Our July 14 show brought a flood of comments from viewers, many of whom wondered about the final sequence, "One Moment in Time." Here are the letters, followed by Peter's reply.

  My family and I enjoy watching your show. However, we are concerned that your show has very few blacks. We watched "One Moment in Time," and we did not see blacks in it. Why?
—Tracy O. Hobson

  I really liked the "One Moment in Time" sequence. However, I want to point out that every clip was of white people. I must confess that I did not see the rest of your show, and it might be more racially balanced than this clip.
—Angela Currey

  I love Candid Camera! I'm 46 and have so many wonderful memories from childhood of the show. I just saw the segment with the clips of just ordinary people living life. It was so inspirational, poetic and beautiful. The music, the words, everything combined brought tears to my eyes and was such a blessing.
—Terry Law

  I am responding tonight to compliment you on the "One Moment in Time" clips. It portrayed plain folk in everyday situations: the pregnant mom with daughter loading groceries into her car, the postman, the UPS deliveryman, the jogger — all the activities of everyday life put to music was a splendid piece of work.
—C. T. Lacey, Ellicott City, Maryland

  I am a 51-year-old Afro-American woman. I have been watching Candid Camera for a long time. When Candid Camera first came on, I didn't expect to see any Afro-Americans. But I do now. The last segment "One Moment in Time" was an eye-opener for me. You showed so many different, hard working people and there was not one Afro-American there. We do some of the things you showed these people doing. My husband and I felt hurt. I love watching Candid Camera because it really captures who we are as human beings. Now I have mixed feelings. Do I not watch because I'm hurt today? Will I forget and watch next week? I have never sent any mail like this before. I always felt that no one would really read it and care. I would like to know who makes the decision of who is selected to be in a clip like "One Moment in Time"?
—Marlene Jester, Trenton, New Jersey

  I would like to know the name of the song and the artist who performed during the segment "One Moment in Time."
—Craig

  I enjoyed the compilation video set to music, "One Moment in Time." Well done, and an appropriate theme in today's age of rushing and technology-based communication. However, please consider my concerns: This video showed numerous men performing physical tasks, sweating, delivering mail, putting things together, directing traffic. No men were shown with children. The only women represented were with children, friends, or feeding a husband; shopping with kids, pushing kids on a swing, banking with kids, loading kids into a car. This is appalling. In the year 2000, Candid Camera must "get with the picture" and consider the images they portray. People of all ages and races watch your show. Please advise your photographers, content editors, and producers that this is just not acceptable. This is blatant sexism. Come to think of it, maybe you should also consider how many people in your film snippet were of other races.
—Jennifer Sparling, Vancouver, BC

  I am writing about the last five minutes of the show in which you show the everyday person. As I watched person after person I suddenly realized that I was not seeing any people of color. I asked my children: "Can you imagine how you would feel watching this if you were black?" I have to say that I am shocked to see this happen in this day and age.
—Diane D.

  You closed the subject show with probably the best music video produced to this date. The "One Moment in Time" was so well done that even the host was moved in closing the show.
—John C. Reiff, Yukon, OK

  The segment at the end was simply fantastic. It touched both of us. We have never seen anything quite like it and would definitely like to see more of this. The music was fabulous as well, which made the overall package complete. Keep up the good work!
—Ranada

[Peter's reply: We were certainly surprised by the flood of mail about "One Moment in Time." I've looked back at the July 14 show and there are many blacks and other minorities in all the sequences - but not, unfortunately, in the final musical piece. Candid Camera is one of the most racially diverse shows on TV. But we photograph people at random, not by quota. So, it just happened that more white males turned up in that one segment. I think what got viewers' attention was that this was a different sort of sequence and would have been better if a wider variety of people were represented. We'll be more careful, and thank you all for writing. By the way, the song was recorded by Whitney Houston, but she wanted too much money to have it played on Candid Camera. So we re-recorded it with one of our studio singers.]

OTHER MAIL…
  I love watching Candid Camera so much! I'm so glad that it seems to be back. We will go weeks without one and I'm always afraid that it's gone for good. I hope it's found a permanent place on Friday nights.
—Dotty Dotson

  I just read your article on Cooper and I think the idea he had was a great one. I look forward to seeing it in the future.
—Jane Freedman, Dudley, MA

  Suzanne, Suzanne, Suzanne. What is with the flower on your head? Sorry, but it looks like woodland fungi. Please, try to tone down your look. Your show is supposed to be funny — not your hairstyle!
—Dan & Suzanee Reichert

  This was the first time in years I have seen the show and I was very happy to see it. I remember watching the various reincarnations of the show in the 70's and 80's, and the real sadness I felt when Allen Funt passed away. Peter Funt is doing a great job. He is a credit to his dad. When I was a teenager I had a job in the public library in Little Rock, Arkansas. One of my duties was to keep the record collection in order. I ran across the original recording of "Candid Microphone" and was thrilled. It was great to hear some of the original gags. (And although it has been 25 years since I heard the record, I seem to remember that some of the gags were recycled into Camera gags.) Keep it up. I will be sure to start watching and try to show my daughters — ages 6, 5, and 2.5 — the show so they can have a great laugh too.
—Kirby Bartlett-Sloan

  Have you folks ever entertained the idea of marketing Candid Camera classics on video? If not, please do. I believe it would prove very lucrative and still not detract one iota from your viewing audience.
—Hunt Banister, Springfield, VA

[Peter's reply: Great timing! The videos go on sale at this web site July 28!]