TV Nation (1994-1995)
FIRST SEASON (NBC)
PREMIERE
(aired July 19, 1994 in USA) Michael Moore hears
about the North American Free Trade Agreement and moves the show to Mexico;
Rusty Kunde finds out who has an easier time of getting a cab: a
distinguished black actor or a convicted white felon; Merrill Markoe visits
the quietest prison in America. We go house hunting in contaminated Love
Canal and Michael Moore goes in search of the Russian missile pointed at
his home town.
THE NEW KU KLUX KLAN (aired July 26, 1994 in USA) Michael
Moore asks what exactly can the chairmen of American companies do? Karen
Duffy finds out how some people are getting rich off people with AIDS.
Louis Theroux meets the new Ku Klux Klan Michael Moore enjoys the fruits of
victory with a tour of free and democratic Kuwait. Merrill Markoe meets
the happiest animals in America.
THIRD SHOW(aired August 2, 1994 in USA) Michael Moore goes to Washington to see how much democracy he can buy for $5000. Karen Duffy
takes a trip to the least visited state in the country. Louis Theroux goes
door to door with Avon ladies in the Amazon. Roy Sekoff sniffs out what
happens after New Yorkers flush their toilets. A day with Dr. Death.
PRODUCT PLACEMENT NIGHT (aired August 9, 1994 in USA) Merrill Markoe gets advice on where to go on vacation from some people who aren't
going anywhere. Louis Theroux visits President Clinton's real home town,
Hot Springs, Arkansas. For the first time on broadcast television, it's
the TV Nation Health Care Olympics, with Bob Costas and Ahmad Rashad. It
used to be that royalty in Britain was just for the few. But now their
titles are for sale. Tonight, meet Lord Mike. More of our shameless attempt
to get higher ratings on 'Product Placement Night'.
TV NATION DAY (aired August 16, 1994 in USA) Louise Theroux
visits Americans who are preparing for the end of the world. Have your
pencils sharpened -- it's the broadcast premiere of the TV Nation "Get
Ready For Prison Test". How is TV Nation coping with the end of the
Cold War? Tonight we're hauling Communism in our own 18-wheeler. Michael
Moore conducts his own shuttle diplomacy to end the war in Bosnia. How
Americans are celebrating TV Nation Day.
GUN NIGHT (aired August 23, 1994 in USA) Merrill Markoe
talks to those "talk show people" Michael Moore threatens to move
the show to New Jersey and the mayor of New York is on the spot. After
serial killers like John Wayne Gacey and Geoffrey Dahmer, what if a very
strange man moved into the house next door -- wouldn't the neighbors
notice? And be sure to join us for more of Gun Night on TV Nation.
GOLF NIGHT (aired August 30, 1994 in USA) Michael Moore joins
American corporations in the trend towards downsizing and temping Ben
Hamper takes a look at a growing phenomenon in the American workplace -
sabotage on the job. Roy Sekoff finds out: will the American public respond
to any old junk mail? Michael Moore returns to the land where caning
began - Great Britain, and Mike gets more tips on how to improve TV Nation.
1994 YEAR END SPECIAL(aired December 28, 1994 in USA) Tonya, OJ, Bobbitt, Menendez, plus Michael Moore is in a holiday mood and tries
to give a thousand dollars to America's neediest corporations. First the
dive bomber, then the machine gunner; so TV Nation hires a security guard
for the White House. TV Nation asks you, the viewers, to choose which
country the US will invade in 1995 Steven Wright drills the experts on what
the New Year has in store for the US. Plus, Karen Duffy gives Satanists a
ride in our jacuzzi. And our salute to last November's Republican victory.
And of course, Tonya, OJ, Bobbitt, Menendez, and The Meat Puppets.
