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centralXpress.com Awarded Certificate of Merit |
The label “the award winning centralXpress.com” just became even more pertinent. Once again, the locally produced WRAL-TV5 show for youth has brought home another honor. Recently, cXp won a 2000 Gabriel Award Certificate of Merit for the episode entitled “Suzanne.”
The National Catholic Association for Communicators sponsors the nationally presented Gabriels. In presenting the award, the NCAC said, “The Gabriel Award’s Certificate of Merit is, indeed, a prestigious award. It proclaims a value-centered view of society and humanity, and it raises our consciousness to focus on what is right and good. We hope it challenges you to continue to provide the public with the quality programming which they deserve and which our world so desperately needs.”
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Dan Oliver
cXp Producer
& Director
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Produced and directed by WRAL-TV Producer Dan Oliver, cXp is usually aired four times annually. Each episode takes about three months to create. The program generally airs on Saturdays and is geared towards a child and teen audience.
“Suzanne,” the episode the Gabriel honored, focused on a recurring character’s struggle with her mother’s manic depression. “Suzanne” also recently received a certificate and statuette for being a Telly Finalist. Established in 1980, the national Telly Award
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competition recognizes the overall excellence of outstanding network and non-cable productions. Both of these awards are roughly equivalent to first-runner up.
Oliver said that “Suzanne” was a special episode for him. He wrote the part of the mother for Kate Finlayson, a very experienced professional actress who he says is a very talented and did a really outstanding job. Oliver also felt that Jessica Gladin-Kramer, with the show since its first episode and who played daughter Janet, has always done exceptional
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Gabriel Award |
work, but that this was her best performance. Oliver continued, “Together they really made the show work, emotionally. In spite of the sometimes grim subject matter, which even included a suicide attempt, this was probably the most enjoyable and rewarding shoot I’ve ever done. It’s really fun to work with good people and to know that you’re creating something worthwhile. Other cXp’s have won more recognition but ‘Suzanne’ is my favorite.”
First on the air in 1997, cXp revolves around the students who work on the school Web page at Central Middle School. Although the school site is fictional, WRAL runs the Web site centralXpress.com on which viewers can learn more about the actors and the show. Oliver and his crew will begin shooting the next episode late next week, although the bulk of the shooting will occur during the last two weeks of August. Editing will begin in September with a likely airdate sometime in October. That episode will deal with the lighter topic of rumors and how they spread through school.
Another episode of cXp garnered accolades recently as well. “Love Is Strange” (about the boy and girl who rely on their friends to write romantic e-mail for them) won two Emmys last February, one for Best Children’s Program/Entertainment and one for Best Director. This episode will air on WRAL on Saturday, August 19 at 1:00pm.
Telly Award |
Now for the trophy case. cXp earned the right to use “award-winning” as a descriptor before these Gabriel Certificate and Telly Finalist distinctions. cXp has won six Regional Emmy Awards (5 for Best Children’s Program and 1 for Dan Oliver for Best Director). Last year the episode about race relations, “True Colors,” won a Gabriel, and the same episode won two national Iris Awards in 1998. |
