Best TV Show of the Week
Truth
Be Told on Fox
By Ally Matteodo
Truth Be
Told
on Fox is the clear choice for Best of the Week. Aired on Saturday, April 16th
at 8:00 ET/PT, this made-for-TV movie presented by Walmart and
P&G is the perfect selection for a family friendly night in.
Full House
alum Candace Cameron Bure stars as single marriage counselor Annie Morgan.
Annie attends a benefit with her friend Darcy and strikes up a conversation with
media mogul Terrance Bishop (Ronny Cox, Stargate SG-1 and Beverly
Hills Cop). Bishop proposes she host a radio show on his Denver station,
and later on has his son Jake call her to arrange a weekend getaway to the
Bishop family ranch in New Mexico so they can speak further. Ecstatic, Annie
happily accepts, but then the other shoe drops—Bishop wants her to bring her
entire family, he himself being a loving husband, father, and grandfather. Yet
Annie doesn’t have a family—the confusion arose during the benefit when she
posed for a photograph with long-lost schoolmate Mark Crane. Mark attended the
University of Colorado with Annie—he played football for the school and she
tutored him in math as part of her work-study program. Annie transferred to
UCLA when her father grew ill, and Mark went on to play professional football
for the Broncos, eventually busting his knee. Mark, a widower, works as founder
of an after school program similar to a Boys and Girls club, and is in desperate need of funding. Annie approaches Mark about going on
the weekend with her, along with his two children, Kenny and Zoey. Mark agrees,
in part because he wants to help Annie attain her dream job, and in part to get
another crack at pitching Bishop again on his after-school program in hopes of
funding. As the weekend nears an end, Annie blurts out the truth—they’re not
married. Bishop, wounded at being lied to, withdraws his offer to Annie and his
monetary pledge to Mark. After a week to cool off however, he realizes after
speaking with his wife that he would be crazy not to put Annie on the air.
Annie insists she will only take the job if he promises to support Marks
program. In the end, Annie and Mark are reunited and their blossoming romance
promises to be a lasting one.
There’s so much to love about Truth Be Told. Bishop's ranch in New Mexico
operates in an eco-conscious manner—they wash their clothes in cold water and
green energy such as solar power is utilized. In addition, in spite of his
bountiful pockets, Bishop insists on fixing the fences himself that contain the
cows, and insists everyone staying at his ranch assist him as well. Bishop also
adores his wife Sophia, and isn’t afraid to tell anyone about it—they met at a
screening of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and afterwards enjoyed
countless Western movies together. In honor of their bond, for their thirtieth
wedding anniversary he created an Old West ghost town, and this grand romantic
gesture always reminds him of their first encounter, a clear example of devotion
and love. This movie also doesn’t gloss over some of the more difficult aspects
of loss—when Mark and Annie kiss for the first time, Zoey runs away in
frustration and sadness. The loss of her mother still troubles her greatly, and
she fears her father’s flirtations with Annie are a sign he has forgotten her
mother. When Annie finds Zoey, she empathizes with her hurt and loss, and
gives her advice on how to be strong as a survivor of loss herself. The people
who inhabit this movie care deeply, and are passionate; they contain their
faults and hypocrisies, as all people do, but their overarching moral compasses
simply won’t let these faults persevere. If we train ourselves to listen to our
own consciences with such attentiveness, it’s only a matter of time before we
find the same success and happiness as those in Truth Be Told.
Best TV Show
of the Week
The Parents
Television Council -
www.parentstv.org
