The hopes, the frustrations.
TV's 30-something has captured the life of the baby boomers by using fact to create fiction.
Meet the stars of the show and find out how their personal stories bring Yuppie TV to
life.
Then you're booked on a flight of Air Jordan.
Meet this high-flying dunking machine who's also a hot shot beyond the basketball court.
And then we'll have a fond farewell for Elaine.
We'll take a look back at some of her special moments here at PM Magazine.
You're invited to a party right here on Channel 8's PM Magazine.
Roger, that looks great.
Well, we are gathered here and we're glad you could make it for a rather special occasion.
Tonight we are celebrating, I guess, a fun leaving of Elaine Busby, our co-host right
here at Jake's famous crawfish restaurant.
We have a couple things to celebrate tonight.
It's a little bit bittersweet, but good news all in all.
I'm leaving for Colorado if you haven't heard, to join my fiance down there.
But filling in for me is Teresa Richardson from the morning news at Sunrise.
I am so glad that you are the lady that's going to be taking over for me.
Well, thank you.
Your shoes will be very difficult to feel, but I am glad that I'm going to be joining
the PM crew.
And incidentally, tonight we have a lot of special surprises since we're going to be
saying goodbye to you, Elaine.
And we also have some great stories as well.
One of our stories is about this one.
I guess you could say that we are really the television generation.
We were the generation born after the Second World War, and television has had quite an
influence on our generation.
I remember growing up, it would leave a to-beaver all the way.
Well, these days, it's 30-something.
Can't I have my own opinions?
Well, why do you have that look on your face?
There's a new show on TV that viewers seem either to love or hate.
He told me nothing about Nancy.
You told him something about me.
I mean, stop this.
Michael, you're the worst liar in the world.
I mean, there's something you're obviously not telling me, and I think that you should.
There's nothing to tell.
That's kind of familiar.
Well, if you're one of the 76 million baby boomers thundering toward middle age out there,
it's a good bet that 30-something might be hitting rather close to home.
Of course, that's exactly what executive producers Marshall Herskowitz and Ed Zwick have in mind.
We're constantly bringing in little scraps of paper and things that may have occurred
to us from our lives.
Being 30-somethings themselves, the show's producers decided to write about what they
know best, real life.
The show holds up a mirror to a generation of people grappling with modern dilemmas.
And oddly enough, according to Marshall, a cartoon from the New Yorker magazine got the
wheels turning.
He's sitting there with his beer belly and his t-shirt, and he's sitting over a typewriter
trying to write, and clearly blocked.
And the dogs are all over the room, and his wife is standing in the doorway behind him
with her hands on her hips, and she says, write about dogs.
No, they're not writing about puppies here.
They're writing about yuppies, and they've cast actors like Ken Owen, who live and breathe
the yupp-scale dream, just as they do.
I think it has to do with who you might want to have over to your house on a Sunday night
for spaghetti dinner.
Patricia and I are very close with Marshall and his wife, and Ed and his wife, so we socialize
with them.
The weirdest thing is when you tell them something and you're doing something and it shows up
in the script.
You've definitely got to be careful what you say around these guys.
But according to Ed, they've managed to stay out of trouble so far.
In fact, when first the pilot aired and we had thought that we had written a couple characters
too closely to the bone that they might resemble the people who might recognize themselves,
we sat there in a little bit of dread of that moment, and in fact, those very people knew
that they were characterized in the show and thought that they were someone else.
I'm going to pull in the one shoulder.
Mike, relax.
It's just fear, dread, and anxiety.
We're going to go through this on every show.
If you're thinking that fine line between reality and showtime gets blurred, you're right, but
the picture gets really fuzzy when you learn that Ken's wife in real life plays his partner's
wife on the show.
They both found it awkward at first, but for different reasons.
I think it was more the intimate, the emotional aspect of that that was strange for her as
opposed to the physicality.
I mean, she and Mel are good friends, and so I think they tend to trust each other.
For me, I think it's the physical thing that was strange.
I mean, Tim's like my best friend too, so it's a little, you know, it's a nightmare.
I trust him, but you know, I can only trust him so far.
On 30-something, the stories and the characters don't unfold as neatly as they do on other
shows.
Two of the main characters, Michael and his wife Hope, seem like Mr. and Mrs. Perfect.
They have a beautiful baby, a nice house, careers, motherhood, seemingly they have it
all, but Hope's not always portrayed as the picture of happiness, and that takes some
viewers by surprise.
