story on Page E-4.) "The Random Years" Airs: 8:30 tonight on UPN ("More TV 29") Stars: Will Friedle, Joshua Ackerman, Sean Murray, Natalia Cigliuti Who should watch: People who wondered what happened to Eric on "Boy Meets World." I had a few good laughs watching the premiere of this comedy about four 20-somethings in New York. Three guys who've been chums for life share an apartment, with a cutie down the hall. Though Alex (Friedle) seems to be the star, Todd (Murray) and Wiseman (Ackerman) are good-natured pals. "As If" Airs: 8 tonight on UPN Stars: Emily Corrie, Robin Dunne, Chris Engen, Derek Hughes, Tracie Thoms, Adrienne Wilkinson Who should watch: Angst-ridden kids just out of high school. Based on a popular British TV series, this half-hour drama explores the tangled relationships of six young people. It feels like a show that would've worked on MTV (most of this episode takes place at a dance club). If you're not an MTV viewer, you may find the minimalist writing and the heavy reliance on closeups and subtle visual cues a turnoff. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. @ART CAPTION:Cast of 'As If' @ART:Photo (color) @ART CREDIT:UPN

'Brady' sidekick has Kansas City roots

Friends who remember Brooke Dillman back when she was Brooke Brown at Shawnee Mission East in the early 1980s were not surprised to see her clowning around on a variety show last fall. Now they get to see her again. After a six-month hiatus, "The Wayne Brady Show" returns for a run on Mondays starting at 7:30 tonight on ABC (Channel 9). Dillman appears in nearly all the sketches, including one I saw in rehearsal last October on a visit to Los Angeles. Between the rehearsal and taping, Brady and the show's writers made just one improvement to the sketch - they added a pratfall for Dillman. Smart move, considering she's modeled her fast-rising career on the physical comedy of her idol, Carol Burnett. "I always wanted to be Carol Burnett from the time I was 6 years old," she said. "I would write Eunice-and-Ed skits when I was in grade school. I love doing a lot of crazy, loud characters." Two of her partners in crime at SM East were Steve Revare and Steve Melchior. Revare made a satirical digital movie a couple of years ago in which Dillman played several parts with aplomb. Melchior, who's in L.A. writing for television, saw her in a play in Chicago a few years ago and was amazed how little her style had changed. (One thing that did change was her surname. Her husband, Charlie, is the son of actor Bradford Dillman and actress Suzy Parker.) After making some impressions but not much money in such Windy City productions as "Reefer Madness" and "Second City Didn't Want Us," Dillman moved to L.A. in 1998. There she "got lucky," landing commercial work right away. "The first eight commercials I was in, all I did was stare," she recalled. "I was really good at staring." Although Dillman said her ambition was always to do comedy-variety on TV, shows like that are scarce - and who knows how long ABC will stick with "The Wayne Brady Show." So she's branching out. She's just been cast as the lead in a made-for-TV remake of the 1943 movie "Reveille With Beverly," based on the life of Jean Ruth, the World War II radio personality known as "the first female disc jockey." Dillman also plays a biology teacher in "Barely Legal," a teen-age comedy from the writer of "Slackers" that was filmed recently in Vancouver, British Columbia. After four seasons on Lifetime, including a couple of years as the cable channel's top-rated prime-time program, "Any Day Now" signs off with a two-hour finale at 9 p.m. Sunday. After 15 years on A&E, "Biography" isn't going anywhere. It takes a two-hour walk down memory lane at 7 tonight. Host Harry Smith interviews former "Biography" hosts Jack Perkins and Peter Graves as well as current and former producers about their most memorable subjects. Once again, "Once and Again" is back on the ABC lineup after taking six weeks off. No one knows how long it'll stay on the air, so tune in at 9 tonight (Channel 9) and see if Rick's ex has gotten over her injuries. She should - after all, it's been six weeks. You can reach Aaron Barnhart through the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. @ART CAPTION:Brooke Dillman @ART:Photo (color) @ART CREDIT:ABC

