Show challenges viewers to confront gray areas of ethics
By Daily Bruin Staff
Aug. 25, 2002 9:00 p.m.
After pondering what problems led to corporate America’s
scandal boom, UCLA’s Michael Josephson thinks it’s
ethics. And now he’s helping to plan a preemptive strike.
Josephson, a distinguished ethicist, will be a panelist on a
groundbreaking new TV show called “Endgame” which will
present hypothetical moral dilemmas in order to stimulate
discussions on the types of moral choices we are forced to make in
every day life. Although conceived prior to the discovery of
corruption in American business and the Catholic Church, the show
is especially applicable today when questions of what’s right
and what’s wrong are on the forefront.
“Every once in a while on “˜L.A. Law’ or
“˜Doogie Howser’, we’d run a
“˜water-cooler’ episode, called so because people would
talk about its heavy themes at the water-cooler the next
day”, explains producer, writer, and director Scott
Goldstein. “For this show, we wanted to move the water-cooler
into the program and have that debate be the chief
concern.”
The show’s unique format combines a short dramatic film,
which sets up the hypothetical situation, a panel discussion in
which special guests will lend a variety of opinions, and online
interaction to see how people across the country would respond to
such a situation. Think of it as an attempt to recreate a
philosophy course discussion section on a national scale.
The most startling element of the show is the fact that it will
air live in front of a studio audience. The producers will not be
able to anticipate what direction the show will take because much
of the discussion will be at the mercy of the audience. In
addition, viewers at home can submit questions and comments via the
Internet during the broadcast and steer the direction of the
discussion.
Josephson, a UCLA law school alumni, agreed to be a panelist on
the show because he believes people need motivation to think about
ethics.
“People don’t seriously ponder right and wrong until
it hits them in the face,” Josephson said. “The mere
discussion of moral dilemmas improves the capacity to make
choices.”
The purpose of this show is not to preach right and wrong, but
to get people out of their comfort zones and confront the gray
areas of morality. Viewers will be confronted with tough
questions.
Although PBS is not known to attract an especially high number
of young adult viewers, the creators of the show hope to be
embraced by computer savvy college students.
“In discussing these issues, you get a chance to rehearse
your life.” said Carol Marin, “Endgame’s”
host and a former CBS News correspondent. “So while this show
doesn’t seek to change anyone’s code of ethics, it has
the potential to change what people will choose to do when faced
with a difficult decision.”
“Endgame” premiers on Sept. 18 at 8:00 p.m. on local
PBS station KCET.
