Page 62 - Scrimshaw1975-76

.. ge6 Scrimshaw Wednesday. December 3, 1975 '75 TV Season: How Bad Can it Be? Mark Bayer Originally, this space was sup- possible to tell when the station bit too slick. A recent show dealt basketball about a fellow he knew All of the shows described above posed to occupy the usual pair of break started and the real ads with the question of patronage in who did the same, and then, once I have seen at least once, and, in movie reviews, but since produc- began. prisons based on wealth or on a team, injured hmself per- most cases more than that. I have ers and distributors are withhold- position-but, having asked its manently and was left with neither purposely ignored such entires as ing the goodies for the Christmas Saturday Night is in no way to question, tended to avoid it from an education nor a sports career. Barbary Coast and Doctors season and tossing hungry viewers be confused with Saturday Night then on. Doc, a family show about "Guess what happened to him," Hospital neither of which I have such crumbs as Old Dracula and Live With Howard Cosell, a highly an old-fashioned G.P., proves that says Kaplan. "He went on seen. Most of the programs listed The Giant Spider Invasion (both publicized ABC show which will it's possible to be pleasant without welfare?" answers the student. above do indicate a trend. Ac- actual movies), it may be time tc probably leave the air in January. getting sticky about it. The best "No," replies Kaplan, "his father tually, TV is not all bad, as is move on to other things. What nobody realized was that new comedy entry of the season is died and left him . a chain of proven by such programs as All in program was a potential disaster Welcome Back, Kotter, a laundromats." The worst comedy the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, Many critics and viewers have from the beginning. By placing highly enjoyable ser eis based show is When Things Were Rotten, M.A.S.H., Police Story, The found the current television season Howard Cosell in a variety show on Gabriel Kaplan's old a Robin Hood spoof ostensibly Waltons, Barney Miller, Columbo, to be the worst yet, and in several fonnat, the sportscaster is robbed routines about his school days. It's created by Mel Brooks, who ap- and Carol Burnett. The new season ways they are right. Hardly any of of all the qualities that make him a classroom show, but it turns all parently then took the money and seems to be proving to many that the new crop of programs which controversial and thus attractive. the cliches of such predecessors as ran. The lack of comic invention on TV should be treated like chocolate debuted in September have found a As a host Cosell has to play nice to Room 222 on their ears. Example: the show is incredible; the show is cake: an enjoyable treat that suitably large audience to justify every guest he has, regardless of Kaplan tells an student who in its tenth week and is already the should not become overly habit- their survival, ann roughly about talent--something that Cosell neglects his studies for most tired program on the air. forming. half have either left the air or will would never do as a sportscaster. do so soon. (Remember The Thus, anyone who happens to be w.e. Fields visits campus Montefuscos? If you missed it watching from 8 to 9 on Saturday Mark Bayer within its first three weeks, you (if indeed anyone is watching) is never saw it again). Many have witness to the metamorphosis of a W.C. Fields recently paid a visit ditional fact that he had been create was his inclusion of tm- complained about the sharp-toothed shake to a big, ugly, to Western Maryland College. That deprived of a decent childhood. pertinent topical references. Jokes imitativeness and lack of quality of slobbering puppy dog. It's not an is to say, the famous film comedian Fields was also known to down two about Richard Nixon and Euell most network fare, and claim to attractive sight. of the 30's and 40's appeared in the pints of gin a day. Like many Gibbonshavenoplaceina Fields have gone back to reading. Then fonn of Murray Solomon on the comedians. Fields' off-screen life show. Solomon explained this in the by there are those who feel that TV's Another ambitious show. Beacon evening of Thursday, November was actually quite unhappy and admitting that the material so-called loose morality u.e. sex Hill, deserved much better than it 20, playing to a fairly large pathetic, and it seemed a bitter show was about half genuine Fields and violence, a semantic pair on got. True, it's an "adaptation" audience Hall. in the mainstage of irony that he died on Christmas and half material borrowed from other sources that Solomon thought Alumni Day, the order of such phrases as salt (usually translated as "ripoff") of For those who are not familiar, Murray 1946. Solomon, having would be appropriate. One is and pepper, Laurel and Hardy, and the successful public-television W.C. Fields, who ran away from researched the man for three forced to ask what right anybody the like) ts e bad influence and that show Upstairs, Downstairs, here more stringent censorship should dealing with a well-to-do Irish- his Philadelphia home as a child, years, is aware of all this. Yet his has to claim that Fields would use be enforced. American family of th 1920's. The began show business as