ABC Special: Last Days of Michael Jackson - TONIGHT 5/24/18

**woodward** · 05-24-2018, 10:28 AM

Just a friendly reminder to all MF members.

Tonight on ABC at 8 PM - Last Days of Michael Jackson.
Be sure to watch it. It might never be repeated. They were discovered in 1968 - 50 years ago - and started their Motown career in 1969.

**soulster** · 05-24-2018, 12:54 PM

I'm quite sure that it will get repeated and released to Netflix and home video. If nothing else, it will wind up on YouTube. If you have a DVR, you can always record it. That's what I would do if I were even interested.

We all know what happened. He had an overdose of Propofol, a powerful tranquilizer that he stupidly used to help him sleep. I don't think the question has ever been fully answered on if the doctor did it, or Michael himself administered the fatal dose.

**Roberta75** · 05-24-2018, 03:30 PM

Originally Posted by soulster

I'm quite sure that it will get repeated and released to Netflix and home video. If nothing else, it will wind up on YouTube. If you have a DVR, you can always record it. That's what I would do if I were even interested.

We all know what happened. He had an overdose of Propofol, a powerful tranquilizer that he stupidly used to help him sleep. I don't think the question has ever been fully answered on if the doctor did it, or Michael himself administered the fatal dose.

Both are equally responsible in a drug overdose imo. The addict and the doctor or the addict and the dealer and im not meaning any disrespect by sayin that.just stating my opinion.

**Jimi LaLumia** · 05-24-2018, 04:54 PM

I've set my DVR

**Guy** · 05-24-2018, 08:24 PM

Originally Posted by soulster

I'm quite sure that it will get repeated and released to Netflix and home video. If nothing else, it will wind up on YouTube. If you have a DVR, you can always record it. That's what I would do if I were even interested.

We all know what happened. He had an overdose of Propofol, a powerful tranquilizer that he stupidly used to help him sleep. I don't think the question has ever been fully answered on if the doctor did it, or Michael himself administered the fatal dose.

It's an ABC News special. A lot of archival ABC-owned content so not likely to be licensed to competing platform like Netflix or YouTube. MJ Estate has already issued a statement claiming copyright infringement for other content. May not be repeated or make it to ABC On Demand. Watch live or DVR it if you want to see it.

**Circa 1824** · 05-24-2018, 10:01 PM

I always wondered where Diana was during Michael's darkest years. Did he push her away? Was she prominently there behind the scenes? Why didn't she publicly support her friend when he needed it the most? Was it career suicide to be too close to an accused pedophile?

**midnightman** · 05-24-2018, 10:15 PM

^ I knew there was a reason I blocked you. Nothing but a troll.

**Circa 1824** · 05-24-2018, 10:22 PM

Yeah, like I am the only one in the world who wondered about this.

**Boogiedown** · 05-25-2018, 12:46 AM

This program is pretty interesting

**midnightman** · 05-25-2018, 12:49 AM

Originally Posted by Guy

It's an ABC News special. A lot of archival ABC-owned content so not likely to be licensed to competing platform like Netflix or YouTube. MJ Estate has already issued a statement claiming copyright infringement for other content. May not be repeated or make it to ABC On Demand. Watch live or DVR it if you want to see it.

I wondered why they waited until the day before it aired to release that. I'm gonna google the reviews of this special. I mean if it's info we already knew about, it's not so revealing then.

**soulster** · 05-25-2018, 04:33 AM

Originally Posted by midnightman

^ I knew there was a reason I blocked you. Nothing but a troll.

Yeah, looks like the same ol' same ol' around here, trying to turn something into a Diana Ross thread.

**midnightman** · 05-25-2018, 11:52 AM

Originally Posted by soulster

Yeah, looks like the same ol' same ol' around here, trying to turn something into a Diana Ross thread.

Right. And Michael Jackson is the most famous Motown artist ever... smh

People making ant houses out of friggin' molehills, I tell ya!

**RanRan79** · 05-25-2018, 12:23 PM

I DVR'd it but probably won't watch until some time next week. Gonna enjoy the weekend festivities.