SECOND SEASON (FOX)
#1 (aired 7/21/95) Anybody can run for president in this country, so
TV Nation registers ex-con Louie Bruno for next year's election. Jeaneane
Garafolo finds that some public beaches are really private, so she
organizes her own beach party. Louie Theroux finds out what it really
takes to clean up crime. Rusty Cundieff discovers that Mississippi is just
getting around to abolishing slavery, so he goes there to get some slaves
of his own. Michael Moore takes a bite out of corporate crime with Crackers
the Crime Fighting Chicken.
PAYBACK NIGHT
(aired 7/28/95) Michael Moore hires a KGB agent
to spy for TV Nation. Louis Theroux finds out why so many tourists are
crazy for Jerusalem. Karen Duffy finds lines, lines, and more lines and
brings relief to women around the country with the johns of justice. TV
Nation visits a used car dealer who went to a government auction and came
home with a nuclear bomb factory. All this and more tonight on TV Nation.
#3 (aired 8/4/95) Tonight Crackers the Crime Fighting Chicken. Seeks
justice in the city of brotherly love. Michael Moore goes to Newt
Gingrich country to get big government off his back. Louis Theroux tracks
down the electronic nose and why it's a threat to humans. Jeff Stilson
visits a town that's going to Hell. All this and more war reenactment battles.
BROTHERLY LOVE
(aired 8/11/95) Tonight, TV Nation proves that the one
thing hate groups hate most is love. Michael Moore goes on maneuver with
the Michigan Militia. Jeff Stilson profiles the latest plan to save
America's cities, brightly-colored fish. Michael Moore meets the face that
launched a thousand squad cards. TV Nation sends KGB agent Yuri Schvet to
spy on our competition. All this and more tonight on TV Nation.
BULLY REUNION NIGHT(aired 8/?/96) Tonight, Crackers the Crime
Fighting Chicken strikes a blow for workers in Detroit and learns to fly.
You don't have to be a weather man to know which way the wind blows. Rusty Cundieff presents the TV Nation weather man. Sinners can be winners with
Jeanene Garafolo's consumer guide to the confessional. What's happened to
the Democractic party? Yuri Schvetz, TV Nation's KGB spy, finds out. Meet
Ivan and Andy. They want to put people in jail for watching t.v. Jeff
Stilson finds out why people in Britain need a license to watch the tube.
Revenge is sweet-or is it? Find out when TV Nation Correspondents are
reunited with their childhood bullies on Bully Reunion Night. All this and
more tonight on TV Nation.
#6 (aired 8/?/95)Tonight Mike touches power by trying to hug all 50
governors. It worked on Noriega, and it sort of worked on David Koresh.
Louis Theroux tries out psychological warfare at the OJ Simpson trial.
Rusty Cundieff visits Rosemont, IL, the town that wants to keep the rest
of the world out by putting police and gates at its city limits. You can
look for the union label, but you can't touch. TV Nation meets some newly-
organized members of the labor movement. TV Nation feels the pain of a
vanishing breed: white men. All this and more, tonight on TV Nation.
#7 (aired 8/?/95) Tonight Michael Moore enforces the Contract with
America. Louis Theroux shoots guns with the newest NRA member, Ted
Nugent. Karen Duffy travels to Britain to turn a coal mining town into
part of Argentina. Crackers the Crime Fighting Chicken ruffles some
feathers in St. Louis. All this and more, tonight on TV Nation.
The Awful Truth (1999-2000)
A lot of this
was taken from the official site, but we had to put it in order and fill in a lot
of stuff.
4/11/99
A CHEAPER WAY TO CONDUCT A WITCH HUNT
Moore takes a group of
Puritans down to D.C. to show Ken Starr and the Congress how next time to
conduct a proper (and affordable) witch hunt.
HMO FUNERAL
Moore plans a funeral for
the father of a 4-year-old and invites the CEO of Humana HMO. The man may soon
die because Humana has denied coverage for a pancreas transplant.
4/18/99
BEAT THE RICH
A quiz show that pits the
wealthy against working class in a battle of common knowledge.
SODOMOBILE
Michael drives a hot pink Winnebago full of gay men and women determined to
"protest" their way through states with anti-sodomy laws on the books.