Lewinsky in another light; Ex-intern explains, defends herself in HBO special

Monica Lewinsky's vulnerability is what got her into trouble in the first place. So you have to admire the way she keeps making herself into a human Whack-a-Mole, popping back into the public eye only to be slapped down again. Three years ago, while promoting her book, Monica's Story, she told a British newspaper that she didn't "want to make a career out of being Monica Lewinsky forever." NBC's Matt Lauer lopped the final word off that quote, entirely changing its meaning, then threw it back in her face on national TV. If you don't want to make a career of being Monica, why are you on my show? Lewinsky left the "Today" set in tears and soon after called off the rest of her tour. Instead of talking about the book, commentators talked about her meltdown. "Reportedly, Monica wasn't prepared for hard questions like those and 'What's the capital of Nebraska?' " Tony Kornheiser wrote in the Washington Post. Fast forward to this January. Appearing before a gathering of TV critics to promote the HBO documentary "Monica in Black and White," Lewinsky was again a bundle of nerves. At one point she leaned over to HBO executive Sheila Nevins and whispered, "You said they'd be nice!" - loud enough for the whole room to hear. In the columns that appeared in print the next day, Lewinsky was called a "whiner," "a basket case" and the novel "Victiminsky." One critic groused, "Can't she just move on, dry clean the dress already and shut up?" Another wrote, "Why won't she just go away and lead a private life?" For all the sniping about her alleged love of the spotlight, history's most famous intern has not cultivated much media savvy in four years. "I didn't ask to become a public person," Lewinsky said in 1999, a plea she repeats in the opening moments of "Monica in Black and White." Jaded journalists scoff and point to Lewinsky's handbag line, or the occasional high-profile party she attends or her time as a TV host in Great Britain. But these are perks no better than those offered to former "Survivor" contestants. After watching "Monica in Black and White" I concluded that the reason she pulls herself back into the searing glare of the media is that she still feels an enormity of injustice was done to her. She also knows the only way to combat it is to use the same weapons of mass distraction that were used against her. This time, instead of a publisher, she teamed up with HBO, which paid her an undisclosed fee and hired filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, who previously rehabilitated Tammy Faye Bakker's image in "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," to conduct a Monica makeover. They filmed over the course of three days in a dimly lit auditorium. Lewinsky sat onstage and answered questions from an audience made up mostly of women her age. It's a supportive crowd; only two hostile questions are asked, both by men (who are promptly booed). Even so, one taping ended when Lewinsky was overcome by tears and left the room. Yet this, too, plays into the film's agenda. What Bailey and Barbato understand, and communicate brilliantly through "Monica in Black and White," is that Lewinsky's greatest attribute is her frailty and lack of polish. The way she tries to control her message - only to falter or have her words twisted by commentators who are more interested in her emotional state or dress size - is vastly more representative of average Americans' encounters with the media than the few who can actually go toe-to-toe with Matt Lauer. By keeping Monica on a level with her audience (she doesn't stand on stage, but dangles her legs over the edge), and letting non-journalists ask the questions, the film punches through the mist of unreality and suggests, especially to the young women watching out there, it could have been you. The point is never made more clearly than when an audience member (who may have been planted by the producers) identifies herself as a high school classmate and then drops a bombshell: Andy Bleier, the teacher who held a press conference to announce he'd had an affair with Lewinsky, had also made "unwelcome advances" to her and other girls at the same school. Whether one accepts the young woman's theory that the "successful affair" with Bleier made it easier to contemplate a tryst with the president, this exchange goes a long way toward demythologizing Monica. True to its title, the film is presented in monochrome, but its subject is shown occupying a moral and emotional gray zone. Encouraged by a roomful of sisters, she reveals herself as neither a scheming temptress nor gullible prey. She seems an honest, likable young woman, but an extreme case of the post-adolescent who requires some truly huge screwups to be propelled into adulthood. (At least she didn't get pregnant.) It becomes clear that she knows herself better than she did four years ago, yet she makes no apologies for having gone to Washington with high hopes and personal baggage. At times she is endearingly funny. Recalling her first time with the chief, she is able to smile at herself for falling for Clinton's extremely blunt pickup line (the crowd laughs uproariously). And on the subject of lying about sex, her point of view seems neither as naive nor irresponsible as it's been portrayed in the media. Throughout the film we see video of news reporters, TV pundits and political spokesmen from the scandal's peak. Nearly every talking head takes a shot at Lewinsky. Anti-Clinton forces rallied around Linda Tripp and Paula Jones, leaving the intern out in the cold. "There wasn't a political party that really wanted to be affiliated with me," she says. We also hear several damning minutes of telephone calls between Tripp and Lewinsky, as well as audio of calls Tripp placed to Jones' attorneys to discuss the perjury trap into which Tripp would entice her youthful phone-a-friend. Lewinsky admits she had a "sick relationship" with Tripp, using her as a shoulder to cry on after the relationship with Clinton cooled. Tripp, who comes across here as the real temptress, secretly taped their conversations, then turned them over to federal agents. Perhaps the tawdriest moment (recalled at length in the film) involved Tripp luring Lewinsky into a shopping mall so FBI agents could pick her up. "Monica in Black and White" is Lewinsky's first opportunity to talk about her interrogation since her immunity deal with Starr expired in early 2001. After hearing the details of how the FBI and special prosecutor Kenneth Starr's three-piece goons treated her, even the most ardent Clinton-hater should ask himself: What if that were my daughter? To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. @ART CAPTION:"Monica in Black and White" airs at 9 p.m. Sunday on HBO. @ART:Photo