February 03, 1994|By David Zurawik | David Zurawik,Sun Television Critic
* "Witness to The Execution" is a made-for-TV movie about a pay-per-view channel televising an execution to hype its ratings. The film, which stars Sean Young and Tim Daly, ends with the electrocution of Daly's character. NBC says there's nothing exploitative about the film. In fact, the network says it's doing the film to enlighten us about the issue of TV violence. Right. Airs Feb. 13.
* "John Jakes' Heaven and Hell: North and South, Part III" starts Feb. 27 on ABC. Leslie-Ann Down and Philip Casnoff star in this six-hour miniseries. It's not yet available for preview, but it deserves mention for having the longest title of any show this month.
* On Feb. 22, NBC presents "The Jackson Family Honors." This is a pure sweeps concoction dreamed up by Jermaine Jackson and NBC. It involves the Jackson family's honoring someone for his or her "contributions to humanity." But it's really about show biz.
While it promises to be the kind of thing I'd usually beg viewers to stay away from, who can resist seeing if Jermaine can make good on his pledge to get "the whole family" -- yes, Michael and La Toya, plus mom and pop and all the others -- onstage for the show?
* For a more thoughtful Michael-Jackson fix, try "Tabloid Truth: The Michael Jackson Scandal" Feb. 15 on PBS. "Frontline" uses XTC recent coverage of allegations of sexual relations between Jackson and a 10-year-old boy to look at what producers call "tabloidization of the news." Richard Ben Cramer is the correspondent.
