Hollywood ConfidentialAuthority figure surrounds himself with misfits to fight crime. It could be "The Dirty Dozen," it could be "The A-Team," it could be "Mission: Impossible" ... it could be "Charlie's Angels," for Pete's sake. But this time around, it's "Hollywood Confidential," 1996 Paramount series pilot making belated premiere on UPN.
Series pilot (with 1995 copyright date and bearing no relationship whatsoever with upcoming feature "L.A. Confidential") holds two distinctions: as acting vehicle for producer-writer Anthony Yerkovich, and as possible candidate for compilation "Charlize Theron --- the Early Years" if transplanted South African actress's burgeoning feature career (Daily Variety, April 9) takes off.
Todd Everett4/7/1997 11:00pm PT
When Innocence Is LostInspired by a true story," as the legend on Deborah Jones' teleplay reads, "When Innocence Is Lost" reps a less-than-individual, grindingly familiar situation until the final moments. But persuasive Jill Clayburgh and pretty-as-a-picture Keri Russell give the soaper an admirable tussle, and under Bethany Rooney's sympathetic direction, the emotional story will dampen a hankie or two.
"Innocence" itself is lost before the telepic kicks off. High school senior Erica (Russell), having kicked up her heels more than once, has fallen for symbolically named Scott Stone (Vincent Corazza), father of her baby-to-be. When Molly's born, rotter Scott disdains Erica and the baby; poor Erica, crushed, goes away to college to study humanities and eventually law with her infant
Tony Scott4/6/1997 11:00pm PT
The Summer of Ben TylerAsumptuously produced gem of a film with a refreshing message of moral heroism, "The Summer of Ben Tyler" is as poignant, heartwarming and superbly acted as any of the 189 previous Hallmark Hall of Fame productions.
Director Arthur Allan Seidelman, who also lensed last season's Hallmark drama "Harvest of Fire," guides the project with such a sure grasp of the material and the strengths of his players that the result is quite magical. It's a triumph for all involved, made all the more impressive by the utter simplicity of the story being told
Ray Richmond4/5/1997 11:00pm PT
Mrs. Santa ClausCBS, the producers, writer Mark Saltzman and resourceful director Terry Hughes combine to present an original, if oddly tilted, TV musical comedy with a new slant on Mrs. Santa Claus. Set in 1910, mostly charming "Mrs. Santa Claus" showcases the incandescent Angela Lansbury; in fact, it wouldn't be much of a show without her.
Hardly the plum-pudding-pushing type of North Pole first lady, Lansbury's Mrs. Claus is instead vivacious and delightful. She's hot for women's equality, cold about child-labor bosses. Having been stuck at the Pole for hundreds of years, Mrs. Claus, left at home during the annual Santa-and-reindeer run, this year grabs the sleigh just before Christmas to check out a new route for Santa (Charles Durning in a subdued interp).
Tony Scott4/5/1997 11:00pm PT
Samson and DelilahBack to the Big Book goes TNT for yet another heaping helping of holy, rolling out a fifth period story under the care of the team responsible for the first four: executive producer Gerald Rafshoon and producer Lorenzo Minoli.
Like its dramatic predecessors "Abraham," "Jacob," "Joseph" and "Moses," "Samson and Delilah" is rich in detail and epic in scope but a tad stiff in its execution. Unlike that quartet, however, this latest four-hour, two-night mini holds a surrealistic trump card in the person of Dennis Hopper.
Ray Richmond4/5/1997 11:00pm PT
DavidBefore the four-hour miniseries "David" has concluded, one man orders the murder of his brother; another sends the husband of a woman he covets to certain death in a battle. Viewers are exposed to non-consensual incest, witchcraft and the sight of several women in a hot tub. When a powerful ruler orders a subordinate to return with the foreskins of 100 dead enemy troops in return for the hand of his daughter, the subordinate returns with twice that number. But don't expect the self-appointed guardians of America's morality to set up too much of a howl about this one: It is, after all, drawn --- foreskins and all --- from the Old Testament.