4/25/99
CRACKERS GETS ARRESTED
Crackers goes to Disney World to confront Mickey Mouse about Disney's
less-than-stellar treatment of their employees.
VOICE-BOX CHOIR
Relive the holiday spirit
as Mike brings his merry band of carolers -- all who have lost their larynxes
due to smoking -- to the offices and homes of tobacco executives and lobbyists.
5/2/99
UPS SAL
Michael's own collection
agent, a dock worker named Sal, tries to collect the 2,000 jobs the United
Parcel Service promised but has not delivered to striking employees.
PRESIDENT JEFFERSON
talks about the presidential scandal.
DUCK AND COVER
Mike visits the Indian
and Pakistan ambassadors to the United States and inquires about the nuclear
arsenals of the world's newest nuclear powers.
5/9/99
MAN OF THE YEAR
Find out the winner of
the 1999 Awful Truth Man of the Year award. One of America's richest men turns
out to be the owner of one of the biggest polluting companies in the country.
He's also building one of the biggest houses in America with over thirty
bathrooms.
PUNDITS
Would you rather listen to George Will and Cokie Roberts or nails on a
blackboard? It's a tough call.
MICHAEL BANNED FROM ROCKEFELLER CENTERBecause of the first story above, Michael receives a restraining order to
keep him from the Rockefeller Center area--including NBC studios.
5/16/99
M*A*S*H AKA WORKCARE
Approximately 43 million Americans don't have health care.
In response, hospitals like Franklin Memorial in Farmington, Maine are
trying new ideas like workcare. Under
work care, people who can't pay their bills are forced to work around the
hospital to pay them off. When we
heard that New York's own Jamaica Hospital was going to start a work care
program, we went there to check it out.
Was
work care just wacky enough to work?
Since
George Clooney wasn't available, Mike decided to use his celebrity status to get
this thing off the ground.
LUCIANNE GOLDBERG
MIKE
AIR-DROP TVS ON AFGHANISTANThe new religious
government in Afghanistan has given everyone in the country 15 days to turn in
their TV sets, or else. Michael decides to air-drop TV's on Afghanistan so they
don't miss his show.
5/23/99
WHAT'S HAPPENED TO OUR DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
The Awful Truth profiles
Defense Secretary and poet William Cohen, a decidingly unmacho choice for such a
macho position in President Clinton's Department of Defense.
ISEELUCY.COMMike puts a camera on Lucianne Goldberg from his website.
(I missed this one so there may be more)
5/30/99
MONTANA SHACKS
Go West, young men and
women (and other people too), as Michael Moore loses himself in Montana, the
beautiful state where many Americans go to lose themselves and others go to lose
their mind. The Unabomer, the Montana Freemen--how it that such a gorgeous place
has so many kooks? See The Awful Truth and find out.
HARD TIMES FOR JOE CAMEL
What's a spokescamel to
do when fired after 20 years of service? That's Joe Camel's dilemma in this
segment of The Awful Truth. Join Michael and Joe as they visit the New York
Career and Job Center, looking for work.
LUCIANNE GOLDBERG
6/6/99
? FOWL VENDETTA
Crackers the Corporate
Crime-Fighting Chicken engages the help of Willie Nelson to battle corporate
chicken farms in Ohio.
MICHAEL MOORE PLAY SET
What do you give a man
who has everything? Michael presents the richest man in the world with
housewarming gifts, including a weedwhacker.
6/13/99
?
TURDONIA
Ted Turner owns more land
in America than the entire country of Belgium, so Michael Moore decided that Ted
should form his own nation.
ADOLF GOES TO SWITZERLAND
At the end of WWII, Swiss
banks accepted billions of dollars stolen by the Nazis from victims of the
Holocaust. The Awful Truth sends Adolph to Switzerland to get the money back.
6/20/99 ?
MM WEAPONS INSPECTION TEAM
Michael Moore enlists the
help of an Iraqi cab driver from New York to inspect America's weapons of
destruction.
MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION SPOOF
Anticipating events a
couple years from now, The Awful Truth initiates a hunt to find Hillary Clinton
a new husband.
6/27/99
? OUR WEDDING
Michael Moore engages
Malachy McCourt to preside over services in front of the New York Stock
Exchange, as Daimler-Benz weds Chrysler in one of the biggest corporate mergers
ever.
NAFTA MIKE
A laid off American auto
worker is smuggled into a GM plant in Mexico to see if he can get his job back
below the border.
I
DON'T KNOW WHEN THIS ONE AIRED!
MIND THE MEMO
Michael Moore travels
around the country to investigate whether or not the employees at Manhunter, the
#1 employer in the country, are minding a corporate memo instructing employees
not to talk to Michael Moore. A corporate challenge game ensues. Who will win?
Manpower or Michael Moore and The Awful Truth?
SEASON TWO of The Awful Truth (summaries from the Bravo
site)
5/17/00 201 OUR PORTABLE MOSH PIT
The premise is simple: The first presidential candidate to jump in our
traveling mosh pit wins the endorsement of "The Awful Truth". No
money needs to change hands, no back room dealings, none of the
normal compromises that go along with presidential endorsement
hunting - just jump in, and it's yours!
PISTOL PETE
A gun safety mascot for the real world. The NRA's gun safety mascot
is Eddie Eagle, who teaches kids how to use guns safely. Pistol
Pete teaches kids the lessons they need to learn to use guns the
way they're really used in America in 2000. How to remove a bullet,
how to beg for your life once your legally owned handgun is stolen,
etc. Correspondent Jay Martel also pitches Pistol Pete to the gun
manufacturers and the NRA.
THEME-CONVICT ENDORSEMENT NIGHT
All night long, actual convicts endorse popular products.
5/24/00 202 THEME NIGHT--COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATIVE NIGHT
A celebration of the new phenomenon of "Compassionate
Conservatism"-We have two teams of conservatives competing in the
following events: dunk the homeless in a carnival dunk tank, Pie the
poor (Pie throwing contest), Pin the Tail on the Illegal Alien, Bobbing
for Blacks, Spank the single mom, and an all out "chicken" contest
on the shoulders of the working poor.
AFRICAN AMERICAN WALLET EXCHANGE
In the aftermath of the Amadou Diallou verdict and the recent
revelations about racial violence in Los Angeles, its open season on
African American men for the police in America. Mike starts a
program to teach African American men how to protect themselves.
Including a street side wallet exchange in which he encourages men
to turn in their black wallets (which can easily be mistaken for a gun)
for a bright orange "safety" wallet.
JEB V. GEORGE
The states of Texas (Governor George W. Bush) and Forida
(Governor Jeb Bush) have turned capital punishment into a state
pastime. They are two of the most enthusiastic proponents of the
death penalty. Correspondent Jay Martel looks at the brotherly rivalry
of the Bush brothers through the prism of a football rivalry, complete
with pep rally outside an actual execution in Texas.
5/31/00 203 NURSING HOME KUNG FU
America's Elderly are frequently subjected to abuse and neglect at
the hands of the large companies that administer care at Nursing
Homes. Correspondent Karen Duffy teaches a group of elderly people
self defense so they can fight back.
GIULIANI SEX SHOP
The mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, passed a law which stated
that in order for a pornographic store to stay open, 60% of the
merchandise on the shelves had to be categorized as
"non-pornographic", only 40% could be porn. Michael Moore opens a
store which features 40% smut, and 60% Giuliani for Senate
memoriblia.
THEME NIGHT--BRIT V. CANUCK "HELP THE DEAD GUY" NIGHT
A man sat on a NYC subway train for 5 hours before anyone noticed
he was dead. We test to see if our allies would react any differently.
