Austin360 blogs > TV Blog > Archives > 2005 > September > 23 > Entry
Rita TV
Once again that ugly orange blob has swirled across the screen on cable news networks as Hurricane Rita blows into the Gulf of Mexico.
Seems like only yesterday that Katrina was bearing down on New Orleans, and the blob drew us to the tube for more hours than we had to spend.
Thursday the Rita focus was split between the traffic jams outside of Houston and the big orange blob wobbling toward the Texas coast. Split screens heightened the drama of this pending disaster.
CNN and Fox News Channel shifted some of their personnel from Louisiana and Mississippi to the Texas Gulf Coast, as Rita whipped into a Category 5 — and then sighed a bit down to a 4.
The lessons learned from Katrina? Get your main folks on the air and keep ’em there. NBC hit pay dirt with Brian Williams anchoring coverage, Fox’s Shepard Smith got the best reviews of his life for his passionate reporting and CNN’s Anderson Cooper proved he is more than just a filthy-rich heir to the Vanderbilt fortune.
For the Texas chapter of hurricane season, ABC sent anchor Charles Gibson, who reported from Houston yesterday and will stay through the weekend. Stone Phillips and Matt Lauer also are familiar faces for NBC, and CBS, after giving him a quick break from New Orleans, flew John Roberts into the storm along with Harry Smith.
Storms are big business for TV news, and Katrina, which doubled and sometimes tripled cable news’ ratings, taught news execs how to feed the frenzy.
Friday night debuts
For a night that increasingly doesn’t matter to broadcast networks, there sure are a lot of new shows on the schedule. Makes you wonder if programmers are paying attention to the size of the audience, which is only slightly less than the lowest-of-the-week Saturday audience.
If you happen to be one of those people who is home on Friday nights, here’s a quick rundown of the new stuff:
“Three Wishes” (8 p.m., NBC) is a shameless, do-good reality series with Amy Grant stirring up tears of gratitude in small towns across the country. It owes its weepy concept to ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” complete with in-your-face product placement. (Hello, Ford.) The opener grants wishes to a brain-damaged child, a football coach with leukemia and a child longing to be adopted by his stepfather.
“Inconceivable” (9 p.m., NBC) is a treacly drama about all manner of conception and childbirth. The handsome doctor (Jonathan Cake) in charge of the fertility clinic has a very active sex life, the attorney (Ming-Na) on board is in charge of conscience and Angie Harmon has been added as a doctor with firepower. Not my cup of tea, but the cast is good.
“Ghost Whisperer” (7 p.m., CBS) features Jennifer Love Hewitt seeing and chatting with dead people. She’s helping them find loved ones and settle pre- and post-death problems. Has its moments, but only if you buy into ghosts.
“Killer Instinct” (8 p.m., Fox) is possibly the most gruesome crime drama of the new season. The focus is on a San Francisco police squad called the Deviant Crime Unit, and the pilot deals with death by tarantulas, bugs and a finger found in the throat. Eeew.
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