The sixth of Turner's biblical epics, co-financed with German and Italian money, "David" combines a terrific story (see elements listed above); postcard-like Middle Eastern locations lit by Raffaele Mertes; sharp direction by Robert Markowitz and editing by David Beatty and Paul Rubell; strong performances throughout; and a Larry Gross script that doesn't take itself too seriously --- sort of as if Cecil B. DeMille were handed an episode of "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys."
Todd Everett4/3/1997 11:00pm PT
Louisa May Alcott's the InheritanceA covey of producers have turned a teenage novel by reportedly 17-year-old Louisa May Alcott into a potentially pleasant, period romp, though Jane Austen's popularity is scarcely threatened. Maria Nation's script, game though missing too much in the charm department, suffers from Bobby Roth's uneven direction; how much viewers will buy into it is another matter.
Cosgrove/Meurer and Alliance Communications acquired the lost novel, found nine years ago in manuscript form, in open bidding.
Tony Scott4/3/1997 11:00pm PT
When Secrets KillSlick, entertaining but with a muddled climax, "When Secrets Kill" probably made a more thrilling book (which it was) than a TV movie. Nonetheless, moppet thesp Lacey Charbet's ("Party of Five") lively perf, a tight script and snappy directing will keep auds tuned for the hollow denouement.
Greg and Karen Newhall (Gregory Harrison and Roxanne Hart) are the adoptive parents of Jenny (Charbet) and are still trying to recover from Karen's recent miscarriage. Teenage Jenny feels rejected because of her mother's pain, and starts to act up and out. Meanwhile, Jenny's biological mother Linda (Larissa Lapchinski) rudely pops up, unannounced, on Mother's Day to meet the daughter she gave away.
Carole Horst4/3/1997 11:00pm PT
The Mysterious Man of the ShroudThat phenomenon of the Shroud of Turin, covered by yesteryear's Sunday newspaper supplements, theaters' selected short subjects and TV spex, now reappears as a handsome spec that traces the cloth and investigates some DNA findings. Writers Chris Auer and Terry Landau suggest the linen shroud covered either Jesus of Nazareth or a 1300s fraud victim, murdered to take in dough from the gullible. Well-done investigation --- or roundup of investigations --- answers little definitively but at least revisits a pop subject: What's behind the Shroud of Turin?
Spec offers a quick-step biog of Jesus, a reverent look at the Crucifixion, and a summary of the historical aspects of the period. The lost years between the death of Jesus and the shroud's journey to France still yawn across the ages, but from medieval days on, there's an accounting --- after its shift from Jerusalem to France, it was transported to Turin, where it was installed in the Church of St. John the Baptist.
Tony Scott3/31/1997 11:00pm PT
60 Minutes More; Fast ForwardCBS officially stakes its claim in the cable business with the Monday debut of CBS Eye On People, an ode to yesterday --- and the day before yesterday --- that is primarily designed to put a fresh spin on CBS News archival material.
Not that many people likely will be seeing it anytime soon. In fact, if you know someone who is receiving Eye On People from the get-go, you should probably buy a Lottery ticket. The new cablenet is purported to be hitting roughly two million homes at launch, but it remains sketchy just how many reside in this dimension.
Ray Richmond3/31/1997 11:00pm PT
The Minister of StateThis infectiously exuberant saga, apparently based on a true incident, is set in a part of Lapland where Finland and Sweden share a border. Unpretentious and briskly handled by writer-producer-director Paul-Anders Simma, this is a modest charmer that could find fest bookings and specialized tube slottings.
With a plot not dissimilar to that of the Gogol story "The Inspector General," (filmed as a Danny Kaye vehicle), "The Minister of State" revolves
around a misunderstanding that propels a man on the run into a position of power in a small Lapp community. Pic is enjoyable largely because director Simma treats the story as a legend. An old man in the present relates the saga to his
wide-eyed grandson, and within the story itself a folk singer periodically warbles a musical recounting of the events.