67/00 204 WE TURN IN HOLIDAY INN
A number of maids working for the Holiday Inn hotel chain were trying
to organize a union. Rather than let them organize, Holiday Inn called
the Immigration and Naturalization Service and had them all
deported. As payback, Michael checks in to various Holiday Inns
across the country and turns them in to the local police for any
violations he can find.
SAL V. BMW
Sal Piro, the "Awful Truth" Bill Collector goes after BMW to claim
reparations for the slave laborers the auto company used during
World War II.
6/21/00 205 ELECT THIS POTTED PLANT
We follow "The Awful Truth" candidate for House of Representatives
in the State of New Jersey, a ficus tree. We go through the
fundraising and stumping process with our candidate. Michael serves
as campaign manager for the one candidate who will never vote for
pro-life issues, never fire a gun, never take dirty money.
FICUS ELECTION RESULTS
An update on how our Ficus candidate fared in the congressional
primaries in New Jersey.
http://www.ficus2000.com/
6/28/00 206 MR. PIMP GOES TO WASHINGTON
We introduce "The Awful Truth's" answer to campaign finance reform.
A man who knows something about selling oneself for money, a
street pimp. Michael takes our candidate to the halls of the US
Senate, where Mr. Pimp can slap some sense into the current
occupants of the house as he tries to take control of the money
flowing between Congress and Political Action Committees.
THEME NIGHT-TAXI MIKE
In 1994, Michael did a piece demonstrating that New York City cab
drivers were more likely to stop for a white convicted felon than they
were for an award winning black actor. Well six years later, nothing
has changed. In fact, actor Danny Glover filed suit against the City of
New York late last year after he and his daughter were bypassed five
times on a street corner. Michael decides that enough is enough. He
gets his own yellow cab and cruises the city, picking up only African
Americans.
MALE APARTHEID WORKS!
Michael Moore celebrates minority rule in a nation that is 52% female
and 48% male.
7/5/00 207 THE CULTURAL DIFFERENCES OF CANADIAN BEER WORKERS
Molson brewing company closed down its factory in Barrie, Ontario
recently and moved a number of the jobs there to Toronto (60 miles
to the South). When workers from Barrie inquired about following their
jobs to Toronto, an executive from the company told them they could
not because "the cultural differences would be too disruptive".
Correspondent Ben Hamper investigates the cultural differences
between Barrie and Toronto.
CORPORATE CRIME UNIT-EPISODE ONE
Michael uses some of the techniques that have proven successful in
the war against street crime to combat corporate wrongdoing. He
sets up a neighborhood watch in upper crust Union County, New
Jersey and encourages residents to rat out corporate crooks. He
takes a parole officer to a known criminal corporation. He sets up a
"Safety Checkpoint" at the entrance to an industrial park and
questions potentially criminal motorists. He takes a group of
Guardian Angels to patrol the mansion lined streets and industrial
parks of Union County.
PUT THE HOMELESS IN STORAGE
Correspondent Karen Duffy looks at a trend that's becoming
increasingly common in America-homeless men and women living in
storage lockers.
7/12/00 208 THEME-STOP AND FRISK NIGHT
We salute America's loss of civil freedoms by having a bunch of
retired policemen stopping and frisking passers by at random as we
introduce the pieces in the program.
CORPORATE CRIME UNIT-EPISODE TWO
Michael uses some of the techniques that have proven successful in
the war against street crime to combat corporate wrongdoing.
(EPISODE TWO IN A SERIES OF THREE)
C'MON, HE IS DUMB ENOUGH TO BE A COP!
A man in New London, Connecticut was rejected from the local
police force because his IQ was too high. Correspondent Jay Martel
goes there to prove that he is actually stupid enough to be a law
enforcement officer.
NO TRIALS ALLOWED
Nevada County, California's public defenders office has been
neglecting its duty. Rather than defend the citizens that are referred
there, the lawyers who staff the office have made a science of getting
them to plead guilty to avoid a court trial. Dozens of innocent people
have been sent to jail after copping pleas to crimes they didn't
commit because the public defenders office coerces them into doing
so to avoid a court trial. Two separate independent investigations
have condemned the office for this practice. Michael goes to Nevada
County to make their jobs even easier, he reads the entire city its
rights and collects signed pleas from the entire population to
eliminate the hassle of trying to collect them after arrest.
