"The Hill" debuts Wed., 8-23: Documentary series on Rep. Wexler's office

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: TV Preview
'The Hill,' Where Staffers Have the Floor
By Paul Farhi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 23, 2006; Page C01


(Heidi Guttman)
Jonathan Katz, Legislative Director; Lale Mamaux, Communications Director; Eric Johnson, Chief of Staff; Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) and Halie Soifer, Legislative Assistant for Foreign Affairs as featured in the Sundance Channel original series "The Hill," directed by Ivy Meeropol.

"The Hill" is an earnest documentary series about the life of a Capitol Hill office, as seen primarily through the lives of staffers for Congressman Robert Wexler (D., FL)....Over the course of its six half-hours, "The Hill" (debuting 8/23 on the Sundance Channel) captures several aspects of official Washington that scripted dramas -- with their emphasis on scandal, corruption and power-mongering -- usually don't. One is that the town can't run without the smarts and hustle of some very young people.

One of these people is the putative star of the series, Eric Johnson, Wexler's chief of staff. "I'm 33," he tells a tour group in the series's opening scene, "and I'm past my time. People look at me and go, 'What are you still doing here?' "

This basic demographic fact provides filmmaker Ivy Meeropol, herself a former Hill rat, with an attractive and intelligent group of subjects....Although he has some strong cameos, Wexler, a five-term Democrat, is almost a secondary player here -- which, as "The Hill" demonstrates, is ironically the opposite of what this group's work is all about. The show seems to have no illusions about what Hill staffers do: Their job is to make the boss look good....

***

There are no big tricks, no screaming fireworks, no shocking pull-back-the-curtain exposés on "The Hill." Instead, it's a solid and useful look at some smart, passionate people trying do something they think is right....

The Hill (30 minutes) debuts tonight, Wednesday, 8/23, at 9 on the Sundance Channel.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/22/AR2006082201181.html