Meddling: New Documentary On Peacock about the 2002 Salt Lake Pairs Scandal

[Stefanie]

Guess this could also go into the TV alert thread as it’s not just skating mentioned in the documentary. Produced by Tara Lipinski’s husband, Todd.

Peacock announces Winter Olympics documentary slate

Peacock Winter Olympic documentaries on the 2002 figure skating judging scandal, Picabo Street and the U.S. men's curling team are set to debut.

www.google.com

 

[Frau Muller]

Thanks. If anybody knows…what’s the duration of each episode, eg, one hour? Hopefully not an extended fluff piece (less than 20 minutes), which is so in vogue these days.

 

[Vash01]

Why do they need this Again? I am sick of this. It is time to move on. I will not watch this garbage and will not follow this thread either. Enough is enough.

 

[aussieSKATES]

How time flies, and that those Winter Games were 20 years ago.

Back in the day, we managed to read a copy of Joy Goodwin's compelling book, The Second Mark: Courage, Corruption, and the Battle for Olympic Gold, about the Salt Lake City scandal.

Jon Jackson's take on the affair, On Edge: Backroom Dealing, Cocktail Scheming, Triple Axels, and How Top Skaters Get Screwed was a very ordinary vanity publication by comparison.

​

 

[Andora]

Still not sure why Lipinski, of all people, felt the need to do a special on this.

But otherwise... it's a big part of skating's history. At the 20th anniversary mark, I guess specials about it make sense.

Why do they need this Again? I am sick of this. It is time to move on. I will not watch this garbage and will not follow this thread either. Enough is enough.

I mean, it's not as if we don't know where you fall on this discussion.

Can't you look forward to new gold interviews from Elena & Moskvina? Doesn't seem like they could tempt Anton to join in, alas.

How time flies, and that those Winter Games were 20 years ago.

Back in the day, we managed to read a copy of Joy Goodwin's compelling book, The Second Mark: Courage, Corruption, and the Battle for Olympic Gold, about the Salt Lake City scandal.

Jon Jackson's take on the affair, On Edge: Backroom Dealing, Cocktail Scheming, Triple Axels, and How Top Skaters Get Screwed was a very ordinary vanity publication by comparison.

​

The Second Mark was so good. I really came away with renewed love for Shen & Zhao.

 

[Vash01]

Why not cover more recent issues like
for example-

a coach abusing a US pairs skater and ending her career

I am sure there are more.

 

[escaflowne9282]

Honestly, I think the judging of the ice dance event, and maybe even the ladies SP in SLC was more than the Pairs freeskate.

I doubt there will be anything new. This is just NBC trying to revisit their ratings boom from 20 years ago.

 

[NinjaTurtles]

Can't you look forward to new gold interviews from Elena & Moskvina? Doesn't seem like they could tempt Anton to join in, alas.

The Second Mark was so good. I really came away with renewed love for Shen & Zhao.

Anton is interviewed/featured. Joy Goodwin, author of The Second Mark, is as well.

 

[Cherub721]

Why not cover more recent issues like
for example-

a coach abusing a US pairs skater and ending her career

I am sure there are more.

It would be nice to have something like "Athlete A" for figure skating that would be current and informative instead of rehashing the SLC and Lillehammar Olympics all the time.

 

[Winnipeg]

Please no more SLC pairs scandal. This was resolved. A judge cheated, robbing the Canadians of the gold, outrage justly ensued and the gold was then awarded post competition..............

 

[VGThuy]

It would be nice to have something like "Athlete A" for figure skating that would be current and informative instead of rehashing the SLC and Lillehammar Olympics all the time.

Athlete A also had its own issues though.

 

[Vash01]

Please no more SLC pairs scandal. This was resolved. A judge cheated, robbing the Canadians of the gold, outrage justly ensued and the gold was then awarded post competition..............

Since I don't want a rehash of this, I will stick with my original plan to stay away from this thread.

 

[VGThuy]

See, there’s still interest in rehashing this!

 

[Vash01]

See, there’s still interest in rehashing this!

