Frontline: the Kevorkian File; Good Death

Anyone with even a minor fascination for the macabre--and given the sales of Stephen King novels and the spectacular success of tabloid journalism, we're talking a huge number of "anyone's"--will surely glom on to The Kervorkian File, a slickly produced Frontline episode chronicling the now infamous career of Jack "Dr. Death" Kervorkian, the Michigan-based formerly-licensed physician who has assisted 20 people in committing suicide Combining segments from videotaped interviews conducted between Kervorkian and the "patients" (confirming their wish to die, and answering questions about Kervorkian's bizarre death machines) and interviews with members of the medical profession, the tape follows Kervorkian's career in and out of the Michigan court system (his most recent trial is currently pending) and even interviews Kervorkian himself. The video jacket points out that "Frontline was granted special access to Dr. Kervorkian;" however, this "special" claim rings hollow given the fact that Kervorkian is no stranger to the talk-show circuit. Still, while this is not the kind of probing examination we expect from a Frontline program, it's also not as blatantly suck-up-to-the-lowest-common-denominator exploitative as it easily could have been. On balance, this is a rather blunt prod to begin a more serious discussion of the subject.Such as that found in Good Death, which isn't half as slick as The Kervorkian File, but is twice as meaty in its exploration of the ethical aspects of euthanasia and half the price. Interviews with authors such as Derek Humphry (Final Exit), relatives who assisted their loved ones in suicide, and health care professionals on both sides of the right-to-die question, are bookended by dramatic skits about euthanasia and historical looks at Eskimo and Hottentot concepts of "voluntary death." While the skits are a bit too long and obvious, and the forays into the practices of different cultures too narrow to adequately cover the topic, the vigorous and wide-ranging comments from interviewees concerning the religious, medical, and social aspects of euthanasia offset these drawbacks.Frontline: The Kervorkian File is recommended. Good Death is recommended. (R. Pitman)