a juggler, impersonation of Fields had a the same jokes as, say, Johnny fact that the show was taped in- and began adding bits of original tendency to skim the surface. Carson stead of filmed, which gave it a comic dialogue to his act. Even- Solomon's delivery of the Fields The show concluded with a clip There is also the matter of the slightly hollow feel, was also no tually the comedy took over, and monologues, which included "The from Never Give A Sucker An newly-instituted "family hour", an help. Yet the program truly tried to the bulbousnosed comic became a Temperance Lecture" and "The Even Break and an appearance by invention of the networks in order establish characters and success in a series of silent and Bar", indicated a reasonably good Solomon minus his makeup, who to calm the sensitive. Many of the relationships which, penetrated sound films, including My Little impersonation of what we expect answered any questions on Fields season's most dismal flops have beneath the badges and Chickadee (with Mae West) and Fields' voice to sound like, and that were posed by the audience. fallen within the time slot; stethoscopes which are so often Never Give A Sucker An Even Solomon's own timing was quite This provided a valuable op- M.A.S.H. which falls in to the used to delineate the personalities Break. Field's two best-known goocl. Yet in the long run the Im- portunity for the audience to gain period, has been forced to prune its of their wearers. The show should comic subjects, his hatred of personation was too generalized to insights on the man which were not scripts, and AllIn The Family was also be commended for linking the children ann his love of alcohol, sound like much more than a generally given in the show at moved from its Saturday night events of one program to another, had basis in fact, for Fields in number of other Fields imitators hand. All in all, when Solomon jackpotspot to that of Mondays at 9 a practice for which afternoon soap reality resented the fact that who possess the same problems stuck to the man he was por- in order to fulfill the requirements operas are unjustly criticized. children were natural spotlight- More oamagtng to the tuusion traylng, he provided a pleasant two of the 8-9 hour. It is quite sad to see Beacon Hill had a small but faith- grabbers, and scorned the ad- that Solomon was attempting to hours. what that hour seems to have done audience which CBS ignored when to Phyllis. This is a show which had it sacrificed the show on the bloody ,"i6~ 3fuhb everything going for it: it's a spin- ratings altar in early November off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, CBS may scream a lot about what The following ad was Iouno in the even though the architect insists never intended to look like female which is clearly the funniest, most a big gamble it made, but in truth, Omaha World-Herald: "Happiest that the flesh-colored domes "were breasts." well-developed comedy on the air, when the stakes get big, it leaves job in town. Drive an air- and it stars Cloris Leachman, an the poker game early. conditioned Happy Cab. Bullet- actress who should be able to crossword accomplish miracles. Everything On a more formula front. Bronk, r~~p!rt~ti~ns~". • • • • • • has gone wrong with this a cop show (which, from the title, A decree issued by the govern- promising project: the characters sounds like a spinoff of The Flint- ment of North Yemen declared: are flat, the situations unreal, the stones) proves very little except "All official titles used in !~:::;:~ dialogue predictable .. Worst of all, that Jack Palance just isn't as cute correspondence, addresses, mass II The LiW. ,~ :';::'i~i"'n Cloris Leachman is as dull as her as Telly Savalas also tries to be on media, and in various official II BITOA.Club scripts; Instead of rising above her Kojak. Joe Forrester, like last quarters will be completely 12 Betrv_ only._' 14 From now·· material, she is submerged by it. year's Policewoman, is a spinoff of abolished, to be replaced by the i~:~.por'di" Il Unaccompanied On the other hand, however, one Police Story, but the differene here word brother at all levels." The 18E_ IGFiI ... nthday has to consider that, prior to five is that Uoyd Bridges, and not order was signed: "Lieutenant 20::;::~~rod olMOfchlRoman) years ago, nearly all network Angie Dickinson, is the lead, and so Colonel Ibrhim Hamadi, Chairman ~~ ~,::int 47 Capri.I"" programming could have been fit there is absolutely nothing of in- of the Command Council and 2JGuido·.lIigh 22 OollBnic 49~7i:~'. ............. into the family viewing slot. It terest here. Medical Story claims Commander in Chief of the Armed ~: :-o~"!m.ni" 25~r~: 52 Eu,opel.b.) 24 Buffoon must be asked whether the fault is to be a departure from the usual Forces." 54 -·~nd bagels actually that of the family hour or run of idealized doctor programs. I....) 27F"'rinopi'ing 57~'7u~: of the networks to creatively deal But in its zeal to deal with such Ma Bell finally got wise to a 29 Windi"llridge JO:'=;~~um. 58 Eoehlab.1 with it. scorchers as abortion, malprac- directory listing for what was more JI~i:oIl'briCS 32 V.cuo,," 60 Compo .. ""in' tice, and the like, it becomes a house than a home and dropped 33 SKuI.. 34S.uff ............. primarily concerned with events Forni Kate from the Taunton, 350",.ti