The Awful Truth (TV series)
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The Awful Truth (1999-2000) was the name of a satirical television show which was directed, written, and hosted by the American film maker Michael Moore, and funded by the British broadcaster Channel 4.
The show emulated television newsmagazine shows (such as 60 Minutes, or Moore's own previous show, TV Nation) in that it comprised a series of documentary segments, but the format diverged by presenting them, during the taping of the show, in front of a "live" studio audience, often with a coda and commentary by Moore as to what happened after the segment was first filmed. The show focused on exposing perceived problems in American government, business, and society, but often used outlandish sketches and stunts to spotlight the situation and the potential solutions to those problems.
Notable scenes included:
- Staging a mock funeral outside of Humana's corporate headquarters when a health care policyholder is denied a claim to fund a potentially life-saving pancreas transplant. This segment became the inspiration for Moore's film, Sicko, which is now in development.
- A group clad in Colonial clothing behaving in a manner reminiscent of the Salem Witch Trials in protest of Kenneth Starr, and showing how to conduct an economical witch trial. They also read parts of Starr's report and highlight other politicians' 'anti-moralistic' behavior (particularly Newt Gingrich's affair and subsequent divorce).
- Crackers, the corporate crime fighting chicken (a character first introduced in TV Nation), traveling to Disney World to confront Mickey Mouse about unfair labor practices.
- The Iowa Primaries Mosh Pit, in which Alan Keyes dived into a portable mosh pit and moshed to Rage Against the Machine to win the endorsement of The Awful Truth for Republican nominee for the 2000 presidential election.
- The Sodomobile, a pink van loaded with gay men and women, traveling across the country to US states that have on-the-books sodomy laws, to fight for gay rights. At one point they encounter Pastor Fred Phelps, infamous for protesting at the funeral of Matthew Shepard, picketing during the funerals of other young gay men.
- An election special where a Ficus tree was run against the otherwise unopposed Republican incumbent Rodney Frelinghuysen for a seat in Congress. In total 23 plants ran as write-in canditates for House seats. The Ficus write-in votes were later refused to be counted by the election committee, but the ones that were showed the Ficus having a 4-1 lead over Rodney Frelinghuysen.
- A visit to Philip Morris (now Altria) headquarters, where a group of lung and throat cancer victims used their voice boxes to sing Christmas tunes. You can see shock in many of the employees' faces, and one of them actually cries.
At times, the pressure from the show has caused the corporations involved to rethink their policies; for example, the man initially denied his claim from Humana ultimately gets his pancreas transplant.
The first season of the series was filmed in Chicago, Illinois, and aired on the Bravo cable network in the US and on Channel 4 in the UK. The second season was filmed in New York City. Both seasons are also available on DVD.