**midnightman** · 05-25-2018, 01:18 PM

Seems I did the right thing avoiding this, it basically revealed what was already known about MJ:
https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news...earned-w520754

**Roberta75** · 05-25-2018, 02:01 PM

Originally Posted by midnightman

Seems I did the right thing avoiding this, it basically revealed what was already known about MJ:
https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news...earned-w520754

It couldve been a half hour show Midnightman but it was real nice to see Janet participating.

**PeaceNHarmony** · 05-25-2018, 02:13 PM

Was there really anything else new, or just a ratings-grab?

**Boogiedown** · 05-25-2018, 02:27 PM

I happen to catch most of it , I'm glad I did. Seemed pretty straight forward , not aimed at sensationalism, not out to prove or not prove anything. A review rather than an update. Hard to review this fellows life and not have mixed feelings about its complexities. An awful lot on one guy's shoulders. No wonder Michael was adamant that 'THIS IS IT!' .

And the paparazzi
was INSANE

**soulster** · 05-25-2018, 02:59 PM

Looks like the special was made for the pedestrian viewer who doesn't know a thing about MJ.

**midnightman** · 05-25-2018, 08:54 PM

Originally Posted by Roberta75

It couldve been a half hour show Midnightman but it was real nice to see Janet participating.

Think the Janet footage was from a 2009 interview shortly after Michael's death.

**marv2** · 05-28-2018, 02:01 AM

I just watched it on Hulu. I won't say that it was awful, but it was not very good. Some of it didn't even make sense and there were bold mistakes and claims made. The omissions of people that impacted his life and career were glaring. This was not a memorable special/documentary.

**marv2** · 05-28-2018, 02:03 AM

Originally Posted by soulster

Looks like the special was made for the pedestrian viewer who doesn't know a thing about MJ.

They claimed that "I'll Be There" was the biggest selling record in Motown's history. No mention of Bobby Taylor or Gladys Knight. If you go by this special, Diana Ross never existed in Michael Jackson's life.

**soulster** · 05-28-2018, 02:37 AM

Originally Posted by marv2

They claimed that "I'll Be There" was the biggest selling record in Motown's history. No mention of Bobby Taylor or Gladys Knight. If you go by this special, Diana Ross never existed in Michael Jackson's life.

It is possible that it was mentioned, but fell victim to the producers editors trying to whittle it all down to an hour.

**marv2** · 05-28-2018, 09:22 AM

Originally Posted by soulster

It is possible that it was mentioned, but fell victim to the producers editors trying to whittle it all down to an hour.

It was obvious that they did this on the cheap by using ABC owned canned footage. However, I was expecting a more detailed documentary on the weeks, days leading up to Michael's death. I was not expecting a jigsaw puzzle representation of his entire life. This is why I like foreign made documentaries [[Canadian and British especially) they seem to always do a better job of it.

**woodward** · 05-28-2018, 10:51 AM

They claimed that "I'll Be There" was the biggest selling record in Motown's history. Thanks Marv2 for posting this. This caught me completely by surprise. I did not know this. Does anyone have any doubts about this single being the biggest selling record in Motown's history?

**marv2** · 05-28-2018, 11:23 AM

Originally Posted by woodward

They claimed that "I'll Be There" was the biggest selling record in Motown's history. Thanks Marv2 for posting this. This caught me completely by surprise. I did not know this. Does anyone have any doubts about this single being the biggest selling record in Motown's history?

You're welcome Woodward. I had always heard that it was "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye was the biggest selling record for Motown.

**woodward** · 05-28-2018, 11:53 AM

Originally Posted by marv2

You're welcome Woodward. I had always heard that it was "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye was the biggest selling record for Motown.

Marv, you have an interesting statement there. I assume that if you combine the sales for both Marvin and Gladys Knight & the Pips, the combined sales would be the biggest selling SONG in Motown history. However, I wonder if each one on their own standalone would have reached this success.

What do other members think?

