Tanner '88
"Tanner '88" is an innovative eleven-part mockumentary television series that explores the absurdities of American presidential campaigning through the lens of a fictional candidate, Jack Tanner, played by Michael Murphy. Created by satirists Garry Trudeau and Robert Altman in collaboration with HBO, the series follows Tanner as he runs for the Democratic nomination amidst real political events and interactions with actual candidates like Pat Robertson and Bob Dole. The narrative blends scripted fiction with genuine political settings, capturing Tanner's struggles as he navigates the challenges of campaign politics, portrayed with a mix of humor and poignant realism.
One of the series’ most striking moments comes when Tanner attends an authentic community meeting in Detroit, highlighting the stark contrast between political satire and real-world issues. The show also invited viewers to engage in a unique voting experience, where Tanner unexpectedly won a straw poll during his fictional campaign. "Tanner '88" is notable not only for its comedic commentary but also for its influence on the mockumentary genre, solidifying HBO's reputation for groundbreaking programming while showcasing the talents of Altman and Trudeau as keen observers of American society.
Tanner '88
Identification Cable television political satire series
Date Aired from February 15 to August 22, 1988
Tanner ’88 accelerated the blurring of presidential campaigns with television entertainment, as it highlighted the performance aspects of political life.
Although the practice of fake documentary is as old as filmmaking itself, with Tanner ’88, two of America’s best satirists, Garry Trudeau, the creator of the comic strip Doonesbury, and Robert Altman , the director of M*A*S*H (1970) and Nashville (1975), joined forces with Home Box Office (HBO) to produce a truly original project. In the eleven-part series, an imaginary candidate, Jack Tanner (played by Michael Murphy), ran for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States. Tanner and his fictional staff and family appeared in narratives scripted by Trudeau set in real political environments, from New Hampshire to the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta.
Along the primary route, actual candidates—Pat Robertson, Bob Dole, and Gary Hart—interacted briefly with Tanner, whom they may or may not have recognized. In one lengthy conversation, Governor Bruce Babbitt, who had dropped out of the running, counseled Tanner to oppose the “silver screen of unreality” and “take a risk,” advice both ludicrous and heartfelt. Ironies multiplied as the show progressed, as Tanner—whose campaign slogan was “for real”—struggled with his pragmatic staff and idealistic daughter to find his voice in the artificial world of campaign politics. This world was populated by pretentious ad makers, confused pollsters, vacuous speech coaches, and gossip-hungry journalists. The most jarring sequence in the series occurred when Tanner visited an actual inner-city meeting of Detroit parents whose children had been murdered; their expressions of authentic grief and frustration momentarily cut through the satire.
Mid-campaign, HBO reran the six previously aired episodes of Tanner ’88 in one block, introduced by real television journalist Linda Ellerbe. Viewers were urged to “choose from a group of presidential candidates, one or more of whom is not a real person.” Tanner won the straw poll, receiving 38 percent of the approximately forty-one thousand votes cast, followed by George H. W. Bush (with 22 percent), Jesse Jackson (with 21 percent), and Michael Dukakis (with 19 percent).
Impact
Tanner ’88 influenced the growth of the “mockumentary” style, solidified HBO’s reputation for innovative productions, and extended the reputations of Robert Altman (who won an Emmy for his direction) and Gary Trudeau as brilliant critics of American culture.
Bibliography
Goff, Michael J. The Money Primary: The New Politics of the Early Presidential Politics. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004.
Juhasz, Alexandra, and Jesse Lerner, eds. F is for Phony: Fake Documentary and Truth’s Undoing. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2006.
Keyssar, Helene. Robert Altman’s America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.
Trudeau, G. B. Flashbacks: Twenty-Five Years of “Doonesbury.” Kansas City: Andrews and McMeel, 1995.