How dare we?
Yeah.
I think also it's just the contrast from what you usually see on television.
The mother on television is the all-accepting, all-smiling, all-patient, all-giving figure,
and it's an awfully difficult ideal for anybody to live up to.
Are you crazy?
Why would I want to go shopping with my mother?
Hope may be staying home full-time now, but don't confuse her with the mom on Leave It
to Beaver.
That's one area where Mel Harris' real life differs from the character she plays.
I always knew I would go back to work and not stay home and be a mother full-time, and
I think that my son reaps the benefits and rewards of my independence from him.
No, that's the monkey.
Can you say monkey?
When we were casting the part of Hope, one really fascinating thing became clear right
away, and that is we could tell which actresses actually had children in their own lives and
which didn't, just in the way they read the part, just in the way they approached the
material.
And Mel isn't the only one who brings her own experiences to the show.
I think we have incredible discussions about sex.
Just because we're seven adults, we're out there, we're all in different places in our
lives, some of us are married, single, separated, divorced, dating, not dating, not interested,
you know, a little of everything.
Time will tell whether the young urban professionals of America are ready to watch their lives
laid bare in weekly installments.
Ultimately, though, 30-something's success may hinge on whether their audience has enough
time left between babies, careers, and relationships for any TV viewing at all.
Many network executives say they're going to stand by 30-something no matter how it
does in the ratings, so we can look forward to seeing that in years to come.
So far so good, too.
It's doing pretty well.
Well, when we return tonight from Jake's famous crawfish, we'll have more on the party for
Elaine right here on Channel 8's P.M.
Magazine.
Oh, that looks good.
Can you believe all the things we've done, all we've done on P.M.
Magazine here, Jack?
Besides Eith, there have been other things we've done, especially that trip down in the
Caribbean.
Remember sailing?
I made up for all the food we ate on that trip when I went to La Casa Health Spa.
Now, my most exciting experience, I think, was when I went up in the F-4 jet with the
Top Gun of the Air Force.
You didn't come down off of that one for days, and me neither when I had a chance to interview
Stevie Wonder.
Stevie Wonder is jamming across America this summer and fall.
His first national tour in four years.
Is that still amazing to you as Stevie Wonder to be able to reach out with your music to
people of the entire world?
Does that amaze you that you've been able to do that?
When it really hits you is when you go somewhere and someone says, this is Stevie Wonder, or
yo, Steve.
I mean, it's an amazing feeling then.
I have a feeling of thanks, and what can I do to make whatever it is that you're feeling
or that you're saying be heard through song?
In a career that spanned more than 20 years, Stevie sold more than 70 million records.
Perhaps he's best known for his pop and love songs.
But Stevie Wonder is a man whose political views have always come across in his music
too.
On his latest album, he protests apartheid in a song called It's Wrong.
We cannot say that we're children of the creator in one breath, and that we believe in Robin
and we are one and we're this and we're all that.
And then, you know, talk about, you know, separatism and that kind of stuff.
It just doesn't work.
In no religion, in no Bible, no Quran, no anything.
It just don't work.
It really doesn't work.
What keeps you going?
Where do you get this enthusiasm level for what you do and what you believe?
Well, I got these.
No, you know, just life itself.
I do love life, and I am very thankful to the creator that I have been given life.
That's really what it is.
It isn't, I mean, you know, everything isn't just picture perfect.
But, you know, the things that are not good, I just really challenge to make them better.
That's what it's all about.
At the age of 36, Stevie has many more years of challenges ahead, and he says one of his
biggest goals is to finish the musical he's working on by the time he's 40.
If I can end on a little bit of a whimsical note, if you had a fairy godmother and were
given three wishes today, Stevie Wonder, what would those wishes be?
I would be that I wish happiness for you, for me, and for everybody, and that all of
you are smart enough to watch P.M.
Magazine.
You can probably tell in the story, but the most impressive thing about Stevie Wonder
is he made you feel like you're really a friend of his.
He's very comfortable to be around.
Well, as a little remembrance of that interview with Stevie, we'd like to present you with
this.
Wonderful.
Well, Teresa Kahn over here.
I get the picture.
I've got a few things to give you.
I heard you had a few things for me.
You are going to need it.
First of all, we have the official co-host, Harris.
That's great.
That's a half-use bottle, you know.
Extra whole.
That's how they always come.
I'm sure I'll get good use out of this.
