What was on TV? Wed, March 9, 2005

20 years ago, George Bush was trying to privatize social security. And he faced mountains of pushback in all sectors! How things change. On that depressing note, let's see what was on TV!

8:00 America's Next Top Model on UPN

4x02 "The Girls Who Hate Their Makeovers" (record American Dreams on NBC)

Lots of stuff happened this episode. It was the makeover episode, those are always fun. But I cannot get past the fact that they weighed all the girls at the beginning. In front of the judges, their fellow contestant, and millions of UPN viewers!

This group of contestants is much less vibrant than the group from cycle 3. That was just an incredible collection of personalities, girls you hated, loved, loved to hate, and hated to love. They struck gold with that cast, and they didn't here (they struck bronze, maybe). And when you're not relishing the chance to watch all-star personalities like Eva, Ann, Yaya, and Toccara bounce off each other, the ugly parts of the show become a lot harder to take.

9:00 Alias on ABC

4x10 "The Index" (record The West Wing on NBC)

Tonight we explore Sydney's conflicting loyalties: her dear friend Dixon thinks Sloane is a villain, but her half-sister Nadia wants them all to be one happy family, and that means Sydney has to play nice with Sloane, since he's Nadia's father.

The show pretends it's an equal fight, but we have three years of history with Dixon. Of course the show underuses him, he's the token Black character, so that's no surprise. The show often seems to forget he exists even as it gives more screentime to white nerds Marshall and Weiss. But whenever Dixon gets a spotlight, Carl Lumbly wastes no time reminding us why we love him, and the full weight of his history with Sydney is present in every scene he shares with Jennifer Garner. Meanwhile, I only started caring about Nadia two episodes ago.

And frankly, I want Dixon to be right. I want Sloane to be evil! Stop teasing us. Let Ron Rifkin be a true villain again!

10:00 American Dreams (recorded)

3x14 "Commencement"

America was determined to be post-racial in the 2000s. This episode feels like a deliberate pushback against that. Our beautiful white heroine Meg has realized that she and her Black friend Sam might be more than friends. They share a dance, and they keep on going on not-quite-dates. We want them to date. Meg's last boyfriend was a real jerk and Sam is a sweetheart. The whole season has been building to this moment. Just kiss!

But Meg can't. Her friend Roxane doesn't understand what the big deal is. Roxane's corner of the show is very light-hearted (her storyline in this episode is about passing the Presidential fitness test) so she works as stand-in for a naive contemporary viewer. What's the big deal? She likes him, go for it! But Meg is having none of that. Roxane doesn't get it, she's not the one who people will stare at every time she goes on a date with Sam, she's not the one who has to deal with his parents. And indeed, her parents would prove a problem. She tests the waters with her elder brother, pointing out that he has Black friends, and served with Black men in Vietnam. And he shoots her right down. If she dates Sam, her father will never forgive her, and neither will he. Seeing such open prejudice from a character we're supposed to like on a show from 2005 is surprising in the best way.

Sam runs into similar opposition with his family. His friends see him with Meg and question his commitment to the civil rights movement, and his cousin points out that this could jeopardize his father's job, since his works with Meg's father. And so they part, though they don't want to. He kisses her on the cheek, and that's all we'll ever get from the show's One True Pairing. The teen drama formula is disrupted, but it's for good reason. Love does not conquer all.

10:00 The West Wing (recorded)

6x18 "La Palabra"

And here we have an episode that disrupts and then reconstructs the post-racial fantasy. Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) will be out of money and thus out of the race for president if he doesn't place second in the California primary. And there's a bill that makes it illegal for undocumented Americans to get driver's licenses on the governor's desk. Campaign manager Josh Lyman thinks speaking on this is a bad idea, and he's all ready to make his case to the principled candidate. But to his surprise, Santos doesn't want to say anything.

Wheels spin throughout the episode: false itineraries, leaks to reporters, sex scandals, and more. But Santos still doesn't speak out about the driver's license law, even when it may cost him a crucial endorsement. But finally, he makes his case to the governor himself (Ray Wise!). The bill is wrong. But "America doesn't need to hear that from someone who looks like [him]. They need to hear it from someone who looks like [Governor Ray Wise]." If he takes a stand on this issue, America won't listen, it's just what they expect. It's not news. And it makes them less likely to listen to what he has to say about healthcare and education. But he'll stand by the governor as he says it, and give him cover to veto the bill. It's a compelling and clear-eyed view of the compromises and calculations that minority candidates make.

I like that the episode makes you truly doubt that he'll be a good president. But in the end, he proves himself both a principled leader and a shrewd collaborator and political operator. It's a compelling vision, but it ignores the fact that white collaborators won't always be available. And as is often the case on The West Wing, things resolve as though by magic. Santos can stand by his principles without making any political sacrifices, but only because things fall into place just so. The realities of race in America are addressed and then resolved, and it was all so easy for everyone. The post-racial fantasy remains intact. Of course it does, this is The West Wing; it's all a fantasy.

(For the record, I still like the episode).

Late Night

Robin Williams was on Late Night, and Conan told him that he'd like to host the Oscars someday. It took 20 years, but it came true! Congratulations, dude!

What Else Was On

• Tonight, America chose the 12 American Idol finalists. But then one of them dropped out. Mario Vasquez claimed he dropped out for family reasons, but his family did not corroborate the story. Many speculated that he refused to sign the draconian record contract required of all contestants. The controversy and intrigue earned him a fair bit of attention, and it paid off. Vasquez sold more than any of the actual finalists save for winner Carrie Underwood and runner-up Bo Bice. And he sold those records quickly, since his career was soon derailed when a formal employee of Idol production company Fremantle sued him for sexual harassment and wrongful termination.
• Dan Rather hosted CBS Evening News for the last time. Technically, he was resigning, but that was just a fig leaf. He was pushed out after the 60 Minutes forged documents scandal. He was the second of the big three network anchors to leave. In a month they'd all be gone.

TiVo Status

The Masterpiece Theater miniseries The Lost Prince, a Frontline documentary, the TV movies Sucker Free City, Lackawanna Blues, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and Ladies Night, and one episode of Miracle's Boys. 16.5 hours total.

Music, 20 years ago

American Dreams often featured current music stars as famous people from the 1960s. This could get pretty wacky: on tonight's episode Julia Roberts' nephew played a fictional folk musician and Brian McKnight played Stokely Carmichael. But my favorite bit of strangeness came earlier this season, when Ben Taylor, son of James Taylor and Carly Simon, played one of his own songs. And it was good! It would sound right at home on one of his dad's albums.