ADVENTURES IN A TV NATION
My awe of Michael Moore began as a small child. For the longest time,
until I actually saw Roger and Me, I thought it was about a large rabbit.
Honest. Maybe that fits in somehow with Pets or Meat.
I remember sadly when TV Nation was no longer on the air. TV
didn't seem right somehow, without the crazy stories, strange wisdom,
and of course, Moore himself (and I don't think he needs to look like
Robert Stack to be more appealing!)
When I saw this book, I just had to have it. We didn't have a VCR until...gee...
1997, and if we had it before, I would have faithfully taped the show.
TV Nation appealed to anyone who had been slighted by large
corporations. It had a brilliant way of showing evil empires for what they
truly were, not the way they thought they looked in friendly commercials, and
exposing the little uglies such as racism and homophobia.
The book is illustrated with black and white photographs throughout. Colour would have
been cool, but then it would have made the book more expensive. Along with a program
listing, there is also a chapter on the five segments that never aired, such as one on
small condoms (hey!!! ever think of that before? There's large and jumbo, but how come no
small?). There's behind-the-scenes stories as the show was pushed to air and
when, sadly, no new episodes were ordered.
This book gives the benefit of hindsight. Many of the segments aired were cautionary
pieces, such as the "murderous" man whose neighbours thought there was nothing
wrong with red paint, loud music and axe-chopping at night. Others simply were embarassing to
wrong doers, for example, the black man in Washington D.C. who was constantly arrested
for not doing anything, or the Johns of Justice, which hopefully shamed architects and
lawmakers into building more washrooms for women. Furthermore, both the book and the show
proved that one didn't have to be gifted with Ralph Nader like abilities to make a serious
change in the world.
Most of all, the book captures the show's humour in the inviting way that only print can
do. Some things are funnier to read rather than watch on TV, as any gonzo fan can attest.
A fond reminder of smart television,
