More TV-watching.

Yes, the siren call of the idiot box has been calling me this week. But there have been some things worth watching: two were 9-11 related, and one's a miniseries. And none of them were on major commercial networks.

One was this week's American Experience: The Center of the World, the final episode in Ric Burns' series on New York City. This 3-hour episode was on the World Trade Center - its genesis, construction, life, and collapse. Very interesting, very detailed. Excessively detailed, in fact, the way that Ric Burns' documentaries usually are. I took a nice nap during the early part of the second hour. Awoke in plenty of time to watch the 15-minute segment on the Frenchman who did the unauthorized high-wire act between the buildings. Certainly one of the obvious differences between news reporting today and reporting in 1974 when the action took place is that it was covered then with still photographs, while today there'd be a lot of video cameras around recording every instant. The still photographs were more than vivid enough for me - seeing them made my legs go weak and my feet tingle, and they weren't even pointed down at the ground (which was, of course, 1200 feet straight down). The last hour was devoted to the events of two years ago, and I thought they were done in a good, low-key, straight-forward documentary style, although the sentimentality of an American production was definitely present. All in all, I thought it was worth seeing, although there were times I'd have like to have had both a pause button and and a fast-forward.

Another was BBC-produced Clear the Skies, a 1-hour look at 9-11 focusing on the civilian and military control of the sky above the US, and the reactions and decisions of the FAA, the military, and the Secret Service. Interviews with the four pilots of the military jets that were the only quickly-airborne defense for the northeastern US, eventually patrolling 2 over NYC and 2 over DC. Interviews with and videotape from the reporters' section of Air Force One, which had taken on enough food and supplies to stay aloft a week (presumably being refueled in midair). Pilots of additional military jets already in the air on training missions - and unarmed - realizing that they might have to ram their planes into hijacked commercial jets to prevent them from reaching their targets. A speeded-up tape showing nationwide traffic control radar as all of the non-military flights were grounded in the space of a couple of hours. Good show. Absolutely straight reporting. An angle to the story I hadn't seen done before, and well worth watching.

Finally, the fun one is the mini-series on Bravo this week, The Reality of Reality, an in-depth look at so-called reality shows, how they're manipulated through cast selection and copious editing, artificial drama, and the occasional re-filming of scenes "for better television". The higher-tier shows (Survivor, Big Brother) tend to play it more legit than the knock-off series. What people who take part in those shows expect will happen to them (wealth, fame, happiness), and what usually happens (adrenaline rush, followed by a tremendous let-down). As one of the folks who did well on Big Brother put it, "It's a pathetic attempt to get your life validated by strangers." Great fun if you've enjoyed any of the reality shows.