There were a few modest additions: CBS’s “The Guardian,” the WB’s “Smallville,” Fox’s “Bernie Mac.” But none of them has created the big-ratings buzz that “C.S.I.” or “The West Wing” or “Malcolm in the Middle” generated in their debut years. In fact, looking back over the biggest TV moments of 2001, it’s amazing how many of them revolve around the destruction of something big, rather than the creation of it. Take the collapse of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” and “Temptation Island.” Then there’s the creeping irrelevance of “Ally McBeal,” “Frasier” and “The X Files.” And of course the biggest moment captured on TV last year the destruction of the World Trade Center. So at the risk of adding more gloomy tidings to what has already been a dark and stormy 12 months, here’s a look at the top 10 TV moments of 2001, such as they were:
The destruction of the World Trade Center. Hollywood couldn’t have created a more horrifying image: a jumbo jet flying straight into the tallest building in New York. But that was just the beginning. Almost before we could comprehend what we were seeing, both Trade Center buildings collapsed like pancakes, sending thousands of terrified New Yorkers streaming through the streets. Not since the Challenger exploded in 1986 or Jack Ruby gunned down Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963 has television witnessed such horrifying sights and beamed them–live–to living rooms around the world. Some images from September 11 are so disturbing that the networks have rightly decreed that they will not broadcast them again. Not that we can ever forget what we saw on that day. September 11 was more than just the most memorable TV moment of the year. It may be the most indelible TV broadcast of all time.
The post-September 11 reaction. If television coverage of September 11 was unprecedented, the reaction to that horrifying day was almost as notable. It took varied forms: the all-star charity concert carried live by more than dozen networks, Dan Rather crying with David Letterman, President Bush’s inspiring address to Congress, Tom Brokaw declaring “in Cipro we trust” after anthrax hit his office at NBC. Rarely has television captured the country’s pain so vividly–and helped us heal.
The death of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” It seems like only yesterday that Regis Philbin was proclaiming that he had “saved” ABC. Now ABC says it might not even bring Regis’s game show back for a third season. That’s an extraordinary jackknife for a program that reportedly helped its network generate $1 billion just two years ago. It’s not altogether surprising, given that brain-dead ABC–which hasn’t launched a real hit since “Dharma and Greg”–milked the program for every penny by airing it four times a week. This is a shameful way to run a network, and a rotten thing to do to a good show.
“Six Feet Under.” Could you imagine the nervous-nelly networks ever going for a drama about a dysfunctional family of undertakers? Of course not, which is why the best new show of 2001 turned up on HBO. From Ruth’s affair with a flower-arranging Russian to Claire’s toe-sucking in the back of a hearse to David’s fitful attempts to come out of the closet, “Six Feet Under” is never predictable and always a delight. Watch your back, Tony. “Six Feet” may become the next “Sopranos.”
“Survivor” versus “Friends.” Though it’s slipped a bit for its third installment, it’s hard to underestimate the seismic impact of “Survivor” going head-to-head with “Friends”–and winning. After all, “Friends” is the No. 1 sitcom on TV and the cornerstone of NBC’s “must see” Thursday. “Survivor” didn’t even exist two years ago. For a while, we thought reality TV was going to run the ailing sitcom genre off the dial. That’s not going to happen–as the recent collapse of “The Mole,” “Temptation Island” and the rest demonstrates. But reality is not going away, either. And as long as “Survivor” keeps pushing “Friends” to get better and better, we’re glad to have them both around.
Carol Burnett and friends. Almost 30 million people tuned in to watch outtakes from the old “Carol Burnett Show,” making it the fourth-most-watched TV program of the year. This is what you might call video comfort food for a shell-shocked country, and it’s not the only meal on the menu. An “I Love Lucy” special pulled in more than 17 million viewers and Michael Jackson’s concert attracted 23 million. Even the “Facts of Life” reunion was a hit. We told you this was a depressing year.
Eminem and Elton. They were the oddest couple of the year: rock’s reigning bad boy and Britain’s biggest queen. It’s hard to say why Elton John agreed to perform with Eminem at this year’s Grammy Awards, or, for that matter, what the homophobic Eminem was thinking when he hugged the openly gay John. Still, it was the most controversial TV moment of the year. If Em ends up marrying new girlfriend Kim Basinger, do you think Elton will be the best man?
“Bernie Mac.” Bernie Mac is the anti-Cosby, a man who rants and raves and taunts his foster kids with threats like “I’m ‘a bust your head till the white meat shows.” Does he mean it? Of course not. Like parents everywhere, Bernie often puts on a tough-guy pose to keep the kids from seeing they’ve got him wrapped around their little fingers. Still, the lovable curmudgeon is a rare original voice in the vast sitcom wasteland.
“Alias.” By some eerie coincidence, the networks trotted out three new shows about terror-fighting Americans this year. The one that’s most worth watching is “Alias,” a wonderfully preposterous spy fantasy about a young woman who is a banker by day and a butt-kicking double-agent by night. Though it has a tendency towards the formulaic, “Alias” is almost always gripping, gorgeous and just plain fun, thanks in no small part to the remarkable Jennifer Garner. She’s our nominee for the TV discovery of the year.
Diva meltdowns. It’s always been hard to take your eyes off of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. This year, that was truer than ever. First, Mariah went on MTV’s “Total Request Live,” where she pushed a popsicle cart, stripped off her T-shirt and soon headed straight to the loony bin. Even scarier was Whitney’s appearance on Michael Jackson’s TV special. Skinnier than Karen Carpenter and sweating like a pig in heat, Whitney looked so spectral that CBS ultimately digitally doctored the footage. We still saw how shocked Michael was by Whitney’s appearance. And when you scare Michael Jackson, you’re in big trouble.