**reese** · 05-28-2018, 12:53 PM

Originally Posted by woodward

Marv, you have an interesting statement there. I assume that if you combine the sales for both Marvin and Gladys Knight & the Pips, the combined sales would be the biggest selling SONG in Motown history. However, I wonder if each one on their own standalone would have reached this success.

What do other members think?

Hard to say since many of Motown's discs from the 60s weren't officially certified by the RIAA. But on THE MOTOWN STORY album from 1970, it is said that the Pips' GRAPEVINE was the label's biggest selling record, to be topped one year later by Marvin's version.

**marv2** · 05-28-2018, 01:06 PM

Also regarding the program, I was surprised that they did not interview his mother Katherine. They showed Tito speaking for about 20 seconds, but none of the other brothers except Jermaine at a press conference. There were so many people that had first hand involvement with Michael and his story, I did not see the need to have people like Toure and other ABC commentators involved as they don't know more than we do! I also did not understand the timing of this special. Was there some significance for airing it now?

**midnightman** · 05-28-2018, 04:10 PM

The estate didn't approve of it so it's a mystery how people went about this special. Just plain fishy.

**soulster** · 05-28-2018, 04:33 PM

Originally Posted by reese

Hard to say since many of Motown's discs from the 60s weren't officially certified by the RIAA. But on THE MOTOWN STORY album from 1970, it is said that the Pips' GRAPEVINE was the label's biggest selling record, to be topped one year later by Marvin's version.

This is perhaps just the way Berry Gordy wanted it, to not have any one Motown record stand out above the rest. That's why he never joined the RIAA. It makes calculating the sales after the fact very difficult.

**StuBass1** · 05-28-2018, 04:46 PM

I actually spent the two hours necessary to watch this rehash of MJ's life that were ALL already in the public consciousness. Obviously, the Jackson family members weren't about participate in a broadcast that illuminated so many facets, many quite negative, of Michaels life [[especially not being financially rewarded for their participation). From what this broadcast did illustrate were some of the triumphs, and many of the failures of Michaels life...It didn't bring out anything new, especially regarding the actual biological parentage of his children and while they touted this program as answering questions about Michaels "final" days...spent little time actually focusing on what was going on inside the home at the exact time Michael was heading towards his own demise, what role Dr Murray had to do with the death, and what role Michael himself may have had, and what others who were at the scene could reveal now these years later. They instead spent a lot of time rehashing what was already part of the This Is It Documentary about the plans for the big tour, his condition at the time,and some of his drug issues past and present. I was expecting more details on his actual death and what was done, not done, and what could have been done... Pretty much a waste of time that revealed nothing that we already didn't know...

**midnightman** · 05-28-2018, 06:11 PM

And the fact that Michael Jackson was more than what the documentaries revealed. I mean he was our generation's Sammy Davis Jr. in terms of what he could do onstage as a singer and dancer and performer, and then as a writer and musician... he just had the "it" factor but that special rather go on hogwash about stuff that may or may not be true.

**soulster** · 05-28-2018, 06:17 PM

I don't think we will get a complete and honest doc on MJ until the entire family has passed. In other words: Never!

**marv2** · 05-28-2018, 07:48 PM

Originally Posted by StuBass1

I actually spent the two hours necessary to watch this rehash of MJ's life that were ALL already in the public consciousness. Obviously, the Jackson family members weren't about participate in a broadcast that illuminated so many facets, many quite negative, of Michaels life [[especially not being financially rewarded for their participation). From what this broadcast did illustrate were some of the triumphs, and many of the failures of Michaels life...It didn't bring out anything new, especially regarding the actual biological parentage of his children and while they touted this program as answering questions about Michaels "final" days...spent little time actually focusing on what was going on inside the home at the exact time Michael was heading towards his own demise, what role Dr Murray had to do with the death, and what role Michael himself may have had, and what others who were at the scene could reveal now these years later. They instead spent a lot of time rehashing what was already part of the This Is It Documentary about the plans for the big tour, his condition at the time,and some of his drug issues past and present. I was expecting more details on his actual death and what was done, not done, and what could have been done... Pretty much a waste of time that revealed nothing that we already didn't know...

I felt the same way Stu. Nothing new there......

