Frank Fellone is the paper’s veteran deputy managing editor and keeper of the style and standards flame. He’s also a zealous crusader against the sin of “journalese” - words and cliches usually found only in newspapers.
Fellone pens (is that “journalese”?) a daily, in-house critique of the paper for the staff’s elucidation. It’s a tradition that began decades ago with managing editor John Robert Starr.
Recently, Fellone argued against the sin of flackish euphemism that gives us such terms as “pre-owned” for used, “predeceased” for dead, and power “outage” for power failure.
(Aside: I have an issue using the word issues when you mean problems.)
Another of Fellone’s pet peeves is the use of a term now preferred by network and cable PR types: “encore presentation.”
Encore? It’s a rerun. That’s what it is. The thing has been on the air before and now here it is again. NBC used to brag, “If you haven’t seen it, it’s new to you.”
I haven’t asked Frank whether he saw the PBS documentary The Dust Bowl when it aired in November,but it’s a good one and he might want to catch it when it reruns on AETN tonight at 7. The note from PBS, by the way, labeled the four-hour, two-parter as an “encore broadcast.”
The Dust Bowl comes from Ken Burns, so you know it’s relevant, educational and entertaining.
The documentary deals with the decade-long drought during the Great Depression of the 1930s that turned the southern Plains into a wasteland. And, because it comes from Burns, you know there will be tongue clucking, finger-wagging pontification and a righteous purpose to it all.
In this case, the lesson is that the disaster was man made. We did it to ourselves and there’s always the potential for doing it again.
“It is also a morality tale about our relationship to the land that sustains us,” Burns says. “It’s a lesson we ignore at our peril.”
In tonight’s two-hour episode, “The Great Plow Up,” viewers “feel the full force of the worst man-made ecological disaster in America’s history as survivors recall the terror of the dust storms, the desperation of hungry families and how they managed to find hope even as the earth and heavens seemed to turn against them.”
The special includes interviews with survivors of the hard times, dramatic photos and seldom seen movie footage. It’s all designed to “bring to life stories of incredible human suffering and equally incredible human perseverance.”
Part 2, “Reaping the Whirlwind,” airs at 7 p.m.April 30, and shows how hundreds of thousands left the Plains to seek new lives in California. Also featured are government conservation efforts and the 1939 break in the drought that eventually stabilized the soil and brought the farms back to life.
Finally, if you’re so inspired, this would be a good excuse to reread John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath to totally immerse yourself in the Okie experience.
More killers. If you just can’t get enough of fictional serial killers on the tube (Dexter, The Following, Hannibal), you can look forward to Season 3 of Dark Minds on Investigation Discovery. The cable outfit’s publicists tell us that “it’s the real-life serial killers that get viewers’ blood boiling.” Expect the cold cases to return next spring.
More King. You’ve already seen the ads for Stephen King’s Under the Dome during your favorite CBS TV shows. You now know about as much about the forthcoming summer program as I do. The network hasn’t sent me anything on it yet, but it’s early.
The 13 episodes will be based on King’s novel of the same name. It is the tale ofa small New England (of course) town suddenly and mysteriously sealed off from the rest of the world by a giant transparent dome. Stuff happens. Fans of the novel should know that liberties will be taken.
The series was originally developed for Showtime, so I imagine they had to cut out some nekkid babes and tone down the premium channel language.
King novels and short stories have had mixed success in being translated to the small screen. Under the Dome will be the 18th such series, miniseries or TV movie to find its way into your living room.
The first was Salem’s Lot in 1979 (there was a 2004 remake). Others have included the best effort with The Stand (1994), The Langoliers (1995) and Rose Red (2002).
The most recent adaptation was Bag of Bones, a four hour 2011 A&E “epic miniseries” (aren’t they all?) that featured Pierce Brosnan’s return to television.
It was a bit too formulaic for me, but maybe I’ve outgrown ghost stories.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. E-mail: [email protected]
Style, Pages 30 on 04/23/2013