I just edited my post, and it was before I saw your comment. so don't take credit for that.
You won't see me here again. The only reason I even looked it up was that someone had commented on it, so I went to see the comment. I won't make that mistake again. Enjoy beating up whoever you hate.

That last sentence is not directed at you.

 

[Judy]

Please no more SLC pairs scandal. This was resolved. A judge cheated, robbing the Canadians of the gold, outrage justly ensued and the gold was then awarded post competition..............

It’s the 20 year anniversary. I don’t get Peacock anyways. I can’t believe the new judging system has been around that long. I need to stop saying “new”.

it was a very ugly time in figure skating history. Nobody needs to watch it.

 

[VGThuy]

I still remember the arena erupting in boos and being super loud while Shen/Zhao just looked on amused as they waited for their turn to start. I wonder what would have happened if she held on to the landing of that quad throw and they skated all out. Would the judges had the guts to give them gold and people would have forgotten about Russian-Canadian placements?

 

[Andora]

I still remember the arena erupting in boos and being super loud while Shen/Zhao just looked on amused as they waited for their turn to start. I wonder what would have happened if she held on to the landing of that quad throw and they skated all out. Would the judges had the guts to give them gold and people would have forgotten about Russian-Canadian placements?

I can't settle on a guess either way, for some reason. But it would have been the BEST result from 2002, imho.

 

[bcash]

That is still the best quad throw I've seen any pair do, if we stop the frame just before Shen slipped.

 

[allezfred]

I still remember the arena erupting in boos and being super loud while Shen/Zhao just looked on amused as they waited for their turn to start. I wonder what would have happened if she held on to the landing of that quad throw and they skated all out. Would the judges had the guts to give them gold and people would have forgotten about Russian-Canadian placements?

No.

 

[DreamSkates]

I watched the first one. The dark side of skating which is not skating but the persons involved. Didn't know about Berezhnya's abuse by a former partner. Interesting, but can we focus on the highlights and good things about figure skating? Why dig up the past and drag it around. Not likely to watch part 2.

 

[Lemonade20]

It’s the 20 year anniversary. I don’t get Peacock anyways. I can’t believe the new judging system has been around that long. I need to stop saying “new”.

it was a very ugly time in figure skating history. Nobody needs to watch it.

Agreed, it's been hashed over and over. There are so many different ways to revisit FS history (like old school jumps vs today's jumps), the evolution of skating costumes, etc.

 

[caseyedwards]

It’s not time for rehashing the old lies and myths! It’s time for truth. Extreme sore losers went to outrageous lengths to get a gold along with nbc desperate for ratings and then they destroyed skating popularity! Hamilton, bezic, Sale and Pelletier are worst ever. If the true horrific villains weren’t Americans and Canadians I’m sure the truth would be forefront

 

[Fadeevfanboy]

Personally I think Sale & Pelletier are one of the most overrated teams in history bar none and had multiple undeserved wins and medals, and a vast degree of overhype and propoganda in their favor.

That aside though this is such a dead horse. It is like rehashing the Kerrigan-Harding saga which btw Christine Brennan and similar folk look for any excuse to do on any kind of annual mark they can. That is equally annoying. It makes it look like skating is so uninteresting today they have to rehash 20-30 year old scandals and stories.

 

[overedge]

How time flies, and that those Winter Games were 20 years ago.

Back in the day, we managed to read a copy of Joy Goodwin's compelling book, The Second Mark: Courage, Corruption, and the Battle for Olympic Gold, about the Salt Lake City scandal.

Jon Jackson's take on the affair, On Edge: Backroom Dealing, Cocktail Scheming, Triple Axels, and How Top Skaters Get Screwed was a very ordinary vanity publication by comparison.

​

A vanity publication with some interesting insights nonetheless.

 

[soogar]

The ultimate revenge is that Russia has made COP its b!tch.

 

[Frau Muller]

I watched the first episode on Peacock. Very well crafted, with important and fascinating interviews! Episodes are substantive - over 40 minutes each, without ads.

 

[tylersf]

I liked watching both episodes, because it's nice to see how everyone is feeling after 20 years.

