This evening at 10:00pm ET, TNT presents "Whatever
Happened To Micheal Ray? The True Story of an NBA Legend's
Rise To Glory And Fall From Grace," a 60-minute documentary
about Micheal Ray Richardson, whose history of drug problems
caused him to be the first player to be banned for life from
the league (See THE DAILY, 12/10) (NBAE). DAILY VARIETY's
Michael Speier calls it an "introspective" documentary that
"scrutinizes a very confused soul," and writes that
Directors Larry Weitzman and Jim Podhoretz present a "fair
analysis" of Richardson. The feature includes appearances
by former NBAers Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Darryl Dawkins
and Mike Glenn, former coaches Stan Albeck and Hubie Brown
and journalist Peter Vecsey (DAILY VARIETY, 2/16). In N.Y.,
Phil Mushnick called the program "surprisingly good and
relatively propaganda-free, considering that it was
produced" by NBAE and NBA rights-holder Turner Broadcasting
(N.Y. POST, 2/14). ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY's Bruce Fretts
gives it an A- and writes that the "compelling" program
"provides a potent antidrug message without preaching"
(ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, 2/18 issue). But in Houston, David
Barron wrote that NBAE erred in choosing Chris Rock to be
the show's narrator, in a "transparent reach for ratings."
Rock "rambles about his days as a young basketball fan in
New York and how wonderful he thought Richardson was and how
tough it was to see him go through tough times off the
court." Barron wrote that Rock hosting "makes about as much
sense as me narrating a show about the life and times of,
say, Michael Jordan. ... I probably have as much insight on
the travails of Jordan's life as Rock knows about the inner
workings of Micheal Ray's ... zero. ... Worthwhile topic,
questionable execution by TNT" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 2/14).
