Lateline - The Complete Series
Clever, funny, and occasionally groundbreaking,Latelinewas a victim of its own intelligence. Had it been conceived as a bolder, more abrasive HBO series it might have caught on, but as a formulaic network sitcom (initially airing Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. on NBC) it offered a slightly schizoid combination of conventional comedy and cutting-edge socio-political satire. A few years before becoming a bestsellingauthor, pundit, and Air America radio host,Saturday Night Liveveteran Al Franken (with series cocreator John Markus) served up this sharp, topical send-up of TV news magazines likeNightline, about the on- and off-camera antics at Lateline, a Washington, D.C.-based news program anchored by Pearce McKenzie (Robert Foxworth), a wealthy egomaniac with a penchant for dating dim-witted supermodels. Franken plays a thinly-veiled version of himself as beleaguered correspondent Al Freundlich, while producer Gale Ingersoll (the wonderful Megyn Price) and sourpuss boss Vic Karp (Miguel Ferrer) struggle to deliver "kick-ass" shows with the help of their overworked colleagues (Catherine Lloyd Burns, Ajay Naidu, and Sanaa Lathan).The gimmick ofLateline--later used in the HBO drama seriesK Street--is the inclusion of real-life movers and shakers from politics, news media, and Hollywood--a long list of cameo appearances lending an unpredictable edge of satirical spontaneity. Most of these power players add to the fun when the writing occasionally slumps into familiar sitcom territory, and the show's fullest potential is triumphantly displayed in "The Seventh Plague," an classic episode in which Freundlich, in a stubborn quest for "verisimilitude," single-handedly ruins an epic-scale disaster film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Martin Sheen as (you guessed it), the U.S. President. Office politics and hot-button issues fuel the humor (the Christian right, social security reform, etc.), but despite the noble efforts of its writers, directors, and superb ensemble cast,Latelinesuffered in the ratings, was briefly rebroadcast on Showtime after cancellation (including NBC's unaired episodes, also included here), and then died prematurely. As a prescient farewell, future presidential candidate John F. Kerry appears at the end of the final episode, suggesting thatLatelinewas slightly ahead of its time.--Jeff Shannon