TV O.D.

The NBC-TV movie “Her Last Chance,” airing April 8, takes the standard use of current pop and rock music a step further than usual.

Not only does the drama of teen drug addiction use such recognizable numbers as R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts” and Catherine Wheel’s “Way Down” to add authenticity to the story’s youth-culture setting, but it also makes considerable use of footage from music videos in telling the tale. The Catherine Wheel clip’s vivid slow-motion footage of a flaming airline crash, for instance, is used to illustrate a drug-induced stupor.

“We’re looking for the music to be a character in the movie, an integral part of it,” says Lindy DeKoven, NBC senior vice president of movies and miniseries. “We’re trying to do more inventive, entertaining movies. . . . We want to bring them into the ‘90s, and music is an important part of that.”