Saunders: PBS puts best foot last

Published April 25, 2007 at midnight

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Viewers were still reeling from the tragic events at Virginia Tech.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was under fire in the U.S. Senate.

And, of course, the Iraq war was continuing. In short, a lot was happening in the nation and around the world Friday night when Rocky Mountain PBS-Channel 6 bumped its evening of local and national public affairs programming for auction coverage.

We're all aware that the well-run auction is a major source of needed income for operating the statewide public TV organization.

But such pre-emptions should be a no-no because the Friday-night lineup is a chief reason many viewers support the station.

In fact, Rocky Mountain PBS could have scored a public relations coup by announcing on-air that public affairs programming is too valuable to pre-empt during lengthy fund-raising periods.

Happy birthday!

The Simpsons first appeared on Fox April 19, 1987 as part of Tracey Ullman's comedy special.

The half-hour remains a fixture on the network schedule and is currently seen in 60 countries.

How long will The Simpsons air new episodes?

Forever seems like a ridiculous answer. But think about it.

The series could be broadcast as long as network television exists.

And who knows what electronic marvels are ahead in the future.

Keep in mind that Bart never ages and Homer's weird personality is always in tune with the weird times.

Tacky TV

NBC reached into the bottom of the reality- television barrel Monday night and came up with The Real Wedding Crashers.

The weekly hour features a team of real wedding crashers who destroy the ambience of major weddings. (The bride and groom know what's going on.)

The premiere hour was like an unfocused, out-of-control version of the Three Stooges.

It was a far cry from what NBC had previously aired in that time period. In the minds of some, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which had held the 9 p.m. time period for most of the season, was a confusing Hollywood drama. The Black Donnellys, which followed Studio 60 earlier this year, was an overly dark, often confusing crime drama.

Still, both had strong dramatic cores and talented professionals on and behind the camera.

Studio 60 was created by Emmy winner Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing), while Donnellys was the brainchild of Oscar winner Paul Haggis (Crash).

I doubt that either saw Wedding Crashers; they probably had more creative things to do. But how must they feel knowing their creative efforts have been replaced by such inane programming?

Still to be determined are the audience ratings.

Frankly, I'll be embarrassed if, after a couple of weeks, The Real Wedding Crashers is a hit.

Dusty's picks for tonight

A reminder to watch Buying the War (8 p.m., Rocky Mountain PBS-Channel 6) an important Bill Moyers documentary that indicts the mainstream media for failing to question the government's official line justifying its invasion of Iraq.

Perhaps there's a future report? Will major media organizations respond to Moyers' well-documented claims?

• The important May sweeps begin Thursday, so the networks are warming to the task by airing new episodes of current drama series.

At the top of the list is Crossing Jordan (8 p.m., 9News) currently dealing with storylines about the health crisis of the sturdy Jordan (Jill Hennessy), who wants to return to work after she's consumed by a quirky murder investigation.

A crisis story line is appropriate since the series is in crisis. NBC has yet to decide if it will return in the fall.

Koppel's hall

Recall when Ted Koppel hosted informative 90-minute town hall meetings when he was with ABC?

When he left to join the Discovery Channel, Koppel promised he'd be involved in even more long-form programming on important issues.

Coming May 5: Discovery: Living with Cancer, a three-hour town meeting with Koppel and featuring the latest medical information and dialogue with a variety of people, including Elizabeth Edwards and Lance Armstrong.

Today's nostalgia

On April 25, 1959, CBS presented a variety hour starring Gene Kelly. Guests included Carl Sandburg and Liza Minnelli, age 13.

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