And this is some long underwear.
We're out shooting the stories.
I sometimes wear two pairs of shoes.
Well, thank you.
I'm sure I will be using these many, many times.
By the way, I have some questions for you.
You do?
Do you have any tips or hints for me as I start this new job?
Funny you should mention that.
We put together a little paper we thought might give you a little bit of an idea about
some of the subtle nuances you're going to want to develop when you become a PM co-host.
Well, who's your friend there, Jack?
Bo.
Bo is a trotter.
And now he's the latest addition to Wilbur's show.
He's a great guy.
And now he's the latest addition to Wilhelm Farms, Nightcore.
They've got a little bit of a zoo here, don't they?
Real good.
Oh, that must have been something me and Stevie wonder.
Well, it's really a thrill being in the same room with him and being so close to him, and
a thrill to find out just what a neat person he is.
Oh well, what else though?
We're galin' and we're truckin' around the Sovi Island tonight on our bike and heading
up to the Cody's Stand.
So there's vegetable now, some right here.
It's wonderful out here and I love it so much.
I know it's got a really good experience, but it's a little bit of an odd feeling to
be here.
It's a little bit of a strange feeling to be at the Cody's, and I can't wait to be here
sometimes.
We're on the Sobe Island tonight on our bike and we're heading up those Cody stands.
There's vegetable shops right in front of us.
You name it, it's wonderful out here and I love it so much.
I love it so much that I stand here on the bridge whenever I can.
We love the bridge here.
I'm going over the bridge!
It's like the passing parade.
If you've got a good fitness program, you have to stick with it.
I wasn't.
She started it.
Lane.
Oh golly.
He was so mean to me.
It's not all out there.
You guys are so quiet.
We miss you.
Yay!
Okay, enough of those outtakes.
I'm sure you guys will have your own tape of bloopers after a while.
We'll make sure we send you a copy.
You better.
That would be great.
Now even though this is your last day and Teresa, you're going to be joining me on Monday,
we thought it would be fun to show you a little bit of background on Teresa apart from the fact that she has been with News 8 at Sunrise.
You're going to love this lady. The best part about her is she's a Northwest Oregon native.
Recognize that 12-year-old?
That's your new co-host Teresa in a family outing to Crater Lake.
Highlights of Teresa's childhood include picking strawberries with her family and friends.
Teresa's the one on the right.
And here she is taking in the Rose Festival with her brother.
That was back in 1969.
Look at that smile.
In her high school days at Forest Grove, Teresa was part of the cheerleading squad.
She also competed with the high school track team.
In 1980, our co-host from Forest Grove proudly wore the crown as Miss Oregon.
She also wore the famous Miss Oregon dress, which she promises to wear for a special occasion on Pia Magazine.
Teresa started her career in television in Las Vegas.
During her college years, she reported news for a Las Vegas TV station.
All day and you'll be with all the leaders.
She returned to Oregon, of course, for the Trailblazer games and even joined her dad to sing the national anthem at one of the home games.
Teresa returned to Oregon as a full-time resident when she was hired by News 8 in 1983.
And the rest, as they say, is TV history.
You know, Pia Magazine would have to pay me a lot of money to get in that dress again.
We'll see what we can do.
We'll take a collection.
It'd have to be a lot.
Honestly, though, it's going to be a pleasure working with you.
Looking forward to it.
You're going to love this job, Teresa. This is the best job I've ever had in my life.
You get to travel all over the Northwest and meet the wonderful people that live here.
Well, I can hardly wait. I'm really anxious to get started.
Well, stay with us. Coming up next on Channel 8 Pia Magazine, we will meet Michael Jordan.
Okay, you guys, when you think about basketball greats, a few names come to mind.
Don't they? Like Bill Walton?
Will Chamberlain?
Yeah.
There we go.
How about nobody said Michael Jordan yet?
Ah, now there's a name.
Michael Jordan was the first draft pick of the Chicago Bulls back in 1984.
He was under a lot of criticism at the time because he quit college to join the NBA,
but he has shown that he is a real NBA star.
I'm just out there enjoying myself and when I do something that people haven't seen before,
I think these people have to realize that I haven't seen it either. It just happens.
At 24, Michael Jordan is the highest scoring guard during a single season in the history of the National Basketball Association.
In three years, he's captured America's attention by scoring more than 5,000 points.
But it's not the number of points that earned Michael the nickname Air Jordan. It's the way he scored him.