7/19/00 209 REPLACEMENT MIKE
Michael Moore is so tired of constantly going into corporate lobbies
and being thrown out that he auditions a series of "replacements" for
his job-an attack dog who speaks with Mike's voice, a dozen red
beret wearing five year olds, three Victoria's Secret models, and two
Cuban Grandmothers. Their target: Tosco-an oil refinery corporation
with a dismal safety record.
SPRAYING GIULIANI
An epidemic of mosquito borne West Nile Virus killed 3 people in the
New York area last summer. The city and state paid millions of
dollars to instigate a spraying campaign to wipe out the bugs. 141
people have been killed by excessive force by the police department
in New York under the administration of Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Correspondent Jerry Minor does the right thing and sprays City Hall
to eliminate the mayor.
CORPORATE CRIME UNIT-EPISODE THREE
Michael uses some of the techniques that have proven successful in
the war against street crime to combat corporate wrongdoing.
(EPISODE THREE IN A SERIES OF THREE)
7/26/00 210 WHEN IN NEW YORK CITY
Correspondent Karen Duffy picks up a busload of actual tourists in
Times Square and take them on a tour of New York that their travel
agents haven't told them about-The 70th Precinct where Abner
Louima was tourtured, an overcrowded classroom, an actual working
sweatshop.
ARE YOU A VICTIM OF GW BUSH AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Presidential frontrunner George W. Bush is not only firmly against
affirmative action, he's a sub par student who turned his mediocre
grades into a slot at both Yale and Harvard business school. Michael
looks for people with better grades who were denied a spot at these
schools because George W. is the heir to an American political
dynasty.
POST THIS FROM THE BIBLE
Congress recently passed a bill that mandated that schools post the
10 Commandments in classrooms. Michael goes to congress and
posts appropriate bible quotes ("It's easier for a camel to pass
through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven") in
the offices of the bills supporters.
8/2/00 211 SADDAM GAS
Gas prices in America are going to hit an all time high this summer.
Michael looks at how far Americans will go to get cheap gas. He
opens up Saddam Gas, gas for 50 cents a gallon, all the proceeds
going to support Saddam Hussein. He also indicts the UN's oil for
food program by offering gas for free to anyone who donates canned
goods for Iraqis starving because of the US bombing. (Which
continues today)
GULF WAR SYNDROME FUN RUN
The US government denies the existence of Gulf War Syndrome, the
disease that's affected thousands of Gulf War veterans since 1990.
Michael goes to the Pentagon and stages a fun run of veterans with
the disease for the benefit of a Defense Department representative.
SUSSEX COUNTY, VA
One of the 10 fastest growing communities in the country, according
to the US Census Bureau. But people aren't moving to Sussex
County, prisoners are. The County's growth can almost entirely be
attributed to two huge new prisons that have been constructed there
in the past 10 years. Karen Duffy goes to Sussex County to
investigate the future of American Population Growth.
8/2/00
8/9/00 212 THE TERRORISTS HAVE WON
There are huge swaths of the United States in which women can not
exercise their right to choose an abortion because the right to life
groups have scared all of the doctors who will perform that procedure
out of the county/state/city/etc. It's the first time in the history of the
Republic that terrorist tactics have worked to force a change (in fact,
if not in law) in public policy. Michael goes to the Pro-life groups and
surrenders the pro-choice movement, then "celebrates" the pro-life
victory with a victory ticker tape parade.
CLINTON NEEDS A JOB IN 2001, WE GET HIM ONE OF THE
20,000,000
Bill Clinton will be out of a job next year. We try to get him one of the
20 million jobs he's claimed to have "created". Part time, no benefits,
low pay - a cherished spot in America's "new economy".
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