David Stratton3/29/1997 11:00pm PT
A Walton EasterIn an era too often in which bathos stands in for sensibility, cynicism for truth and sleekness for professionalism, the Walton gang --- both above the line and below the line --- shows again how it's done. Since its 1971 "The Homecoming" telefilm basis, the subsequent 1972-81 series and in follow-up vidpix, the characters of Earl Hamner's Walton Mountain stands for surefire heart tugging.Tony Scott3/25/1997 11:00pm PT
About Us: The Dignity of ChildrenA sometimes extremely self-indulgent, sometimes extremely touching project, the slickly made "About Us: The Dignity of Children" offers uncanny insights from kids, teaches kindness --- and can't quite shake the feeling of being completely scripted, as it's devoid of spontaneity, something that children are famous for. Oprah Winfrey, whose childhood, as we all know, wasn't exactly a bed of roses, hosts with teary-eyed remembrances that are no doubt sincere but seem like re-treads. Let's hear the kids.
Press materials say that ABC made a "profound commitment" to produce an "innovative special to celebrate the world of children." Debra Reynolds, founder of the Children's Dignity Project; Jeff Jacobs, founder of CIVITAS; and film producer Fred Berner began this assignment in 1994.Carole Horst3/25/1997 11:00pm PT
The 69th Annual Academy AwardsAgain serving notice that he remains Mr. Monday Night now and perhaps forever, Billy Crystal showed 'em how it's done with an Oscarcast hosting gig that had more pure verve and spunk than any of the previous three telecasts that lacked his glib presence.
That was evident from the first minute he appeared onscreen --- an ingenious and uproarious opening sequence in which he inserted himself into all five of the Oscar-nominated films in a mock quest to gauge opinion over whether he should again host the Academy Awards. Yoda says yes. David Letterman, in a divebombing fighter plane, recommends he tie "Uma to Oprah, Oprah to Uma." Then he crashed. It might well have been the most clever and inventive opening in Oscar history, punctuated with Crystal doing his trademark sly medley that had only the slightest hint of overkill.
Ray Richmond3/24/1997 11:00pm PT
Talked to DeathA year or so ago, "Talked to Death" would have been a fascinating look at the sordid tales of talk television, how everyone from Danny Bonaduce to Geraldo Rivera to Richard Bey was wallowing in tantalizing private lives with little concern for anything but ratings. That's old news. This hour-long docu needed its final chapter --- the 1995 murder of Scott Amedure following his appearance on "Jenny Jones" --- to be a starting point. That incident has rewritten the rules for talk television in the '90's.
The fascinating world of daytime talk gets the once-over in "Talked to Death," a chronicle of isolated incidents that point to the problems of producing talkers and a behind-the-scenes glance at "Geraldo." Oddly enough, one of the first outrageous voices of talk, Morton Downey Jr., is the most succinct in explaining the appeal and ambition of so many shows: "We're in this business to make money. To make money we have to get ratings. A lot of times to get ratings we have to make you look stupid, not ourselves. And we will always make you look stupid."
So off goes a grandstanding Geraldo Rivera, doing his oft-heard shtick of how bad other hosts are, how other shows' practices are deplorable and how he's out to make his guests' lives better after the show. (A shot of a schedule board loaded with contentious and sexually driven topics contradicts "Geraldo's" higher ground premise, but no matter as his participation seems to have paid off in kid-gloves treatment.)
Phil Gallo3/24/1997 11:00pm PT
The Second Civil WarThe Second Civil War" is a charmingly warped political satire that clicks with some regularity until, with about 20 minutes to go, it mysteriously forgets it's supposed to be a comedy and misguidedly turns into a clueless message movie.
Perhaps inspired by some inner compulsion to make heavy-handed statements in a film that stars Phil Hartman as the president of the United States, scripter Martyn Burke crafts a wickedly intelligent, if over-the-top, teleplay that blends the right touches of irony and absurdity. Then, inexplicably, he decides that what pic really needs is a body count. The effect is not unlike watching Schwarzenegger pick up an Uzi and start pumping lead into all the little tykes in "Kindergarten Cop."Instead of the second coming of "Dr. Strangelove" or "Network," we get something resembling a collaboration between Michael Moore and Timothy McVeigh. And it's too bad, because there is a lot to like about "Second Civil War," not the least of which is a series of masterfully dry performances from its top-drawer comedic cast.Ray Richmond3/22/1997 11:00pm PT
Judy Garland: Beyond the RainbowA&E's "Biography" series, which is increasingly all over the map in terms of the stature and career longevity of its subjects, weighs in with one of its more solid entries as part its 10th-anniversary celebration. The two-hour "Judy Garland: Beyond the Rainbow" is a comprehensive, thoughtful blend of new and old interviews, archival footage and stills, and paints a haunting portrait of one of the most talented and troubled popular performers of our time.
