The verdict, agreed upon by eight of nine jurors, found the show, production company and Warner Brothers Television, liable for the death of Scott Amedure, a guest on a unaired episode of the daytime talk series.
Amedure was featured in an episode about ³secret crushes² in 1995. On the episode of the series, which was never aired, Amedure confessed that he had ³homosexual fantasies² about Jonathan Schmitz. Three days after the taping Schmitz allegedly killed Amedure. He was convicted of the murder in 1996 but the conviction was overturned. A new trial is schedule for August.
Attorneys for the Amedure family were pleased with the verdict. ³This type of human exploitation needs to be controlled,² said the plaintiffs attorney Geoffrey Feiger.
Reaction from the entertainment community was one of shock and dismay. Said Jeff Wald, executive producer of ROSEANNE, ³I¹m sure the other shows will be a little more cautious in how they go about surprising people. But I feel strongly that the people know what they are getting into when they go up on these shows. They watch these shows and can¹t wait to get up on television and tell their dirty little secrets.²
CBS Keeps Their Eye On HDTV Viewers have at least 15 more reasons to purchase the expensive high definition television sets now. Sony has agreed to underwrite the cost of producing at least 13, and possibly as high as 15, CBS series in the new high-definition television format. Among those series who will received the HDTV format will be EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND and CHICAGO HOPE.
Said CBS President Leo Moonves, ³CBS is very pleased to have forged this partnership with Mitsubishi that will give American television viewers their first sustained exposure to high definition.² When asked if sports may receive the HDTV treatment as well Moonves responded, ³I certainly hope so. We explored the possibility with the NFL and NCAA and they were very open to it.²
This Week in Television History:Legendary comedian Ernie Kovacs makes his television debut on May 14, 1951 hosting IT¹S TIME FOR ERNIE. He went on to host and guest star on several other series including ERNIE IN KOVACSLAND and THE TONIGHT SHOW. Here are my television viewing recommendations for the week. Enjoy!
Saturday, May 15th THE THIRTEENTH YEAR, The Disney Channel, 7:00 - 8:35 p.m., PST A young man undergoes more than the usual adolescent changes when he starts growing fins after he turns 13. Turns out he is related to a mermaid. This Disney Channel film is suitable for the entire family.
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