Here we have a TV
news magazine with a
bias towards the
average working man and against
corporations. Created and hosted by
Michael Moore (of
Roger And Me fame),
TV Nation ran in 1994 on
NBC and in 1995 on the
FOX Network as well as on the
BBC (who also cofunded the show). The show's mission was to cause trouble for the "
establishment" and
tell it like it really is.
TV Nation was initially conceived by Moore as an idea that would be doomed to failure so that NBC would leave him along regarding a television show. Ever since Roger And Me became famous, the network had wanted Moore to create a type of blue collar Northern Exposure. Moore really wanted to make a movie instead entitled Canadian Bacon. He figured that by giving the network a horrible, doomed to fail idea they'd get off his back about television. Instead the programming executives loved the concept for TV Nation and ordered several episodes.
What are some of the topics that TV Nation covered? See for yourself...
NBC Show 2
NBC Show 3
NBC Show 4
NBC Show 5
NBC Show 6
NBC Show 7
NBC 1994 Year End Special
FOX Show 1
FOX Show 2
FOX Show 3
FOX Show 4
FOX Show 5
FOX Show 6
FOX Show 7
If you missed episodes of the series, never fear. Every episode has been released on VHS tape and the most popular segments have been reviewed in the excellent book Adventures In A TV Nation. As for Michael Moore, TV Nation earned him some fans in high places and he was able to make the Canadian Bacon movie. More TV Nationesque adventures can be found in Moore's next series, The Awful Truth.
References:
Appendix B of Adventures In A TV Nation
CST Approved