Producer-writers Peter Jones and John Fricke concisely trace the childhood of Frances Ethel Gumm, who first took the vaudeville stage at age 2-1/2 --- and had to be carried off by her song-and-dance-man father when she wouldn't stop singing. Although their stage mother drove the career of the three Gumm Sisters (after extensive appearances on radio and the boards, they made four one-reel shorts in 1929), Baby Gumm apparently had her own drive to perform. Indeed, this would be a theme throughout her life, as the singer-actress was battered by both inner compulsions and external pressures.Sheri Linden3/22/1997 11:00pm PT
Fire From the SkyDisaster Sunday" on TBS concludes with an informative, entertaining hour on asteroids, meteors and comets. "Fire From the Sky" will get many amateur astronomers to peer through their telescopes in search of falling objects. Those with other hobbies will at least look skyward with more apprehension.
According to the producers, the chances of someone being killed by a piece of galactic waste are the same as dying in an airplane crash. This strange claim (do frequent fliers run a greater risk of getting hit by a meteor?) appears to be the only obvious hyperbole in a well-organized, persuasive program that challenges viewers to imagine the demise of humankind in the manner of dinosaurs.John P. McCarthy3/20/1997 11:00pm PT
Judy Garland: Beyond the RainbowA&E's "Biography" series, which is increasingly all over the map in terms of the stature and career longevity of its subjects, weighs in with one of its more solid entries as part of its 10th-anniversary celebration. The two-hour "Judy Garland: Beyond the Rainbow" is a comprehensive, thoughtful blend of new and old interviews, archival footage and stills, and paints a haunting portrait of one of the most talented and troubled popular performers of our time.
Producer-writers Peter Jones and John Fricke concisely trace the childhood of Frances Ethel Gumm, who first took the vaudeville stage at age 2-1/2 --- and had to be carried off by her song-and-dance-man father when she wouldn't stop singing. Although their stage mother drove the career of the three Gumm Sisters (after extensive appearances on radio and the boards, they made four one-reel shorts in 1929), Baby Gumm apparently had her own drive to perform. Indeed, this would be a theme throughout her life, as the singer-actress was battered by both inner compulsions and external pressures.Sheri Linden3/20/1997 11:00pm PT
National Geographic Explorer: Killer WaveThe problem with a documentary about tsunamis --- devastating tidal waves caused by underwater volcanic eruptions or earthquakes --- is a lack of footage. They occur so rarely and suddenly that no one has been able to document them for any significant duration. Their deadly nature would make for exciting television, yet this National Geographic special, kicking off TBS' "Disaster Sunday," can't deliver the visuals.
Program also suffers from a dearth of scientific knowledge about tsunamis. So many qualifiers are issued that re-peated admonishments from scientists and the narrator to beware just seem alarmist. Result is a less than killer documentary that makes a less than compelling case.John P. McCarthy3/20/1997 11:00pm PT
Social StudiesUPN introduces Nancylee Myatt's lame concept in which a femme history teacher throws crude language at the supposedly helpless headmistress of a onetime exclusive boarding school now gone to "financially diverse" stu-dents. Flatly directed by J. D. Lobue, the unfortunate new entry somehow manages to insult other new TV sit-coms.Creator Myatt, writer of the first episode, sets a young blonde sexpot against one of her roommates, a plain girl with few prospects. The plain girl won't let the blonde, who instead of studying broke curfew with a young man, read her notes from the history class, and has the blonde blab out the diary secrets of another student.Of course, the blonde, going phftt on the test, tries excusing herself. But the streetwise teacher nails her, the diarist sets up her own form of revenge, and the headmistress comes up with a traditional style of humiliation.
