It’s hard to top a man on a tightrope. Last Friday’s exhaustive coverage of Nik Wallenda’s successful attempt to walk above Niagara Falls earned ABC its best Friday night ratings since November 2007. I guess that’s impressive. Still, it seems like a long and risky way to top a repeat of “Blue Bloods” on CBS.
‘‘20/20” (8 p.m., ABC) isn’t so much about defying death as controlling spin. Rielle Hunter is on promoting her new book, “What Really Happened,” before it hits bookstores next week. Just in case you need a refresher course on who she is and why you should care, Hunter was involved in an affair with former Sen. John Edwards before and during his candidacy for president in 2008. At the time, Edwards’ wife, Elizabeth, was suffering from cancer that would eventually take her life.
Hunter’s book hits the market against the headwinds, or perhaps the dead winds, of a nonevent. Edwards was recently acquitted of all charges in a very public trial arising out of improprieties related to his secret liaison with Hunter. I’m no expert on such things, but I would imagine that the “20/20” audience and the book-buying public might be suffering from scandal fatigue.
Hunter says she wrote the book for the sake of her and Edwards’ daughter, Frances Quinn. She hopes the book will provide the girl with “one entirely truthful public account of how she came into the world. After all, this is her story too.”
l Every year the folks behind the Razzie Awards “honor” the worst movies and performances of the year. Few performers actually show up to receive their award. Notable exceptions include Sandra Bullock, who surprised folks in 2010 for accepting her Razzie for worst performance in the romantic comedy “All About Steve” (8:30 p.m., Fox Movie Channel). Halle Berry also had the good humor to pick up her Razzie for the 2004 comic book adaptation “Catwoman” (8 p.m., Oxygen).
It’s worth noting that these performers have also won Oscars.
Tonight’s other highlights
l The sudden death of a kindergarten teacher sparks fears of foul play on “Dateline NBC” (8 p.m.).
l Abandon ship on “Whale Wars” (8 p.m., Animal Planet).
l A wife’s weekend getaway turns tragic on “Motives & Murders” (8 p.m., ID).
l A pair of outlaws imitate Bonnie and Clyde on “Common Law” (9 p.m., USA).
Comments
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 1 year, 6 months ago
"Edwards was recently acquitted of all charges"
Not exactly. He was acquitted on one charge, and there was a hung jury on the rest.
"She hopes the book will provide the girl with “one entirely truthful public account of how she came into the world. After all, this is her story too.”"
You're going to raise the kid, lady. Doesn't that give you the opportunity to tell her that story without making it into a book (and then a screenplay?)
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