REALITY TV ANNA NICOLE 2, PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS, THE WAR IN IRAQ, AND GLOBAL WARMING: A PROGRAM GUIDE

February 15, 2007  

So far this month four reality TV programs, Anne Nicole 2, Presidential Politics, The War in Iraq, and Global Warming, have elbowed each other for the largest audience. While Anna Nicole 2 was a surprise entry this season, it appeared, temporarily at least, to have captured the top ratings for the week.

Of course it all depends on which channels you regularly watch. All four programs play simultaneously on multiple channels, but if you principally watch broadcast television you might not agree with this assessment. If, on the other hand, like an ever-increasing number of Americans you mostly watch cable television, you had a hard time not tuning into Anna Nicole 2.

Anna Nicole 2 had a furious first week following its premier with the tragic death of Anna Nicole Smith on February 8, 2007. As of this writing, however, its story line is in a holding pattern. While new tidbits surface daily, nothing earth-shaking is likely to happen until we learn the cause of her death, or until a court rules on the custody battle over her daughter Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern. Previews of future episodes, however, promise surprises.

Smith’s lawyer-lover, Howard K. Stern, is one of at least five people who claim to be her baby’s father. He and Dannielynn are in tactical seclusion while lawyers posture behind the scenes for the inevitable court battles that will ensue over the child and Anna Nicole’s potential fortune from her deceased husband. Meantime everyone waits for the results of tests that will definitively determine the cause of her death. As soon as the status quo changes, large audiences will tune in.

The large following of this reality soap opera should come as no surprise. The death of a blond sex-symbol always makes a good story, but Smith’s death is surrounded by more tantalizing unknowns than the deaths of most celebrities, with the exception of the death of Marilyn Monroe on August 5, 1962, whom we are still talking about 45 years later. Can you imagine what the Marilyn Monroe Program would have been like had cable television existed in the 1960s?

Regardless of what you may have thought about the former Playboy model, you can understand why people are interested in Anna Nicole’s melodramatic tragedy. There was her marriage to nonagenarian-billionaire J. Howard Marshall, the lawsuit over his fortune, her first reality TV show, the death of her adult son in the hospital where she had just given birth to a child of questionable paternity, and her flamboyant life style. As long as the battle over her new baby and her money persists, people will tune in.

Anna Nicole 2 arrived on the scene and captured its audience from three other programs already experiencing successful runs. Presidential Politics, The War in Iraq, and Global Warming have large and dedicated followers. Each is an intriguing and unpredictable reality TV program of its own.

The 2008 presidential candidates are off and running earlier than usual this new season on one of the longest running programs in the history of democracy. With President Bush term limited and Vice President Cheney not a candidate, and with last year’s Democratic nominee, Senator John Kerry, a declared non-candidate, neither party has an heir apparent. All the candidates are off to an early start to in the hope of building unstoppable inertia before the primaries next year.

This alone would make the campaign interesting enough, but with a cast of new characters—a former first lady, an African American, a Mormon, a three-time-divorced former mayor of New York, and an outspoken Republican Senator-former Vietnam POW—all running for president, this program is a cinch to win the Emmy.

The War in Iraq is entering its fifth season and will retain a host of followers through the 2008 election. It too has a new cast this season. General David Petraeus, the new commander in Iraq has taken over from General Casey to implement the President's new strategy while newly elected members of congress on both sides of the isle, a new Speaker of the House of Representatives, and a new Senate Majority Leader are attempting to pass a non-binding resolution criticizing the troop increase. 

The War in Iraq, of course, is a deadly serious drama with little to make light of. Anna Nicole 2, Presidential Politics, and even Global Warming contain elements of humor. Americans, however, view the sacrifices of US troops and their families and the debate over our involvement in Iraq in a more serious vein. Nevertheless, developments on the battlefield, the debates in Congress, on the talk shows, and in our living rooms will ensure that the war remains a top viewed program. Supporters and critics both try to write future scripts. We'll have to see who's successful.

Global Warming runs principally on the Science and Discovery channels on cable with regular updates on national news and cable talk shows. For a while it appeared that Global Warming viewers had lost interest. Then the United Nations published its State of The Climate report, putting the blame squarely on human activity for global warming. 

If that weren’t enough, Al Gore was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and an Academy Award for his Inconvenient Truth movie about global warming. A shoe-in to win the Academy Award, Gore, no doubt, will use the platform, backed up by the UN report, to reinvigorate the debate. 

Czech president Vaclav Klaus made an unexpected guest appearance on the program last week when he stated in an interview that he believed the global warming controversy has been hyped by the left and he questioned Gore’s sanity on the global warming issue.

Global Warming is unlikely to get cancelled no matter how few people tune in, however. It has become one of those issues like abortion and gun control that leaves no room for middle ground. People will stop watching it for a while when they get bored, but they will return to the program regularly to make sure their side isn’t losing the argument.

So, with Presidential Politics, The War in Iraq, and the Global Warming to watch, why all the interest in the premature death of another Hollywood personality? Is it the message it sends to the likes of Britney Speers and Paris Hilton and all the young women who seek to emulate them? Is it because people genuinely found Anna Nicole Smith an endearing personality despite her faults? Or is it simply America ’s ever-increasing fascination with glamorous people?

Anna Nicole 2 may prove productive if other young women on the path to self-destruction heed the warning her death sends. Unfortunately, the young have a sense of immortality even events like the death of Anna Nicole Smith aren’t likely to shake. When James Dean died driving a Porsche 550 Spider at high speed on September 30, 1955 after an unfortunately short run of only three movies, it had little effect on the driving habits of young men.

What you can expect this season from the four leading reality TV programs is more of the same with unpredictable new twists and turns. This likely is Anna Nicole 2’s one and only season, but I could be wrong. Presidential Politics will have an indefinite run. Many of the program’s financial backers want to cancel The War in Iraq, but it’s too early to tell if they will win the argument. Reruns of past seasons of Global Warming will run indefinitely on the Science Channel. Enjoy.