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Jacko’s really big show
The judge has ruled that no cameras will be allowed in the courtroom, but Michael Jackson’s trial for child molestation is going to be a television spectacle anyway.
Isn’t it odd that the trial, which begins today with jury selection, debuts during the February sweeps? The King of Pop’s sense of showmanship has no limits!
With nearly 1,000 credentialed members of the press on hand, the trial in an otherwise sleepy little town near Jackson’s Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara County is going to be covered excessively by cable news and heavily by everybody else. Even the allegedly tasteful broadcast newscasts will drop in on the proceedings from time to time.
When cameras are barred from the courtroom, sketch artists take over on visuals, and reporters from all over the world will be describing the trial from their curbside perches.
Unlike the O.J. Simpson trial, which aired live on Court TV from start to dramatic finish, the Jackson trial, which is likely to carry on for five or six months, will not be a trashy, long-running, live “news” event.
But thanks to E! Entertainment, the cable network that gives us “True Hollywood Stories” and “True Hollywood Scandals,” has promised a brand-new take on the celebrity trial. Every day (excluding the current weeks of tedious jury selection), E! will have actors re-creating the day’s events.
Using court transcripts, the actors will present the prosecution and defense, presumably with Jackson’s eerily reconstructed, lily-white face looking on.
No word on who’s playing whom in the E! freak-umentary. Wouldn’t you love to sit in on the casting call for The Michael Lookalike? Wanted: 46-year-old male with a ghostlike countenance and a look of perpetual surprise.
Dave’s tribute to Johnny
David Letterman returns from his week-long, presweeps vacation tonight and will pay tribute to his friend and mentor, Johnny Carson, who died Jan. 23.
“The Late Show” (10:30 p.m. on CBS, KEYE Channel 42) will have former “Tonight Show” executive producer Peter Lassally and Carson’s music director Doc Severinsen.
But the star of the show should be Dave’s tribute, which is bound to be emotional and heartfelt — and, if he’s really singing Johnny’s praises, include some really funny moments.
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