Will the documentary focus on just the Double Gold Medal Issue, or will it focus on other types of meddling such as skating parents who basically ruined their kids' lives (i.e. Mrs. Chin)?

This could be a great "behind-the-scenes" look. Margaret Cho could play Mrs. Chin, and Maya Erskine could play Tiffany. Or maybe they can act out SafeSport issues like Peter Oppegard biting people.

 

[becca]

The ultimate revenge is that Russia has made COP its b!tch.

Not just that it’s worse they now control ladies eat that nbc

 

[Andora]

Alas, I'm not sure how to watch it when in Canadia, short of buying a VPN and then buying Peacock.

RUDE, Tara. It's about our own skaters!

I liked watching both episodes, because it's nice to see how everyone is feeling after 20 years.

This is an excellent reason why I'd like to see it. SO MUCH has happened since then!

• Elena has kids with "Honourary Canadian" (and terrible skater) Steven Cousins
• Jamie & David married & divorced
• David is married to Ekaterina Gordeeva, who once famously chose Elena & Anton to appear in the TV dramatization of her book, "My Sergei"
• David & Elena have since skated together, and later "competed" against each other on BOTB. Maybe 2-5 minutes of lip service is paid to the whole thing. Not enough attention paid to a fascinating dynamic
• Moskvina hasn't had that level of success in pairs since then, after having pairs on or atop the podium since 1984 (don't come at me, we know it's tragically true)
• Shen & Zhao have become Olympic champions after their own continued, harrowing path
• Anton & David remain under appreciated for how talented and they were/are

And then, yeah, the scoring system, etc.

I have all sorts of opinions on 2002, but the four main characters were & are interesting and engaging enough for me to be curious about them all these years later. Scoff all we want, but if done well, it would be nice to see a nice, balanced program focussed on B&S and S&P.

 

[Yuri]

Just watched the first two episodes, which forced me to immediately go back and watch the original NBC coverage of the final group of four pairs and the medal ceremony for the first time in 20 years. Overall I was impressed that "Meddling" has brought back all of the key players in original interviews, although I am puzzled why Anton (who I wouldn't recognize now) gave his interviews in Russian given he speaks English well. They also splurged for lots of network competition footage from the Canadian Championships, Skate America, Worlds, and the Olympics, and it was cool to see some old videos from Glenora. I cannot say that I have learned much thus far other than the abusive behavior of Oleg Shliakov was far worse that I had heard (although it didn't surprise me) and I had forgotten how Anton needed to rescue Elena from the hospital and get her out of Latvia.

I will admit my bias that I was acquaintances back in the day with Elena & Anton, even sharing dinner with them at the hotel of a Pro-Am near Toronto circa 1998-1999 when I was travelling with Usova & Platov, but my opinion on the SLC Olympics results remain unchanged. The free skate was extremely close and I really can't fault any judge for choosing either couple first. Personally I would have given Elena & Anton 5.7/5.9 (or 5.8/5.9 if they had skated last) and Jamie & David 5.8/5.8 (or 5.9/5.8 if skating before B&S). In the end, I felt that Elena & Anton's new program with exquisite choreography should have been rewarded over Jamie & David's rehash of a three-year old program with "Love Story", despite Anton stepping out of the double axel in the side-by-side jump sequence (but making a perfect recovery for the 2nd jump!). I forgot how close Shen & Zhao came to stealing the show with their nearly-landed throw quad salchow and it would have been interesting to see what would have happened if they had landed it and all three pairs split the 1st and 2nd place ordinals.

Finally, now I remember precisely why I lost all respect for Scott and Sandra during the NBC broadcast. They were disgusting in their pro-North American biases, and "Meddling" includes plenty of their sore loser comments. But the rest of the "Meddling" interviews with the likes of Underhill & Martini also left me wanting for more balanced opinions from Russian or European skating experts. In no way was it a slam dunk that Jamie & David should have won gold, even though I do agree they skated their program flawlessly and to the best of their abilities. Still, I am interested in exactly what French judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne will have to say for herself, as well as the role of Didier Gailhaguet in this mess and the impact on the ice dancing event with the ice dancing gold medal of Anissina & Peizerat.