‘48 Hours’ Celebrates 10th Year
It has been 10 years since the debut of CBS’ “48 Hours,” and in that time it has fulfilled television’s great potential to take viewers places where they otherwise might not travel.
Tonight at 9, Dan Rather hosts a two-hour-long retrospective that goes beyond a collection of highlights. “48 Hours” revisits some of the people profiled over the years.
In the one segment available for review, Rather returns to the scene of a 1986 telecast titled “Return to Crack Street.” He’s seen then and now with narcotics officers who fight an endless battle against drugs. In ‘86 the problem was cocaine. Today it’s heroin. Seizures of the drug have increased 20-fold since his last visit, Rather reports.
Cameras follow narcotics officers on the job, including an encounter with a 27-year-old addict who calls himself Dave. Rather gets to know him and his story. It’s a pathetic tale.
On a more positive note, you’ll also meet “Barry,” who was 13 and living on the streets of New York back in 1989. What has become of him is “nothing less than astonishing” a CBS press release says.
“48 Hours” has a compelling and informative way of telling a story. It has taken on sensational topics and treated them seriously. And on the weeks it has shifted to lighter fare, it has been entertaining and refreshing.
It is what it is - a quick hit that provides a slice of life or a glimpse of the world around us. It rarely panders to the titillating newsmaker interview the way “20/20” has over the years. It’s not as much about the personalities - Rather and his colleagues - as it is about the everyday people it reports on. And of all the newsmagazines, this one seems to take itself the least seriously.
Here’s to many more good years.
Highlights
“High Incident,” ABC at 8: You could see this coming and, to the producer’s credit, it has been done with sensitivity. Len (Matt Craven) finally faces up to the fact that he’s in love with his slain partner’s widow. On a somewhat lighter note, officers pursue escaped zoo animals. And Marsh’s (David Keith) relationship with a spousal-abuse victim (Lenore Kasdorf) takes an unexpected turn.
“Living Single,” FOX at 8:30: To save Flavor, Khadijah (Queen Latifah) sells part-interest to a magazine conglomerate headed by her worst nightmare (Joseph C. Phillips). Is this going to be one of those hate-love romances? “Columbo: Strange Bedfellows” (1995), ABC at 9: In a better-than-average outing, Columbo (Peter Falk) plays a cat-and-mouse game with a crooked horse breeder (George Wendt) who bumps off his brother and tries to set up a mobster. Wendt is a swell bad guy. Rod Steiger also stars.
“Seinfeld,” NBC at 9: What if you put on a season finale and nobody laughed? A lot of people thought this episode was in bad taste. George’s (Jason Alexander) premarital jitters are relieved in a most unusual way. It’s black humor that shocked even series fans.
Cable Calls
“Obsessed” (1992), USA at 8: Here’s perhaps the first and, we hope, last Shannen Doherty double feature. In “Obsessed,” the former “Beverly Hills, 90210” star plays a woman sexually obsessed with an older man (William Devane). At 10, it’s 1994’s “Blindfold: Acts of Obsession.” In this one, a therapist talks the young heroine into acting out some of her sexual fantasies. Both dramas, which first aired as network movies-of-the-week, are terrible.
“Mysteries of the Bible,” A&E at 7 and 11: The story of Job is explored. One thing you may not know is that the tale was once considered a blasphemy against God that had no place in the Bible. Find out if Job actually existed and why the tale has endured.
Talk Time
“Tonight,” NBC at 11:35: St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith, actress Pamela Lee and illusionists Penn and Teller.
“Late Show With David Letterman,” CBS at 11:35: Comedian Jon Stewart, actress Natasha Henstridge and bubble artist Fan Yang.
“Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” NBC at 12:35 a.m.: Actor Jay Thomas, author Michael Moore and comedian Laura Kightlinger.