Julia Duffy has been handed the teacup-with-a-steel-handle role of headmistress Frances, who attended Woodridge when it was a proper finishing school. Bonnie McFarlane's Kit, the history teacher opposing her with glum, point-less repartee.Vanessa Evigan plays spiteful, round-heeled blonde Sara, and Lisa Wilhoit limns diarist Madison. None of the students are pleasant, which makes comedy just about impossible to promote. Adam Ferrara is the gym teacher Dan, who makes Katherine's heart beat a bit faster.Tony Scott3/17/1997 11:00pm PT
Childhood Sweethearts?Mood defeats common sense in Devra Maza's preposterous teleplay in which a young lady turns up after disappearing 17 years ago and finds her old boyfriend still yearning for her. The blatant question mark in the title could well spill the beans.
Melissa Gilbert's Karen Carlson and Michael Reilly Burke checks in as Greg, who holds a crucial locket she gave him when they were 12 or so. First, murky part of the vidpic has Greg waking repeatedly in the rain (apparently only around his house) and his discovering what looks like an incarnation of the lost Karen. Only she's full grown.Tony Scott3/17/1997 11:00pm PT
Hollywood Walk of Fame --- America's Street of DreamsHistory of the Hollywood Walk of Fame following its 1960s bow with 1,539 names makes up an OK Hollywood promo guided by Hollywood's honorary mayor Johnny Grant, who ticks off a few anecdotes and generally explains how celebs are selected. But docu has beaucoup de celebs' names, which is the program's heart. Fans'll love it.
How the invites are made remains vague --- someone sponsors a nominee, then someone coughs up $7,500 (as of December's taping), either the nominee or the sponsor or both. Walk of Fame photos plump up valuable publicity. A few, including Rin-Tin-Tin's, have been awarded posthumously.Tony Scott3/16/1997 11:00pm PT
Hollywood Walk of Fame --- America's Street of DreamsHistory of the Hollywood Walk of Fame following its 1960s bow with 1,539 names makes up an OK Hollywood promo guided by Hollywood's honorary mayor Johnny Grant, who ticks off a few anecdotes and generally explains how celebs are selected. But docu has beaucoup de celebs' names, which is the program's heart. Fans'll love it.
How the invites are made remains vague --- someone sponsors a nominee, then someone coughs up $7,500 (as of December's taping), either the nominee or the sponsor or both. Walk of Fame photos plump up valuable publicity. A few, including Rin-Tin-Tin's, have been awarded posthumously.3/16/1997 11:00pm PT
Born Into ExileDirector Eric Laneuville and actors Gina Phillips and Mark-Paul Gosselaar turn in another tale of young Midwesterners fleeing homelife miseries for what they think will be gold in the Golden State and discovering it's brass.
Phillips and Gosselaar make convincing lovers, and scripter Danielle Hill's too-familiar story with its disappointments and degradation manages to come sporadically alive.Tony Scott3/16/1997 11:00pm PT
Lies He ToldProducer Clara George has turned out a crisp, attention-holding telefilm based partially on the true story of a military man who, making it look like he's dead, ditches his first wife and kids after meeting another woman. With a more-than-credible pair, Gary Cole and Karen Sillas, cast as the principals, "Lies He Told" is a sure winner.
Alyson (Sillas), meeting Dave (Gary Cole) at a Halloween party, learns he's with a hush-hush military outfit that can't be whispered. Though he disappears after that first evening, she can't get him out of her mind --- and he's also crazy about her. In fact, everyone likes and admires secret warrior Dave: her father, her mother and her sister.Tony Scott3/16/1997 11:00pm PT
Buffy the Vampire SlayerPrototypical Valley girl Buffy Summers has been chosen by destiny to eliminate the world's undead in a series that takes off from 1992 feature, also scripted by Joss Whedon. In its TV incarnation, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" plays like an uneasy cross between "The X-Files" and "Clueless," with a slightly harder edge than the original, if less outright gore.Todd Everett3/15/1997 11:00pm PT
The PracticeNew series from David E. Kelley is centered on small, poorly financed legal firm. On the surface, it's as far as the producer could get from "L.A. Law" while remaining within the profession and the United States. Not quite, though: Series retains such Kelley trademarks as arch dialogue, colorful characters and interesting, quirky and socially relevant situations. In many important ways, "The Practice" is "Picket Fences" in the big city, or "L.A. Law" with cheaper suits.
