TELEVISION REVIEW : Look at Poverty Gripping Despite Failed Gimmick

Life wasn’t exactly hell for KGTV (Channel 10) reporter Anna Martinez while she spent a month living at a single-room occupancy hotel on a budget of $675.

“At work I use a computer. But on my budget this month, it looks like a manual typewriter will have to do,” she tells viewers early in “Fixed Income Fix,” a Channel 10 special airing at 10 p.m. today.

Not the stuff of “The Grapes of Wrath,” yet Martinez’s undercover saga is the hook for the hourlong special, a guided tour through the world of the downtown San Diego populace living on below-poverty fixed incomes.

The people introduced in the special who actually live the lifestyle tell the stories of fear and vulnerability far better than Martinez’s contrived example.

The program is at its best when it brings viewers face to face with people such as 69-year-old Arnold, who proudly states that he walks the streets without fear, even though he has been mugged twice, or Carl, 94, who subsists on less than $600 a month and hasn’t been able to walk down the stairs of his dirty third-floor apartment for more than a year.

These people, seen and usually ignored by everyone who lives and works downtown, are not homeless and they are not bums. They have income--in many cases from Social Security or disability insurance. They are simply caught in a financial prison that allows little opportunity for escape, as the Channel 10 special vividly portrays.

It is not the tale of Martinez’s roughing it that makes the point. It is interesting to see an employed television reporter giving up the frills of her lifestyle for a month, but it comes across as almost frivolous compared to the stories of real people living on the edge of society.

Martinez starts her journey into frugality by saying, “I have no idea what to expect. That scares me.”

But, a week later, she acknowledges, “I’m not too worried about me anymore.” So much for the suspense and adventure of her journey.

According to a rough, unfinished copy of the special--all that was available for previewing--her money easily covered her rent at a clean-looking SRO, with desk and window, plus things that some people on fixed incomes may consider luxuries, such as a television, a typewriter and a phone line.

Though Martinez becomes increasingly frumpy during the program, her personal story is not going to yank any heart strings, and far too much of the special’s time is spent on it.

During the month, it is clear that Martinez developed real feelings for the people and her environment. She tries to convey the fears and traumas of being short on money, the “vulnerability” she felt walking the streets. She often speaks movingly.

Yet it is hard to fathom how vulnerable she could feel with a television crew nearby taping her journey. The role of the camera, its impact on Martinez’s experiences, is never explained.

To her credit, Martinez points out that the big difference between herself and those living in real poverty: She only had to worry about her budget for one month, while they have to do it every month. That’s a big difference.

James’ tale is gut-wrenching. He was a successful interior designer who lived in Malibu and “ate at all the best restaurants in La Jolla.” Then his life began to crumble. His wife got cancer, and then he needed open-heart surgery. Medical expenses ate up his life savings, and now he lives in an SRO.

“I’m there, and I have to accept it,” he states.

Martinez is at her best in the role of reporter, introducing viewers to people like James, Carl and Arnold.

“I can’t believe I was ever worried $675 would carry me through one month,” she says after three weeks.

Most viewers will probably agree, and, given that, they’ll be left to wonder why Channel 10 spent so much time on the angle. The real story was powerful enough without the gimmick.