E!'s Olympic coverage places a distant second

Someone must have hurt E! Entertainment Television's program director in some horrible way in the recent past. Otherwise, E!'s torturous coverage of the Olympics would never have made it to air.

AP PHOTO If it's happening with Tara Lipinski, it's happening on E! - it's just not being well covered.

Where CBS shows the events as they happen in Nagano, E! treats its viewers to anything and everything happening off the slopes, luge trails and skating rinks.

E!'s coverage started last Sunday, Feb. 8, by airing "E! on Ice" and "Gymnastic Superstars." While these shows had the potential to add something relevant to the Olympics, hour-long specials ended up as nothing more than propaganda films.

"E! on Ice" was hosted by Olympic gold medalist Dorothy Hamill - who obviously needed the work - and other former Olympic greats trying to regain the spotlight. Much of the show's time was dedicated to how money has become an issue in the sport after the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding soap opera, and how Olympic skaters, often lacking other marketable skills, are turn to "Ice Capades" and "Stars on Ice" for work. E! manages to put a positive spin on all of this, though. There was talk about how wonderful the Olympics are for athletes. The show used Oksana Baiul and how great her life is, conveniently omitting the parts when she gets drunk, wrecks her car and gets arrested.

REVIEW
	Olympic coverage E! Entertainment Television Daily until Feb. 22 1 star

"Gymnastic Superstars" is no better. Another Wheaties golden child, Mary Lou Retton, gives examples of all of the positive things Olympic gymnastics do for prepubescent girls, leaving out the stunted growth, physical and psychological injuries, and malformed bodies are left out. Like "E! on Ice," "Gymnastic Superstars" condones little girls competing in these physically demanding contests without concern for their well being. To its advantage, though, "Gymnastic Superstars" does include a small segment of the frequency of eating disorders among competitors. But it in no way blames the system that creates this problem, namely the push to have young girls compete past their physical and psychological maturity. Retton adds her profound insight, telling these young girls, "Never let your goals take the place of good health."

In addition to its documentaries, E! is also covering the Olympics from an entertainment stand point. On its news and gossip shows, E! focuses on the ratings the Olympics are getting and turning athletes into celebrities. As we've seen time and again, even the supposedly earnest athletes of the Olympic games can be exploited for commercial gain.

For those who enjoy pain, E! will continue covering the Olympics games until the closing ceremony. Lucky us.

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