Aliens, Criminals and Anna Nicole Take TCA

Cable World, July 15, 2002

Byline: ANDREA FIGLER

Original programming was all the rage at the Television Critics Association tour in Pasadena, Calif., last week.

Taken, a miniseries about abduction by aliens, created the biggest buzz. And for good reason. The 20-hour miniseries is executive produced by Steven Spielberg, and will air in December on the Sci Fi Channel. While the drama doesn't answer any of the burning questions about life on other planets, it does dig into the country's fascination and folklore behind abduction in ten two-hour movies that will air weeknights back to back, according to the cast and crew of Taken.

Sci Fi's sister channel, USA Network, also announced its own slate of shows that dig into some of the country's predominant mysteries. For a new campaign called "Crime Fridays" launched last week, the network will include a movie called Dominick Dunne Presents: Murder in Greenwich. The movie reveals the case behind the brutal murder of 15-year-old Martha Moxley in 1975. Almost three decades later, Kennedy nephew Michael Skakel was convicted of the crime.

E! Entertainment Television also plans to unzip some of the social fabric behind one of the most eye-opening American fascinations to date - former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith. With cameras following her every move, the half-hour reality show, to debut Aug. 4, will offer an insider's view of the woman behind the makeup, magazine shoots and court battles.

Oxygen also plans to look into unfamiliar territory in the sex industry and other professions as Candice Bergen explores real people's lives such as a stay-at-home mom who pulls double duty as a sex phone operator. Candice Checks It Out, a weekly half-hour show, will debut Aug. 18.

The Hallmark Channel targets probably the most American of all sensations in The Last Cowboy. The two-hour original movie, scheduled to air this fall, digs into the bitter family feud over cowboys, horses and the ranch they all depend on.

Although phobias may not be uniquely American, the National Geographic Channel will explore some of the most personal, strange and fearful phenomenon in a new half-hour weekly series that will debut Sept. 30. Every Monday, Phobia will look at the origins and treatment of extreme fears of heights, germs, spiders and - oddly enough - clowns.

While National Geographic reveals why some folks don't see the funny side of clowns, Comedy Central will do just the opposite and mock one of the country's more serious spectacles - elections. Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, will tape shows from the nation's capital, airing Oct. 28 through Oct. 31. A live election broadcast will run Nov. 5. Unlike elections in other countries, U.S. elections are huge media events that provide great fodder for parody, says Bill Hilary, EVP and general manager of Comedy Central.

"American elections are almost like soap operas evolving on television," he says. "The Daily Show bursts that bubble and shows the [coverage of elections] for what it really is."

For its part Animal Planet presented its first-ever sitcom about a dog's eye-view of a Los Angeles family struggling with the everyday challenges of living together. Beware of Dog is scheduled to air Aug. 13. Turner Classic Movies will feature an original documentary about actress Joan Crawford. And on Aug. 4 Showtime Networks will debut a comedy about the changes in intimacy and commitment within a long-term marriage in an original movie Women vs. Men.