Retrospective on the ‘Moral Power’ of TV

Following a controversial television season that won the dubious honor of spawning the term “trash TV,” Father Ellwood Kieser, president of the Human Family Institute, believes it is more important than ever to remind the television industry that it can produce commercially successful TV without sacrificing its commitment to enrich the viewer.

So, during the month of June, the Pacific Palisades-based institute, a group that rewards television programming that “affirms the dignity of the human person” with its annual Humanitas Prizes, will join with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the awards with “15 Years of Excellence: The Humanitas Prize,” a retrospective of past winners. The screenings begin today.

“The awareness of the moral power of television is increasing,” Kieser said in an interview Thursday. “It’s so important that all of us get together to light the one candle, rather than to curse the darkness. It (television) can reveal the meaning of human life, challenge the exercise of human freedom and motivate love in the human family.”

Programs that have been judged as filling that requirement range from documentaries and docudramas on serious subjects such as mental illness and divorce to situation comedies such as “The Cosby Show” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” that examine family relationships and friendships.

The retrospective, which will take place at the County Museum of Art on Fridays and Saturdays through July 1, opens at 1 p.m. today with the 1988 ABC documentary “They Have Souls, Too,” about the problems of the mentally disabled. Screening at 8 p.m. will be a 1979 episode of “Taxi” called “The Blind Date,” followed by the 1988 ABC movie “God Bless the Child,” about the homeless.

Saturday’s program, beginning at 8 p.m., features an episode of CBS’ 1987-88 series “Frank’s Place,” the CBS documentary “The Vanishing Family: Crisis in Black America” and “Do You Remember Love,” a 1986 film about Alzheimer’s disease, starring Joanne Woodward and Richard Kiley.

Kieser said the Human Family Institute selected its 15th year to assemble a retrospective because it represents a time when the group is “evaluating where we’ve been and where we want to go. Plus, TV is such a young industry, it didn’t really start until the 1950s--15 years is a significant span. If people attend all 10 sessions, they will really get a sweep of the best television from 15 years.”

In most cases, producers, writers or stars of the award-winning shows will be available following screenings to discuss their work.

For further information contact the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. , (213) 857-6177.