How nice it was to be back in that director's chair last night after four years away. I've promised myself every time I come back to the television field that I'm not going to step on anybody's toes or let anyone down.
What I try to practice now is constructive criticism, and for me to be talking about this to the hostess of yesterday's show smacks of a TV101 class that had just failed.
Screen your guests!
This show is supposed to be about career advancement, whether it be through training, college, or job hunting. The second guest of the night was an 88-year old Polish native; the last believed surviving member of the audacity that was Auschwicz.
We both looked forward to hearing the story of his life - after the cameras stopped rolling, not during. This man is the most feisty 88-year old I have ever met next to my late grandmother.
The show topic was supposed to be on how he became a success with a tool-and-die business. She asked many job-related questions of him, but he always went back to the old memories, of which undoubtedly he harbored many grudges. But the frustrations he had bottled up inside seemed to pour out during the taping of the show. It was a very long 30 minutes. The hostess did her best to look composed, but when he started getting hateful, I was tempted to stop the tape and cancel the show. Needless to say I didn't; thinking I'd be smattered with questions on top of the ones we had about this man.
What started as a unique opportunity turned into a "nice to see you" visit, and he departed upset. I am tempted to suggest that the show not be aired due to the uneasiness on set. The hostess confided to me her nervousness, and all I wanted to do was simply ask, "Why didn't you do your homework?"
If he is television material, he belongs on a different type of program, for one, that would explore his life more closely. He certainly wasn't given the chance to do so in this program. And I'm not sure what the hostess was thinking. She clearly wasn't aware about who her guest was. To produce a good TV show, even the best producers have to do their homework, and screening a potential guest is one of them. Unless you're a lifelong friend with that person, how can you trust what they are about to say?
In conclusion: I do hope he gets his story told in a unique way and gains appreciation for all he went through. And I will spend the summer break hammering it home to the hostess: Interviewing a guest is not simply "Slam, bam."