When I go up for a layup and a big guy come over and tries to block my shot, you can't practice that by yourself.
I think that's what makes my game most admirable by the fans is that it looks like it's just fun and it just happens instead of pre-planning.
That's actually the way it's happening.
Michael's been earning the admiration of fans since he was a freshman at North Carolina.
His 16-foot jumper in the closing seconds of the 1982 Finals clinched the NCAA Championship for the Tar Heels.
That shot gave him a lot of confidence and put Michael in the national spotlight.
I was just fortunate to be in that position, yet I did well and it all just clicked, a chain reaction in my career as a whole.
Watching Michael, you can't help but notice when he goes to the basket, he sticks his tongue out.
It's a habit, he says, he picked up watching his father work on the family car.
I came to the conclusion that if I can't play my tongue out, I can't play at all.
So far, it's been working well.
I think the only bad thing about it is that kids are going to try to imitate me.
Good job. Everybody makes one.
His outgoing personality, clean-cut image, and genuine concern for kids have made Michael a positive role model.
It's a position he enjoys, and he makes a point of working with companies that share his concern.
I'm representing them in the sense that I'm trying to meet kids and show kids a positive direction.
At the same time, I'm visiting the hospitals to try to see and make these kids who are not as fortunate as myself smile and relate to me as one of their friends.
What's your favorite team? Oh, no, don't say it. Don't say it.
They just got to convert you, and somehow you're going to have to wear a Nike.
When they can do that, when they can understand it and take time out to listen to what I'm saying, aside from what I've done in basketball, then I think there's something accomplished there.
And so far, it's been working in my favor and in their favor in the long run.
Michael's accomplishments led Nike to create a basketball shoe named in his honor.
And while Michael admits wearing Air Jordans won't make you Michael Jordan, he's convinced that it will give you the confidence to play like a pro.
The advantage is the confidence that they can somehow be like a Michael Jordan.
And my first lesson to them is to be better than me, not like me, is to be better than me.
They can have that philosophy that, hey, I'm going to be better than you, Michael Jordan.
That's a strong comment, but yet that's a good goal to work toward.
Michael's reputation has already earned him a place in the world book Encyclopedia.
Could you imagine being 24 years old and already have your career earned you a world record?
He has got a lot more going on, too. He has product endorsements, an upcoming movie role. He's engaged to be married.
And we'll have more on Channel 8's Pia Magazine when we return. Stay with us.
This just about wraps up my last show on Pia Magazine, Jack.
Well, what can I say? I guess we'll just say we're going to take a look at highlights next time.
No, we're not going to take a look at highlights, not at least right now.
Now, before we looked at Teresa Richardson, not her and her past.
Oh, no.
Maybe we open up your past and future show.
Do you have to?
Yeah, yeah. It started about 10 years ago in Eugene.
Well, good-bye and the very best of luck to you.
Thank you, John.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much. That's the nicest thing that anyone's ever done for me.
I may sound double-dutch, but my delight is such, I feel as if a losing horse has won for me.
Oh, boy. Now that you've thoroughly embarrassed me, I know it's time to go.
Well, listen, in watching that, in all honesty, I've seen that over the years you've really changed your hairstyle a lot.
Yeah, and enough of the past there, Jack. Let's look to the future. Monday night on Pia Magazine. Here's what you'll see.
Here's Johnny. Meet the author of the unauthorized biography of Johnny Carson and find out what the king of late night television is really like.
Plus, it's called Dermablend, and its creator claims it can cover up anything from a birthmark to circles under the eyes.
Meet the woman who developed it and watch a demonstration.
Then, is there a Loch Ness monster in our neck of the woods?
We'll go to Kelowna, British Columbia, in search of Ogo Pogo, a 60-foot unidentified swimming object.
Well, Elaine, this is your last show. How do you feel?
I don't want to say a lot of emotions. Sad, happy to go.
But one thing I know I'll be back in the summer to do some windsurfing in Hood River, so you can catch me out there in the Columbia.
Wave when you go by Hood River. She'll be there.
We've never shown you Tim. Tim's our cameraman. Come on in, Tim.
Come on in, Tim.
Goodbye.
Bye, everybody. We'll see you.
Come home to Channel 8 tonight for Miami Vice.
Crockett and Tubbs are put on alert after a few Japanese mobsters begin organizing a large operation in Miami.
It's Tonight at 9, and it's right here on Channel 8.
The New York Times.