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© St. Petersburg Times, published December 6, 2002
Sci Fi scores record ratings for "Taken'
Sci Fi Channel's 20-hour miniseries, Taken, took a big first step Monday when its opener logged a record-breaking audience for the network.
The two-hour premiere drew more than 6-million viewers, exceeding Sci Fi's previous record, Frank Herbert's Dune, Part 1 two years ago, by more than 25 percent. It was also the highest-rated show on basic cable for the night in households.
Though the second Taken installment, which aired Tuesday, fell to 4.8-million viewers, that's still more than four times the average audience Sci Fi attracts.
With Steven Spielberg as its guiding hand, the miniseries dramatizes five decades of alien-abduction and UFO mythology. The budget was a reported $40-million. It continues tonight, then Monday through Friday.
Michael Jackson failed to show up in court Thursday in Santa Maria, Calif., after two days of testimony in which he caused a stir by hobbling in on crutches and making comical faces at observers.
Jackson was scheduled to testify for a sixth day in a $21-million lawsuit alleging he backed out of two millennium concerts. It was the third time Jackson was a no-show at the trial.
Jackson's lawyer, Zia Modabber, told the court the absence was due to an unspecified medical problem.
The 44-year-old singer walked into court Tuesday and Wednesday on crutches because he said a spider bite caused his left foot to swell.
Concert promoter Marcel Avram sued Jackson for allegedly backing out of shows in Sydney, Australia, and Honolulu on Dec. 31, 1999. The singer maintains it was Avram who canceled the shows over concerns they would not be profitable.