More on CBS's Reagan Smear Job

Adam Buckman in the NY Post - It's So Pathetically Bad That It's Hysterically Funny

It was one of the funniest tapes I had ever received from a TV network.

It was a special promo reel sent over early last month for "The Reagans," a miniseries about Ronald and Nancy Reagan - the very same miniseries that became so embroiled in controversy that CBS finally dumped it yesterday.

I never saw the finished product, but if it were anything like the promo, this four-hour miniseries was about to go down in history as one of the worst made-for-TV movies ever. This tape was so hysterical, I thought it was a joke.

In the role of Nancy Reagan, Judy Davis was seen barreling comically through the White House screaming at the top of her lungs at everyone who crossed her path. Her unabashed scenery-chewing was reminiscent of Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford in "Mommie Dearest" - only Davis' performance was much worse and a lot funnier.

In contrast to Davis' raging first lady, James Brolin was seen playing the role of Ronald Reagan with all the emotion of a piece of wood - a style which has long been Brolin's trademark.

Funny as it all was, it was also seriously offensive. I thought CBS had taken leave of its senses.

Michael Medved noticed that it was a tad bad too:

"Leaving aside its content or its political slant, my guess is CBS is deciding to save itself embarrassment all around," Medved added.

CBS President Les Moonves will be able to gain a double advantage by canceling the movie, according to Medved.

"Moonves will be able to escape embarrassment by not running a stinker series at the same time he can blame those nasty right wingers," Medved said.

And Les needs all the help he can get according to John Fund - Tiffany Trips Up: CBS's problems are bigger than "Reagan." My favorite part:

This year he has stumbled twice. In May, he was embarrassed when the CBS movie "Hitler: The Rise of Evil" drew ominous parallels between Hitler's ascent to power and the reaction of the Bush administration to 9/11. After its producer, Ed Gernon, blatantly tipped his hand by telling TV Guide that "I can't think of a better time to examine this history than now," Mr. Moonves fired him.

But that dustup was nothing compared to Mr. Moonves's other blunder: his plan to launch a reality series called "The Real Beverly Hillbillies." Using so-called "hick hunts," the network intended to move an uneducated Appalachian family into an opulent West Coast mansion and invite the nation to laugh at their bumbling ways. Several union leaders and 43 members of Congress called on Mr. Moonves to shelve the show. Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia suggested that, instead, Mr. Moonves program a reality show that relocated network executives to "the sticks," where they would have to find a job. Mr. Moonves admitted the "phenomenal" opposition to the show left him "pretty surprised."

Asshats in the woods - what a concept!

And I have the first candidate, because back at the mansion, Barbra Streisand is in a tizzy! Babs, who is a bosom chum of the leftoid producers, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and whose husband, Mr. Streisand, had a starring role, is deeply disappointed. Don't worry Babs, you just cut up the possums and put 'em in the big pot to stew. Think of it as backwoods paté.