The Age of Megafires/Life Saver/No Ordinary Spy

Name: The Age of Megafires/Life Saver/No Ordinary Spy
Released: 2007-10-21

TV Flash files “The Age of Megafires/Life Saver/No Ordinary Spy” as hour 159 of 767 in the TV Flash guide — 60 Minutes (1968–present) on CBS, season 40, episode 5, aired 2007-10-21, 60 min.

From the desk

How this hour is filed

This leaf is S40E05: listed hour 159 of 767 in the 60 Minutes guide, hour 5 of 16 in season 40. It aired 2007-10-21 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Blackwater/A Clean Version of Hell/Joel Osteen/Dubai Inc.” (S40E04). Next is “Bombing Afghanistan/What's Wrong with the Bees?/Sarko L'Americain” (S40E06). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.

Catalog log

Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.

"The Age of Megafires" examines how the warming climate may be contributing to mega fires. "Life Saver" looks at how Plumpynut is being used around the world to cure malnutrition. "No Ordinary Spy" interviews out-ed spy Valerie Plame. "Andy Rooney" talks about self-help books.

Viewer FAQ

Where does The Age of Megafires/Life Saver/No Ordinary Spy sit in the 60 Minutes guide?

S40E05 is listed hour 159 of 767 — hour 5 of 16 in season 40, season 40 episode 5.

When did 60 Minutes S40E05 air?

The Age of Megafires/Life Saver/No Ordinary Spy aired 2007-10-21 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

Filed by Vivian Cross · The Carpet Report · Show package

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…

Open the 60 Minutes package · Season 40 hub

Filed against

Mike Wallace as Correspondent
Mike Wallace’s ambush made 60 Minutes Sunday-night investigative theater that outrated sitcoms — Hewitt’s stopwatch, Safer and Bradley and Rooney’s endnotes, 1960s-into-1980s newsmagazine power. Appointment news before the internet stole…
Morley Safer as Correspondent
Morley Safer’s packages helped 60 Minutes outrate sitcoms on Sunday night — Hewitt’s stopwatch, Wallace’s ambush, Bradley and Rooney’s endnotes, 1960s-into-1980s newsmagazine power. Appointment news before the internet stole the clock. TV…
Harry Reasoner as Correspondent
Harry Reasoner was a 60 Minutes correspondent when the stopwatch became civic theater — Hewitt's newsmagazine power, Wallace ambush, Safer and Bradley and Rooney's endnotes, Sunday night investigation that outrated sitcoms. Appointment…
Ed Bradley as Correspondent
Ed Bradley made 60 Minutes correspondent craft look like Sunday-night theater — Hewitt's stopwatch, investigative packages that outrated sitcoms, and a presence that treated the story as a public square. Appointment news before the…
Diane Sawyer as Correspondent
Diane Sawyer worked 60 Minutes as correspondent steel — Hewitt’s stopwatch, Wallace’s ambush, Safer and Bradley and Rooney’s endnotes, Sunday-night investigative theater that outrated sitcoms. Template of TV newsmagazine power. TV Flash…

Also in season 40

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