Posted on: Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Turning sports into reality TV
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist
News Item: NBC says its hit show "Law & Order" will use last November's Indiana Pacers-Detroit Pistons brawl as the concept behind tonight's episode, "The Sixth Man."
Though employing fictional teams, the Philadelphia Cannons and New York Empires, the show will recreate the brawl in detail and then expand the plot. The Cannons' star gets drenched by a beer, pursues a fan into the stands and a riot ensues. After the fan files a $20 million suit, he is found murdered and the star goes on trial.
While "Law & Order" — the show that likes to bill itself as having dramas that are "ripped from the headlines" — occasionally takes on a sports angle, you get the feeling that much of television has missed some promising opportunities, especially this month being a ratings period.
Here are a few other sports-inspired storylines some other shows might want to consider for upcoming episodes.
Desperate Housewives: The lives of a group of hardcore female hockey fans in Canada are profiled during the NHL lockout. Boston Legal: Former Red Sox first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz is the central figure as the court determines who really owns the ball from Boston's curse-ending World Championship game. Without a Trace: The disappearance of Eagles' wide receiver Freddie Mitchell in the Super Bowl is probed. Extreme Makeover: The cast attempts to turn the downtrodden San Francisco 49ers back into a playoff contender. The Apprentice: The Yankees' George Steinbrenner eliminates, one-by-one, a group of would-be major-league front office hopefuls.
Trading Spouses: Karl Malone is your willing host. Scrubs: Inside a season with the New Orleans Hornets. NUMB3RS: Oakland general manager Billy Beane puts his acclaimed "Money Ball" formulas to work in helping a so-called "small market" franchise compete with the big boys. The Simple Life: Latrell ("I've got a family to feed") Sprewell bravely copes with the trials and tribulations of getting by on a $14.6 million NBA salary.
Medium: Mel Kiper Jr. helps NFL teams reconstruct "crimes" from previous drafts.
Medical Investigation: The cast undertakes to explain what happened to Donovan McNabb in the huddle in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl and whether it was soup related. Lost. The career of Ron Artest is studied.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Slugger-turned-author Jose Canseco jumps in to help the CSI staff sort through the syringes and denials in baseball clubhouses and get to the bottom of the mounting steroid issue.