Initial commitment is for between six to eight episodes, in slot normally owned by "NYPD Blue," whose audience should take to it readily. A total of 13 shows are in the can.
Regulars are all youngish workers in the firm, headed by Bobby Donnell (Dylan McDermott) and including attorneys Eugene Young (Steve Harris), Ellenor Frutt (Camryn Manheim) and Lindsay Dole (Kelli Williams), to be joined in a later episode by Jimmy Barluti (Michael Badalucco). Office manager is Rebecca Washington (Lisa Gay Hamilton).Todd Everett3/15/1997 11:00pm PT
Prince StreetLatest cop series entry, this one directed at a surefire clip by Roger Spottiswoode, centers on a onetime actual undercover unit of New York's finest, whose secret headquarters lie behind a Soho print shop on Prince Street. Never in uniforms, they carry no IDs or badges, wear disguises, and, on duty, they're deadly serious. They have every right to be --- thanks to the pilot's artifice and contrived plot lines.
"Prince Street's" familiar cases --- after all, there are just so many crimes in the Big City --- hark back to other ideas. But Spottiswoode's put considerable ginger into the stories, and the Prince Street gang (Dana Eskelson's slated to join them as detective Dianne Hoffman) may be able to pull off enough interest to generate an audience in the familiar territory. As it stands, the production looks terrif no matter what the contents.Tony Scott3/15/1997 11:00pm PT
The SecondThe Second Civil War" is a charmingly warped political satire that clicks with some regularity until, with about 20 minutes to go, it mysteriously forgets it's supposed to be a comedy and misguidedly turns into a clueless message movie.
Perhaps inspired by some inner compulsion to make heavy-handed statements in a film that stars Phil Hartman as the president of the United States, scripter Martyn Burke crafts a wickedly intelligent, if over-the-top, teleplay that blends the right touches of irony and absurdity. Then, inexplicably, he decides that what the pic really needs is a body count. The effect is not unlike watching Schwarzenegger pick up an Uzi and start pumping lead into all the little tykes in "Kindergarten Cop." Take that, ya little hellions!
Ray Richmond3/13/1997 11:00pm PT
Stolen WomenPeriod meller ripped from the headlines of 1868, "Stolen Women," based on actual events, is an interracial soap opera set amid Kansas homesteaders featuring lovely Janine Turner as a feisty frontier wife in the Juliet role and hunky Michael Greyeyes as the Lakota Romeo. It's all so romantic and beautifully photographed, auds will forget the opening settler slaughter that brought the two lovebirds together.
"Women" bows with the Lakota attacking a wagon train, but sexy Tokalah (Greyeyes) refrains from killing Anna (Turner), and Anna can't figure out why the warrior gave her the long, deep stare that he did.
Carole Horst3/13/1997 11:00pm PT
Prison of SecretsThis movie about conditions for female convicts toes the Lifetime line by rigidly depicting men as the enemy, at the expense of plausibility and complexity. It's a price worth paying, perhaps. The plight of incarcerated women is a serious matter, as an accompanying documentary "Final Take: Breaking the Chain" shows. Yet what's going on behind these bars won't shock anyone in the habit of watching telepics. The standardized treatment puts more than the usual strain on the claim "inspired by true events."
Dan Lauria, the grumpy dad from "The Wonder Years," turns in a menacing performance as a piggish prison guard. He and other male guards sexually exploit inmates and run a prostitution ring using a prison laundry van.
John P. McCarthy3/13/1997 11:00pm PT
The HunchbackQuasimodo's back on film, this time for TV, and it's a lush, romanticized and talky edition. Though edging closer to the original Victor Hugo book, scripter John Fasano still fails to knock off one major character at the finale. Oh, well.
In some ways cozier and prettier --- for instance, half of Quasimodo's face looks normal --- it's still a good, old-fashioned (reported) $8 million meller about two outcasts exchanging kindnesses.
