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The New York
Times, Tuesday, 16 May 1995
Television Review - MTV Lessons in Health, Sexual and Otherwise
By John J. O'Connor
This week, through Thursday, a series of health-care specials can be seen on
MTV, carrier of the beach party and, among the music videos, a former obnoxious,
bike messenger (out of "Real World") turned equally obnoxious disk jockey. Now
"Out of Order: Rock the Vote Targets Health," in four half-hour programs, offers
six dramatized stories dealing with health-related problems especially affecting
young people.
Last night in "Hey, Joey," Nick Stahl played a 15-year-old whose escalating drug
problem, along with easy access to handguns, ensnared him in a nightmare of
paranoia and, inevitably, tragedy. Tonight in "Squids," Alan Boyce is Sam, a
good-looking fellow who used to have fun but, as he tells it, had something
happen in the form of a sexually transmitted disease. Todd Miller, the writer,
gives a familiar subject an unusual twist by having Sam's problem take the form
of tentacled creatures, or squids, that scurry and flutter quite visibly in his
pants. Message: always wear a condom and always tell your partner. Or as someone
says in the brief wraparound bits that enclose the programs, "No glove, no
love."
The second, shorter piece this evening, "Familiar Bonds," has Shawnee Smith and
Jeremy Sisto playing a seemingly ideal couple. But both come from parents who
are abusive, either physically or emotionally, and neither is able to shuck
instilled patterns. They have already entered a cycle of resentment, anger and
shaky reconciliation. Their future is obviously bleak. Coming up tomorrow and
Thursday are essays on hospitalization crises, alcoholism and bulimia.
Crammed into tight spaces, these dramas, mostly in black and white, are really
little more then playlets and anecdotes. But young, talented writers and casts
give the project, created by Larry Williams and Leslie Libman, a distinctive
energy. The Rock the Vote Education Fund was established in 1990 by the music
industry in an effort to let young people have an Impact on the political
process. One drive involved voter registration. With Rick Seldman as executive
producer, this health series, made possible through a grant from the Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation, extends the crusade. It beats previews of the latest in
swimwear.
OUT OF ORDER
Rock the Vote Targets Health Care
MTV at 9:30 pm today, tomorrow and Thursday
Produced by the Rock The Vote Education Fund ; Larry Williams and Leslie Libman,
directors; Jane Reardon, producer; Declan Quinn, director of photography; Jane
Stewart, production designer; Ricki Seidman, executive producer.
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Additional information from the "Rock the Vote" website:
1995
Continuing its public education campaign about health care, Rock the Vote
produced "Out of Order: Rock the Vote Targets Health," a series of short
dramatic films with the message that health care issues affect their personal
lives on a daily basis. The short films focused on such issues as eating
disorders, drug use, depression, sexually transmitted diseases, lack of health
insurance, and family violence. "Out of Order" premiered on MTV in May 1995;
more than one and a half million viewers tuned in over four nights, and won the
prestigious Peabody Award.
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