LA Weekly
19-25, June, 1987
Death of a Documentary
In Antony Thomas' video documentary, Thy Kingdom Come ... Thy Will Be Done, W.A. Criswell smiles with the contentment of a man whose day has finally come. As pastor and patriarch of First Baptist Church of Dallas - the "buckle on the Bible Belt" - he wields the power of the largest (26,000 members) and wealthiest Protestant church in America. Criswell points with pride to his lavishly appointed office, then leans forward and says in the most earnest of tones, and notes, "There's no virtue in being poor." When asked why there are separate churches in Dallas for Hispanics and blacks, Criswell explains, "Birds of a feather flock together ... they [minorities] don't mix very well."
Dr. Criswell is just one of several extraordinary people in Thomas' excellent two-part examination of America's Christian Right. Made for PBS as part of WGBH's Frontline feature, it is a powerful two hours whose broad scope covers fundamentalism, televangelism and the politics of the Christian Right. There are heartbreaking interviews in which followers speak movingly of the abject despair of their lives prior to being "born again." And then there is the Felliniesque follies of the pre-scandal Bakkers with Tammy, awash in her mascara, pleading into the camera for bucks for their hard-pressed PTL.
The timing of the film would seem to be too good to be true with the current spate of revelations of sin, sleaze and greed among America's holiest. But to the shock and astonishment of filmmaker Thomas, WGBH decided to pull the plug on Thy Kingdom Come, canceling its long-planned air dates of May 9 and May 16. It was a stunning and mysterious decision.
First off, it is literally unprecedented for WGBH not to air what it produces. In the case of Thy Kingdom Come, WGBH plunked down $180,000, or half the budget of the film, which was co-financed with British Central. Out of approximately 120 shows financed (either produced or bought) in the history of cost-conscious WGBH, this is the first not to be shown.
Secondly, the two-part documentary garnered excellent notices when aired in Great Britain in mid-April, which prompted a spurt of sales throughout Europe. At two small L.A. screenings arranged by Antony Thomas, the reception was so enthusiastic that L.A. Times television critic Howard Rosenberg actually reviewed the unaired show.
Thirdly, national curiosity about the new breed of Elmer Gantrys seems virtually
insatiable, dominating the headlines of magazines, newspapers and newscasts for
the last month. Jim and Tammy Bakker's appearance on Ted Koppel's Nightline
rewarded ABC with a record rating of a 40-plus share.
Why, then, would PBS shoot down such a show?
The man who dropped the ax was David Fanning, executive producer of WGBH's Frontline and a man who is no stranger to controversy. In fact, Fanning and Thomas have had several previous successful collaborations, including Death of a Princess, which nearly led to the severing of British/Saudi relations. Fanning is a man known for standing by well-made projects in the face of political pressure.
So it is even more intriguing that Fanning pulled the plug on Thy Kingdom Come.
Antony Thomas says he sensed ominous rumblings in February, before Fanning even saw the film. "He seemed troubled," recalls Thomas, visiting Los Angeles to gather support for his film. Then when Fanning saw a rough cut in March and the completed films in mid-April, he was less than enthusiastic. According to Thomas, Fanning said he was concerned about the late-breaking news on the PTL and the Bakkers and suggested that they would need "to insert a small piece to update the film." Thomas readily agreed. But then Fanning decided that much more substantial changes were needed. "There was always an understanding that there might be two versions," says Fanning in defense of his decision. "One for Great Britain and one for America." But Thomas has a different understanding, saying they spoke only of "a minor polish" to correct speech colloquialisms.
"Antony and I made a mutual decision to make a 90 minute film," adds Fanning, who says he then scheduled the May PBS air dates in the hope that a 90 minute slot might open in June. Thomas says he only acquiesced to this plan when left with no other options. To that end, Thomas and colleagues arrived in WGBH's Boston studio at the end of April to re-edit the film. However, news of Bakker's alleged sexual trysts broke almost simultaneously, leading Fanning, according to Thomas, to decide that the unraveling PTL drama necessitated "putting the show on ice" until the dust settled.
"Everybody seemed hugely relieved to have the Jim Bakker excuse to drop the program," says Thomas, who still feels that an edit and update were all that were needed to make the film current. Although Thomas strongly urged Fanning "to get behind the headlines," Fanning, according to Thomas, responded that "the changes necessary were too substantial, regardless of the Bakker situation" to meet a pre-summer air date and that a fall air date might be better. Thomas fought to have the film aired as quickly as possible, arguing that delay could be a death sentence. Indeed, a stunning segment from the film — dealing with a severely handicapped young man exploited by the Bakkers as a fundraising tool— had just been run on The CBS Evening News.
Sounding somewhat humbled by the brouhaha surrounding his decision, Fanning now concedes, "I wish I had kept the second air date." However, he remains staunch over his decision to re-edit the films. "I take full responsibility," he says when asked whether higher-ups at PBS or its funding-and-development board, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), exerted pressure to kill a show potentially embarrassing to the Christian Right. Fanning dismissed such rumors of political pressure as "laughable."
One theory, according to Linda Valentino of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), is that there has been fear and trembling at PBS and its affiliates since the recent resignation of CPB chairwoman Sonia Landau. The ten member CPB board is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. During his tenure, Ronald Reagan has packed the board with conservative Republicans. Just last week, Sheila Tate was appointed and confirmed to the board. Her qualification? Tate was Nancy Reagan's secretary.
Landau brought to her job a zeal to correct what she perceived to be PBS's liberal anti-Reagan bias. Among the projects of her five year tenure was a documentary, Nicaragua Was Our Home, co-financed by the Moonies - that profiled the Miskito Indians and blasted the Sandinistas. Landau also aired a documentary financed by Accuracy in Media, a rightwing media watchdog group, in which it rebutted the PBS acclaimed series, Vietnam: A Television History.
Landau and former board member Richard Brookhiser tried to implement "content review" guidelines designed to ensure that programming is politically "balanced." Although the review proposal was voted down, it was a challenge to the historically independent PBS. While Landau stepped down last year, her influence is still felt on the CPB board. Since her resignation, she has continued to lobby the CPB board. Specifically, she argued vigorously against PBS showing its series The Africans. The show was aired and was received well, with the conspicuous exception of a review in The New York Times by John Corry, who happens to be Landau's husband.
The post-Landau CPB board - which dispenses $200 million in federal funds to PBS annually - has remained true to her principles, with its biggest victory being PBS's refusal last year to air the anti-apartheid documentary The Making of Sun City. "The message has been, 'Police yourself or we [CPB] will have to do it,' " says FAIR's Valentino.
David Fanning has renewed his search for a PBS air date, adding, however, "Getting an air date and reprogramming on PBS is no simple matter." Stu Kantor, assistant director of corporate information for PBS, responds, "If it's an important enough program, we'll find time for it." Meanwhile, Antony Thomas and Thy Kingdom Come await their decision.