Tony Scott3/13/1997 11:00pm PT
Law & OrderIn only the second gimmick in its seven seasons of excellent dramas, multiple casts and singular story structure, the "Law & Order" team heads to Hollywood to investigate the
death of a studio president in a three-parter airing in "ER's" Thursday slot. Writers and actors are shaded expertly to capture the two locales; the clever little touches --- a "for your consideration" videotape in the studio trash, the New York Daily News front page splash of HEAD-LESS HONCHO --- are used judiciously to solid effect.Phil Gallo3/12/1997 11:00pm PT
Long, Long AgoConversations among 26 sharp tenants of convalescent homes, retirement abodes and nursing facilities across the country seem like a long mile from film criticism, but these folks churn up fresh, amusing comments about the stars and the films from the audiences' point of view. Age can't wither a thing, and they share memories of the joy, fright, romance, suspense and laughter as they found them reeling in from film studios. The docu's a delight.
The concept might sound like a downer, but Ray Farkas' guests win every time. Three people talk about how in "the old days" they paid 5¢ to sit in halls to watch those people up there and they relive the excitement and the newness of those early film strips.Tony Scott3/11/1997 11:00pm PT
Long, Long AgoConversations among 26 sharp tenants of convalescent homes, retirement abodes and nursing facilities across the country seem like a long mile from film criticism, but these folks churn up fresh, amusing comments about the stars and the films from the audiences' point of view. Age can't wither a thing, and they share memories of the joy, fright, romance, suspense and laughter as they found them reeling in from film studios. The docu's a delight.
The concept might sound like a downer, but Ray Farkas' guests win every time. Three people talk about how in "the old days" they paid 5¢ to sit in halls to watch those people up there and they relive the excitement and the newness of those early film strips.3/11/1997 11:00pm PT
Long, Long AgoConversations among 26 sharp tenants of convalescent homes, retirement abodes and nursing facilities across the country seem like a long mile from film criticism, but these folks churn up fresh, amusing comments about the stars and the films from the audiences' point of view. Age can't wither a thing, and they share memories of the joy, fright, romance, suspense and laughter as they found them reeling in from film studios. The docu's a delight.
The concept might sound like a downer, but Ray Farkas' guests win every time. Three people talk about how in "the old days" they paid 5¢ to sit in halls to watch those people up there and they relive the excitement and the newness of those early film strips.3/11/1997 11:00pm PT
Breaking the Surface:The Greg Louganis StoryFive-time world diving champ Greg Louganis' story is the stuff of high drama, but Alan Hines' script doesn't catch the subtleties and motives that drove the true hero into gold. The vid bio, handled respectfully by director Steven Hilliard Stern (Greg Louganis was consultant), traces the champ's year-to-year triumphs and sadnesses; it's a routine accounting.
Adopted at nine months in Southern California, half-Samoan Louganis (Patrick David) draws away from his tough, critical adoptive father, Pete Louganis (Michael Murphy). His mother, Frances (Rosemary Dunsmore), is always in his corner (there's a little-seen adopted sister around at times). The boy's passage from 9 to 15 is cun-ningly accomplished here, and his gayness surfaces with admirable restraint. It's just a fact among facts.Tony Scott3/11/1997 11:00pm PT
Something Borrowed, Something BlueAs if the institution of marriage needed any more battering, CBS offers a disjointed, chintzy movie that affirms matrimony in the backhanded way only television can. The romance generated is of the 1970s "Charlie's Angels" ilk despite the efforts of three classy actresses: Connie Sellecca, Twiggy Lawson and Dina Merrill. The script is superficial and the direction is of equal probity.
"Something Borrowed, Something Blue" is about three women on the verge of tying the knot. Monique D'Arcy (Sellecca) is a high-flying magazine editor lured away from Ritz to Plaza One by its dominating publisher and her soon-to-be fiancee (Jameson Parker). It's obvious he's bad news when, on their first encounter, he uses acupuncture to relieve her migraine.
John P. McCarthy3/10/1997 11:00pm PT
ArsenioLooking to cultivate a television following during the hours when a majority of Americans are still awake, Arsenio Hall leaps into his first starring sitcom role portraying what may be the most self-absorbed and insensitive husband in the solar system.Ray Richmond3/8/1997 11:00pm PT