LeVar Burton hosts "Roots: Celebrating 25 Years" (7 p.m., NBC), a glance back at one of the most popular and important events in television programming. One hundred and thirty million Americans tuned into all or part of a multipart saga that aired on eight consecutive nights. The conclusion of "Roots" on Jan. 30, 1977, remains the third most-watched show of all time, behind only the "Who Shot J.R.?" episode of "Dallas" and the series finale of "M*A*S*H*."
American couch potatoes, long ridiculed for their short attention spans and their preference for silly escapism, remained glued to a harrowing and difficult history lesson in racism and endurance.
As executive producer David L. Wolper recalls, "Roots" did not sound like a good idea at the beginning. "Here's a story where the blacks are the heroes and the whites are the villains, in a country that's 90 percent white and 10 percent black. But there was something about that family story that struck everybody who heard it."
This documentary combines reminiscences by cast members with first-person accounts from ordinary viewers like Dorothy Redford. "Roots" inspired her to interview older members of her own family, which led to the discovery that she was descended from slaves taken from West Africa to Somerset Plantation in Creswell, N.C. She later attended a reunion of thousands of descendants of Somerset slaves, which was attended by Alex Haley, author of the best-selling book that inspired the mini-series.
The miniseries was such a ratings smash that many media pundits, then and now, have claimed that "Roots" changed the face of television. Sadly, it did not. In 1978, NBC challenged viewers with "Holocaust," a harrowing four-night event watched by more than 120 million viewers. But soon networks would turn to safer soap opera plots like "The Thorn Birds" for their blockbuster dramas. After the arrival of cable-fractured TV viewership, networks could never again attract an audience the size of "Roots."
The historical importance of "Roots" certainly doesn't count for much at ABC. The celebration of their most-watched show airs on a rival network.
"20/20" (9 p.m., ABC) returns to Friday nights. ABC news correspondent John Miller joins host Barbara Walters. Miller has made a name for himself covering organized crime, and more recently, international terrorism. Scheduled tonight: a Saudi princess arrested in Florida for abusing her maid, and a follow-up report on would-be American parents stranded in Cambodia with their adopted babies.
PBS and National Public Radio (NPR) have joined forces to launch "Now With Bill Moyers" (9 p.m., PBS, check local listings), a new weekly program of news, analysis and interviews.
Former Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach hosts "Forever Wild" (9 p.m., VH1), a new weekly series celebrating the creators and fans of hard rock. Bach will go hunting with guitarist and Second Amendment enthusiast Ted Nugent, drive in a fast car, walk on Las Vegas' seedier side, and introduce new and vintage heavy-metal videos.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.