MMMM # 68 - The Reporter on ABC's V

The ABC-TV Drama "V" premiered  this past week. It's a remake of an original 1980's series about aliens arriving very suddenly in huge spaceships above all of the world's largest cities promising PEACE! ALWAYS! And bearing GIFTS!. One of the main characters is....drum roll please...a reporter.

     Actor Scott Wolf is perfect for the part of the TV reporter...great fluffy hair, a winning smile, and willing to ignore all ethical concerns for a scoop. He's been given an exclusive live interview with the leader of the aliens. But two minutes before it begins, she announces "This interview is over" when he balks at her demand that he ask only friendly questions. "That's not the way it works", he lamely explains. But she's not budging. His hesitation doesn't last long. Given the choice between a worldwide exclusive and an empty chair with some explaining to do (as well as finding a new job), Scott rolls over and goes along. But we can see it's bothering him ("Gee, something not quite right about what I did there...") Duh.
    The exchange reminded me of  my 1999 visit to Germany as a RIAS Fellow. The elected officials there  expect all of the interview questions provided in advance.
     I always find it interesting to see how journalists--especially TV reporters--are portrayed on the big and little screens. When viewers are introduced to Chad Decker, he's in a throng of reporters who are, naturally, all shouting questions at The Alien Leader...I mean this is the story of the millennium! So Cool Chad baby shouts down his fellow reporters...tells them to be nice... and asks the really important question: "Are all of you so beautiful? he coos with his winning smile.
Gee, if only he had been covering the Larry Langford trial! He could have asked the convicted Langford what hair gel he uses. (Then again Chad wasn't needed there. Birmingham TV provided it's own version.)

     In the original "V", there was also a reporter-character--Mike Donovan--...but actor Marc Singer was no pretty boy throwing softballs. Donovan was a war correspondent, and he quickly figured out what's behind the alien beauty. My kinda reporter.

     Actor Wolf told MSNBC there's a certain ambivilence to the character he's playing:

I don’t think Chad Decker knows who he will turn out to be. It’s fun when an audience doesn’t quite know where a character is coming from and going, and it’s even more interesting to play a character that doesn’t know that himself.

     Far be it from me to advise a fictional reporter on a TV show, but sorry Chad, your character isn't 12 years old. Your gut almost always tells you what's the right thing to do. Let Ms. Reptile in beauty queen clothing get up from the chair, and then you explain to your audience what happened and why. Then get the resumes ready. And start a blog:   IalmostinterviewedtheAilen.com

[ADDENDUM: Interesting critique of the Social Media and the Ft. Hood shootings in this blog titled "Citizen Journalists Can't Handle The Truth".]

[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of this blog.]