**RanRan79** · 05-29-2018, 01:22 AM

I was under the impression that "Endless Love" was the best selling, but figure Marvin's "Grapevine" has to be in the running. I would think Boyz II Men's "End of the Road" and "I'll Make Love to You" are easily in that conversation.

**RanRan79** · 05-29-2018, 01:24 AM

Originally Posted by soulster

This is perhaps just the way Berry Gordy wanted it, to not have any one Motown record stand out above the rest. That's why he never joined the RIAA. It makes calculating the sales after the fact very difficult.

Me gets the feeling that Gordy's unwillingness to deal with the RIAA certification was more about covering his butt than any "it's all about the music" sentiment.

**midnightman** · 05-29-2018, 02:45 AM

Originally Posted by RanRan79

Me gets the feeling that Gordy's unwillingness to deal with the RIAA certification was more about covering his butt than any "it's all about the music" sentiment.

My thoughts exactly.

As far as best-selling Motown singles, I definitely think Marvin's Grapevine outsold everything else singles-wise...

**soulster** · 05-29-2018, 03:45 AM

Originally Posted by midnightman

My thoughts exactly.

As far as best-selling Motown singles, I definitely think Marvin's Grapevine outsold everything else singles-wise...

I do, too!

**TomatoTom123** · 05-29-2018, 04:08 AM

Originally Posted by RanRan79

Me gets the feeling that Gordy's unwillingness to deal with the RIAA certification was more about covering his butt than any "it's all about the music" sentiment.

Hey Ran, how would it cover his butt?

**soulster** · 05-29-2018, 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by TomatoTom123

Hey Ran, how would it cover his butt?

I'm not Ran, but I think he's hinting at accounting practices.

**reese** · 05-29-2018, 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by RanRan79

Me gets the feeling that Gordy's unwillingness to deal with the RIAA certification was more about covering his butt than any "it's all about the music" sentiment.

In Barney Ales' recent book on Motown, he wrote that Berry's dislike of the RIAA stemmed from the bootlegging of MY GUY, which resulted in the closing of the NY office as well as Raynoma Gordy's release from the company. Supposedly, when the bootlegging was discovered, it came out that the RIAA knew it was going on and didn't let Berry know about it. After that, he resolved not to deal with them.

**marv2** · 05-29-2018, 09:41 AM

Originally Posted by soulster

I'm not Ran, but I think he's hinting at accounting practices.

Five years ago, I was on the UES in NYC waiting for a meeting to start. One of Berry Gordy's attorneys from the 60s was in the lobby also and jawbreaking with the receptionist. He said that Motown had two sets of books back then. He said it like a joke. Now what he actually meant, I do not know.

**RanRan79** · 05-29-2018, 10:36 AM

Originally Posted by TomatoTom123

Hey Ran, how would it cover his butt?

Well we know that when it came to the money, Gordy was probably not only taking his share but dipping into other shares as well, which is why several folks- singers and writer/producers- left the label grumbling about money and some would later sue. An accounting of Motown figures could've exposed Gordy early on to his double dipping, especially if he ever lied to an artist that their song or album didn't sale much when it fact it did.

**RanRan79** · 05-29-2018, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by reese

In Barney Ales' recent book on Motown, he wrote that Berry's dislike of the RIAA stemmed from the bootlegging of MY GUY, which resulted in the closing of the NY office as well as Raynoma Gordy's release from the company. Supposedly, when the bootlegging was discovered, it came out that the RIAA knew it was going on and didn't let Berry know about it. After that, he resolved not to deal with them.

Possible, but is it probable? Lol

**midnightman** · 05-29-2018, 12:24 PM

Originally Posted by reese

In Barney Ales' recent book on Motown, he wrote that Berry's dislike of the RIAA stemmed from the bootlegging of MY GUY, which resulted in the closing of the NY office as well as Raynoma Gordy's release from the company. Supposedly, when the bootlegging was discovered, it came out that the RIAA knew it was going on and didn't let Berry know about it. After that, he resolved not to deal with them.

Not sure if I 100% buy that lol

BUT it's possible as Ran said.