All episodes Season 40 S40E04 2007-10-14 60 min 1980s CBS

60 Minutes

Blackwater/A Clean Version of Hell/Joel Osteen/Dubai Inc.

TV Flash files “Blackwater/A Clean Version of Hell/Joel Osteen/Dubai Inc.” as hour 158 of 767 in the TV Flash guide — 60 Minutes (1968–present) on CBS, season 40, episode 4, aired 2007-10-14, 60 min.

From the desk

How this hour is filed

This leaf is S40E04: listed hour 158 of 767 in the 60 Minutes guide, hour 4 of 16 in season 40. It aired 2007-10-14 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “The Man from Interpol/Roots/Springsteen/The Bird Man of Idaho” (S40E03). Next is “The Age of Megafires/Life Saver/No Ordinary Spy” (S40E05). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.

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Catalog log

Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.

"Blackwater" interviews Eric Prince the president of the private military contractor. "A Clean Version of Hell" visits the federal Supermax prison that holds some of the most dangerous criminal in the U.S. "Joel Osteen" interviews the popular preacher. "Dubai Inc." visits the successful Middle Eastern country. "Andy Rooney" talks about the weather.

Viewer FAQ

Where does Blackwater/A Clean Version of Hell/Joel Osteen/Dubai Inc. sit in the 60 Minutes guide?

S40E04 is listed hour 158 of 767 — hour 4 of 16 in season 40, season 40 episode 4.

When did 60 Minutes S40E04 air?

Blackwater/A Clean Version of Hell/Joel Osteen/Dubai Inc. aired 2007-10-14 and is listed at 60 minutes.

Is 1980s 60 Minutes different from today's?

The grammar is the same: multi-segment hour, stopwatch motif, investigations plus profiles. In the 1980s it frequently outrated sitcoms — proof news could dominate prime time.

In the series

Why this series still plays

The template of TV newsmagazine power — for the craft of the package and the history of broadcast investigation. Hewitt's stopwatch, Wallace's ambush, Safer and Bradley and Rooney's endnotes: Sunday night investigative theater that outrated sitcoms. Appointment news before the infinite scroll. Tick, tick, tick.

Tick, tick, tick — not a theme song, a weapon. CBS's 60 Minutes, Don Hewitt's stopwatch since 1968, was an 1980s Nielsen bully that outrated sitcoms on Sunday night: investigative pieces, profiles, commentator segments, correspondent star power. Mike Wallace, Morley Safer, Harry Reasoner, Ed Bradley, Diane Sawyer, Andy Rooney's endnotes. **Ambush interviews and gotcha lore made Wallace a fearsome brand.** The museum guard wants the package as civic virtue. The flash is the ambush. Appointment news before the…

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