Two PAX TV Programs Feature Women with Disabilities

By Joan Leotta

Paxson Communications turned the spotlight on living with disabilities in two new programs this fall. Anna's Dream, a two-hour made-for-TV movie, depicts the story of a girl who returns to the daily trials of teenage life after a paralyzing spinal cord injury during a gymnastics meet. Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye follows the intrigue of the cases faced by the first deaf woman to work surveillance for the FBI. Anna's Dream debuted on PAX TV on October 4, and the Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye hour-long series follows PAX's blockbuster hit, Doc, on Sunday nights, 9-10 pm ET/PT (CC). Both programs were launched during October, the month that President Bush proclaimed as National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

In working with Tari Susan Hartman's EIN SOF Communications (a marketing and PR firm specializing in disability and social issues), PAX is one of the few companies to realize the value in embracing strategic alliances with the Deaf and disability community. Last month, PAX TV received the Thomas H. "Mick" Countee Award of excellence from the National Spinal Cord Injury Association for their extraordinary generosity of spirit in support of the Association and for exemplary dedication, vision, and service to the spinal cord injury community at large. Deaf and Disability Rights Leaders agree that this network is taking a bold and progressive approach by using realistic and authentic portrayals of people with disabilities on TV and by recognizing the large consumer market that people with disabilities represent. Hopefully, PAX will be a role model for other networks in both of these regards."

Community Involvement

The cast and producers of both shows have involved the disability community in the creative process from the beginning. Anna's Dream executive producer and writer William Bickley was inspired to write the movie after a football injury left his teenage son with the possibility of paralysis, and hired wheelchair user Richard Redlin as technical advisor. PAX TV has collaborated with the National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA) and highlights the role of the NSCIA's peer support network in public service announcements. The real Sue Thomas and Deaf actress Deanne Bray consult with producers and writers to add authenticity. Both programs strove to have people with disabilities on the creative team. On October 8th, PAX hosted the "world premiere" of Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye in Washington, DC to a full house of government, Deaf and disability community leaders and the press—and the response was overwhelmingly positive.

NSCIA and others consult on Anna's Dream

Anna's Dream casting directors sought to fill the role of Anna Morgan with a set of twins, one a wheelchair user, so that they could portray Anna's life both before and after the accident. Since no such qualified pair were found, the show hired Richard Redlin, a wheelchair user, as a technical consultant. Redlin coached Lindsey Felton the actress who won the role of Anna, and other cast members on realistically portraying life as a wheelchair user.

Said Redlin, "I studied with Sandy Meisner, who stresses the technique of acting truthfully in imaginary circumstances. That's the approach I took with Lindsay—we aimed for truth by my showing her ways of behaving, physical gestures that would help her move as a person with this injury would move." In addition to working with Felton, Redlin oversaw the efforts of another actor to bring realism to his role as a person with a disability. Says Redlin, "Don Franklin was also excellent in his portrayal of the peer counselor, Tommy Tillman, who was spinal cord injured and lives the hopeful life that he is trying to introduce to Anna."

Keeping an eye out for involving deaf actors

For Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye, a desire, too, was to hire Deaf cast members if possible. Dave Alan Johnson, the show's creator, describes how the title lead actress was chosen. "When Deanne Bray came in and auditioned against numerous other actresses—both hearing and deaf—she won the role. We knew right away what an incredibly gifted woman she was and that she perfectly embodied the persona of Sue Thomas."

In addition to Bray, the cast of Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye features Yannick Bisson, Rick Peters, Marc Gomes, Enuka Okuma, Tara Samuel, and Ted Atherton. Also featured on the show is a golden retriever named Jesse who "stars" as Sue's hearing dog, Levi.

Although the series regulars other than Bray are hearing, producers hope to feature deaf guest stars in some of the 22 upcoming episodes that will round out the first season. Deanna Bray's real-life husband, Deaf actor Troy Kotsur, appeared in the November 10th episode, entitled "The Signing." In that episode, dialogue between the two will be conducted in sign language, no sound and with subtitles appearing onscreen for the viewing audience.

Realizing Anna's Dream

Writer William Bickley wrote Anna's Dream three years ago, reflecting on a 1990 a football accident that changed his family. The seed of the story came from Bickley's memory of his family huddled in the hospital, awaiting word of his son Brendan's condition. Bickley notes, "Brendan's body went numb from the neck down. A severe injury forces your life to go in a different direction." The effects of such an injury on a family led Bickley to write Anna's Dream as a story of how hope can help families deal with serious trials.

Says Bickley, "Even though Brendan could walk again, the memory of those hours stayed with me. I could not leave the experience behind, so I created the fictional Anna Morgan and worked our experience into her story." From the very beginning of the creative development process, Bickley's ambition was to have the show be driven by character rather than by the character's reaction to the disability. In addition, he wanted to bring the audience to an awareness that a physical condition or characteristic (e.g. color, disability, etc.) may make a person seem different but that in reality we all experience life in much the same way as caring people. "The show is about life--the disability is one of the issues that this young girl encounters in her life. The show is about faith, living your life anyway, despite the problems you encounter. This is why the show does not emphasize hope for walking or the swinging moods of the initial adjustment--other shows have done that. We start out with Anna as a character--do not tell the audience about her disability--let them invest in her emotionally and then reveal that she seems "different " because she now experiences life as a wheelchair user. The movie then goes on to show that she experiences the start of the school year and other difficulties as would any other teen." Bickley did a lot of research with people with spinal cords injuries and with their family members. This is why the script rings true for NSCIA members.

