What was on TV? Sat, April 2, 2005

20 years ago, Chris Rock and Will Smith looked like friends. Let's see what was on TV.

8:00 Kids' Choice Awards on Nick

What a time capsule this is. Tony Hawk wins an award. Will Ferrell and Mia Hamm do a bit. Simple Plan performs. Chris Rock, Will Smith, and Jada Pinckett share the stage. Justin Timberlake farts.

But the real star of the show is the audience and their lungs. The show must have been two hours long. Those kids screamed the whole time. No matter who was talking or what was happening. It was a little terrifying.

They did not play around on this show. On this episode, the girls have to do a comedy scene. You (or the producers) can fake your way through a commercial, or even a dramatic scene. But this is live, in a real New York comedy club. Not faking that! And these poor girls are supposed to do a Rachel and Phoebe scene from Friends, so everyone will be comparing them to seasoned comedy veterans! Cruel and unusual. A few of them managed to not embarass themselves, and I was truly impressed. And a lot of girls had very strong feelings about whether they should play Phoebe or Rachel, which was fascinating all on its own.

What Else Was On

ABC aired the third episode of a well-reviewed and mostly forgotten Little House on the Prairie miniseries. It was part of The Wonderful World of Disney, one of the last major projects to come from that show.

TiVo Status

A Frontline documentary and the TV movies Sucker Free City, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and Ladies Night, the miniseries Fingersmith, and one episode of American Dreams. 10 hours total.

Books, 20 years ago

The Kids' Choice Awards has a "best book" category. The Series of Unfortunate Events scored an upset over Harry Potter (a more regular publishing schedule probably helped). The other two nominees weren't even from the 21st century. Still, A Wrinkle in Time and Holes are both great choices. Congratulations to millennial Nickelodeon viewers on their excellent taste.