‘48 Hours’ Checks Out The Buzz
Are you hooked? Hooked on coffee? Many people can’t get through the day without a steadying cup of joe. Or five.
CBS’s “48 Hours” at 10 examines the addictive qualities of caffeine and how it is craved not only by adults but by children, too.
If you have kids, the report may give you pause. Correspondent Roberta Baskin talks with an expert who says that when a school-age child drinks a can of caffeinated soda, it packs two to three times the effective dose it does for an adult. That’s scary, when you consider that adults say they sometimes drink a soda for the caffeine buzz.
Moreover, kids aren’t satisfied by caffeinated soft drinks.
Baskin reports that coffee shops and expresso bars are springing up near schools. And some schools even allow students to drink coffee in the cafeteria.
Beyond that, Baskin points to a new line of caffeinated water and fruit juices that manufacturers appear to be pushing on young consumers.
Should we take these developments lightly? Baskin says to consider this: When caffeine is added to over-the-counter drugs, the Federal Drug Administration requires it be listed, with a warning that the drug should not be given to children under 12.
Tonight’s show also includes the dramatic story of 4-year-old Julianne Prudhomme, who will die without a five-organ transplant.
Doctors say her odds of finding a donor are 50-50; the chances of surviving the surgery about the same. Nonetheless, her parents are combing the country “searching for a miracle.”
Highlights
“Friends,” NBC at 8: Monica’s (Courteney Cox) courtship by the millionaire (Jon Favreau) she has no feelings for comes to a head when he buys a restaurant and offers to make her head chef. Meanwhile, Ross (David Schwimmer) comes to Rachel’s (Jennifer Aniston) rescue after she is injured in a fall, even though it may cause him to miss a chance of a lifetime.
“Suddenly Susan,” NBC at 8:30: What office comedy hasn’t packed off on a weekend retreat? Writers have no shame, apparently, so we’ll sit through another formula half-hour.
What a surprise it will be when the cozy getaway turns out to be a dump. Worse yet, the occasion provides an opportunity for romantic sparks to fly between Susan and Jack (Brooke Shields, Judd Nelson) - the series’ sexual-tension subplot that has virtually no charm.
“The World’s Deadliest Volcanoes,” ABC at 9: Volcanoes in Hawaii, Iceland, Latin America and on the continental United States are visited in this repeat from February. The special first aired as a lead-in hour for ABC’s preposterous TV -movie, “Volcano: Fire on the Mountain.”
“New York Undercover,” FOX at 9: This scenario may sound familiar: The detectives search for a carjacker who shot two children left in the back seat while their mother was shopping. But with no witnesses, Moreno (Lauren Velez) is forced to accept that the mother (Sandra P. Grant) is a suspect.
“ER,” NBC at 10: As usual, personal problems are as abundant as medical problems. Greene (Anthony Edwards) struggles to help his daughter (Yvonne Zima) with problems at school, and Benton (Eriq La Salle) makes a mistake when he tries to help Carla (Lisa Nicole Carson). Carter (Noah Wyle) lands in hot water when he crosses Anspaugh (John Aylward), and Weaver and Jeanie (Laura Innes, Gloria Reuben) help a suicidal AIDS patient (Gia Carides).
Cable Calls
“Tin Men” (1987), USA at 9: If comedic jawboning is your cup of tea, you’ll get a charge out of Danny DeVito and Richard Dreyfuss in this Barry Levinson (“Diner”) comedy about a pair of aluminum-siding salesmen who clash over a fender-bender.