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How TV reacted to tragedy: a progress report

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September 11th, 2001 is the day that changed everything, including television. Of course, it is not surprising that things would be different. The television industry, like the rest of America, is in mourning. But did we know that TV would be affected as well? Did TV change too much, or did it not change enough?

No more jokes about the dim-witted president Americans had before the tragedy. Now George W. Bush is seen as a strong compassionate human being who cares for his country. Letterman has given up making fun of the president and is now recycling old Clinton jokes. When I tuned in to the "Late Show" on October 4th, I thought I was watching a rerun. Most of his monologue was dedicated to the old Monica Lewinsky scandal.

You may have also noticed a lot more people apologizing than they did before. On the 7th, Andy Rooney, the man who has a reputation for being the stubborn guy on "60 Minutes," will actually say he's sorry for something he said the week before. Rooney claimed that Bush wasn't very swift when he said, "[Afghanistan's] harbors are safe. But they won't be safe forever." It seemed like a legitimate criticism, considering that Afghanistan doesn't have a coastline, but quite a few people complained. One person wrote to him that "if you didn't know the meaning of 'safe harbor' you probably thought the 'underground railroad' had tracks." Now the belief is that Bush was speaking metaphorically and that Rooney should have known better.

Bill Maher also apologized for something he said when he returned to his show. He made comments implying that what the terrorists did was not cowardly. The next day he apologized, saying that, unlike others, he is unable to mourn in public.

But was there anything really all that bad in what Bill Maher said? His show "Politically Incorrect" is one of the few shows on the air that has remained irreverent and funny.

"The average fundamentalist... maybe he doesn't want to die because then he wouldn't be around to oppress his wives," Maher said on an October 5th broadcast.

And now that we've all seen the special episode of "The West Wing" dealing with the issue of terrorism, should someone make them apologize for getting too dramatic too soon? At least one critic for "The Boston Herald" seems to think so.

"How dare NBC -- the network that has colored its peacock logo red, white and blue -- assume viewers would want to watch a fictionalized 'take' on the Sept. 11 attacks?" wrote Monica Collins. "Yes, this serious, intelligent Emmy-nominated TV drama is important. But Martin Sheen is not the president of the United States -- as much as anyone might wish it so."

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