Redlin, a colleague of Bickley and the show's consultant on disability issues, comments on how the show brings to light strong family dynamics. Says Redlin, "The movie does not focus only on [Anna] as an isolated individual. She is a stone in the pool of her family. The accident affects them but is not the only factor in [the family's] life—or even in her own life."

Janine Bertram Kemp, a writer on disability issues, gives kudos to the movie for its realistic depiction of disability as a part of life. In the movie, the gymnastics accident is not the only difficult issue that Anna, her three siblings, and their busy parents face. Says Kemp, "The new ground [that Anna's Dream breaks] is that it is a well-done, realistic portrayal that leaves the viewer believing that it is possible to live a full life seated, as a wheelchair user." Anna's character, at the encouragement of her counselor, plans to reenter the world of sports even after her accident.

Says Kemp, "Anna's Dream is not overplayed. The characters in the movie have a universal appeal, befitting PAX TV's stated commitment to 'feel-good TV and family programming.'"

Advance "sneak preview" screenings of Anna's Dream took place in eight cities before the October 4 premiere on PAX TV's Friday Night Flix. In Washington D.C., the screening was co-sponsored by the Darden Restaurant Group, which includes family restaurants such as Red Lobster, Bahama Breeze, Smokey Bones and The Olive Garden. Companies that sponsored the airing national broadcast of the show. Wyeth (formerly known as American Home Products) who specifically requested that media buy.

In each city where advance "sneak preview" screenings took place, PAX highlighted its partnership with the National Spinal Cord Injury Association. Connie Selleca, who plays Anna's mother in the movie, made a set four public service announcements (PSAs) promoting the peer support network services of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association. Two of Selleca's PSAs were used to promote the show on PAX before its broadcast, the third was aired right after the broadcast on PAX and the fourth was made to be played on any station independent of the show's run.

Marcie Roth, the executive director of the NSCIA, praises Anna's Dream for portraying Anna's injury as "just one more issue that the family must deal with." Roth also expresses appreciation for PAX's handling of the subject in a knowledgeable manner. Says Roth, "NSCIA also applauds PAX for their progressive stance in showing the value of peer support counselors in assisting someone with a recent spinal cord to rediscover themselves." Adds Roth, "We are so appreciative to PAX for the opportunity to get folks excited about something...to be able to get people talking about this sort of an experience. [That's] worth its weight in gold."

A Surveillant's Life Examined in Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye

Dave Alan Johnson, creator of Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye, met the real-life Sue Thomas seven years ago and wanted to do a story on her immediately. However, his busy schedule, including his involvement with another television series, prevented him from moving the story idea forward right away. Then last year, the timing was right. "Jeff Sagansky President and CEO of Paxson Communications wanted me to do another series," Johnson relates. "I had a lot of work on my plate with Doc, but I thought about it and prayed about it and consulted my family—and the Monday morning I was to talk with Jeff, I found an e-mail from Sue Thomas telling me about her [recent diagnosis of multiple sclerosis] and at the end of the e-mail she wondered if any TV show was ever going to come about. I called my brother and we decided to do her story as the series that PAX TV wanted."

"We believe this is a precedent-setting series," says Johnson. "Never before has there been a television show inspired by the real-life experiences and career of a Deaf person—who is also portrayed by a Deaf actor in the title lead role."

Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye began a two-hour series premiere relating Thomas' story backstory leading up to her position as working surveillance for the F.B.I. That episode depicted Thomas' experiences under her first supervisor at the F.B.I. who thought she should have a desk job in the fingerprint division, and then her transfer to surveillance work due to her tremendous talent as a lip reader.

In many ways, the show brings home the Deaf experience for the viewing audience. For example, when characters turn away from Sue, the show's dialogue ceases, just as it would for Sue. However, the show remains balanced. Sue's friendships, the cases she helps solve, her ambivalent attraction to her co-worker, and her often-difficult work relationships all take turns at center stage in this action drama.

This mix has proven to hold a wide appeal for PAX viewers. An October 15 PAX press release reports that the October 13 debut of Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye achieved the network's highest premiere ratings this season. In fact, survey results indicate that the program's viewership topped even its lead-in show, Doc.

The drama hit its mark with key demographic groups as well. Not only did Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye improve the household rating by 14 percent over Doc, but it also attracted 43 percent more women in the 25-54 age group than the lead-in show. The night Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye debuted, Doc opened PAX's prime-time block at 8:00 p.m. with 1.5 million viewers, and Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye closed with 2.4 million—a gain of almost a million viewers.

The publicity for Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye has been broad-based. A TV Guide article, published October 19, 2002 has profiled the real Sue Thomas, whose MS is causing her to become blind, and Deaf actress Deanne Bray.

Sponsors of the show include: Wal-Mart, Pier 1 Imports, Merck, Kodak and Smuckers.

Photos from Anna's Dream can be found at: http://www.paxpressroom.tv/Shows/Annas%20Dream/AnnasDream.htm. The PAX Web site also features links to the National Spinal Cord Injury Association.

Photos from Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye can be found at http://www.paxpressroom.tv/ and click on Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye to download photos

Fans of Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye can follow the show's happenings at http://messageboard.pax.tv/index2.cfm?frmid=31

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