(Electronic News Gathering)
"SEEING IS BELIEVING"
Writen by: Wayne Grigsby
Directed by: Peter Rowe
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A Canadian Hour-long Drama TV Series, E.N.G (1989-1994, 96 episodes) is about a News Department of a Television Station. The stories pretty much followed the main characters as they got caught up in investigating news stories, allowing the writers to pretty much come up with anything, including stories about Mobsters, kidnapped pets, Plane Crashes, AIDS, Lottery Winners, the Klan, runaway children, Unions, rape, child molesters, homeless, Drug Addiction, abortion, Toxic Waste and even Ghosts.
TEASER : Just as the 6 o'clock News begins, Cameraman Jake Antonelli and Reporter Dan Watson are at Braeside Community Center doing a story about a meeting. As he's leaving, a black community activist named Ordwell is unexpectedly shot in the hallway full of people, and Jake gets it all on tape. At the station, Assignment Editor J.C. Callahan gets called by Dan and informs Producer Ann Hildebrandt what just happened, just as she was about to leave for a meeting with the Producer of a competing station.
ACT ONE ONWARD : Not having seen the footage yet, News Producer Ann Hildebrandt and News Director Mike Fennell have Anchorman Seth Miller break into it as a breaking story, getting information over the phone from Dan on scene. As Dan concludes his report and description of what happened, the 6 o'clock Producer Eric MacFarlane arrives at Braeside with the News van for a live broadcast.
Just as they're about to do a live remote, competing reporter Clarke Roberts arrives trying to get the information from Dan as to what happened. Dan tells him to buzz off, followed by Clarke reminding him about common courtesy of helping out a fellow reporter. In the live remote, they broadcast the footage of the shooting direct from the satelite feed. As it's playing, this is the first time everyone at the station sees the shocking footage of the shooting.
As Anchor Seth Miller talks to Dan about what the police are saying, Sportscaster John Elman is disturbed by what he saw. This later leads to a confrontation with middle-aged babe Weather Girl Jane Oliver.
After playing back the tape several times, Editor Marge Atherton realizes that Ordwell may not have been the intended victim, as the tape shows the gunman aiming at someone else (who is with a girl), who is shown looking at the gunman (who is off camera) and possibly recognizing him.
During another live remote, Ann has anchorman Seth talk with Dan on the air about the possibility of Ordwell being shot by accident (although Dan can't see the slow-motion footage being shown). Dan's over-speculation on the subject leads John Elman to have more arguments with Jane and Seth over the shooting, revealing that John has respect for the man.
"I hit a lot of guys in my career (as a football player). I'm big and I'm tough. But there's some fights I'm just not up to. Ordwell never blinks. He's out there doing the things I can't do. Fighting for me and mine". - John Elman
John Elman's problems with the constant speculation eventually carry over to Mike Fennell in the hallway.
With Mike realizing that there will be problems among the black community with the speculation they've started as more police are moved into the Braeside area, he decides to take it further and find the real intended victim before the News is over. They inform Seth that they will be going back into the story after the next break. Seth tells Ann that he didn't think it was neccessary to keep showing the footage of Ordwell getting shot, reminding that kids at home are watching. But when they lead into another phone-remote with Dan, Seth interupts and lies to Dan and the audience by telling them that the footage isn't available because of a technical error. This forced Dan to "describe" the shooting, and pisses off Ann some more, who has VTR role the tape anyway.
Barbie Doll, er, I mean, "reporter" Terri Morgan and Camera Girl Bobbi Katz arrive at the hospital where they believe Ordwell would be taken.
Callahan has new reporter Barbara Cole go out and do some "people on the street" stuff. She's annoyed that she can't go into the real action.
At the hospital, Ordwell arrives and is taken into surgery. The Doctors explain to the reporters that Ordwell is expected to live.
At a bar Barbara Cole is at to interview the average citizen for their opinions on the shooting, a close-up of the possible real intended victim appears on the Channel 10 News and is recognized by several of the patrons as a man named Eddie Wilson.
At Braeside, a second trail of blood is found, leading them to believe the intended victim was also shot.
When Terri is told to keep an eye out for Eddie Wilson, she finds the girl he was with. Recognizing Terri as a reporter, she takes off just as Clark arrives and teases Terri with some information.
Barbara arrives at Eddie Wilson's house where she meets his wife. The wife insists Eddie was with her all night and hasn't left the house.
Not realizing that she was at a dead end, the News Van arrives with Jake, Dan and Mac.
At the station, Callahan makes Terri call Barbara with what she heard at the hospital. Getting the name of the girl, Barbara mentions her to the wife, who wants to see the footage on TV. Barbara tells the station over the phone to show it again, and the wife recognizes the girl as someone Eddie was having an affair with. Just then, Eddie comes home. After promising it was over and claiming he didn't know she was going to be there, the two have a fight.
Later, after Eddie got kicked out and tries to walk away from the house, he's cornered by Barbara live on the air in the last minutes of the broadcast, and Eddie reluctantly explains that he was with the girl at the community event. It was her other boyfriend who got jealous and tried to shoot him. When asked point blank if Ordwell had anything to do with the shooting, Eddie makes clear that he was just some unlucky guy who just happened to be there.
As the news concludes, competing reporter Clarke arrives with his cameraman to get the story. Dan and Jake lie and tells Clarke that Eddie already left the house so he missed him, so Clarke takes off without getting the story. When Barbara reminds Dan and Jake that Eddie came back to get his stuff and he was in the house, Dan and Jake tell her that a good reporter always double checks. Always.
Always.
THE END.
This is the only episode of the Series which takes place in "real time", ie. one hour of TV time corresponds to one hour of real time (the one hour newscast).
This episode is apparently the cast and crew's favorite episode of the series.
After his sister (Channel 10 researcher Janice Roberts) killed herself over an emotional story in the first season, Clarke Roberts came to work at Channel 10 briefly. After quitting over another story some episodes later, Clarke ended up working for Channel 7. This is one of the first to feature Clarke as a true rival for the Channel 10 crew, instead of just being the trouble-maker within the family.
In 1992 this episode won a "Gemini Award", the Canadian equivelant of an Emmy, for "Best Writing in a Dramatic Series: Wayne Grigsby".
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