8OmnibusThursday. October 13, 1988
Calm down vidiots, die new season airs at last
By Wi:.STO?J LLOYD
Staff Writer
Slowly, the new TV season is
coming upon us. The past couple
of weeks we've seen, or In many
cases, missed the premieres of
"ALF," The Cosby Show," "Simon
and Simon," and that staple of
modern social relevance. "The
Hogan ,which-we-are-now-ca"ed-because-vaierie-ccuidnt-hammer-out-a-contract-
wlth-the-big-boys-at-N3C
Family." There's a swarm
of old stuff coming back, and in
at least one show, it is old stuff
coming bade to haunt us.
a Incredible Sunday: Why?
What did we do to deserve this?
The King of the blow dryer has
returned to ruin our Sundays, or
at least make sure that we watch
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"60 Minutes." John Davidson and
Cristina Ferrare are here with
"incredible stories, incredibly true."
I'd rather have bamboo shoots
inserted under my fingernails. I
hope their first story concerns the
incredibly true taie of how ABC
made such an incredibly stupid
decision
I included the preceding in this
week's Edited 4 TV because it is
a returning old show. I definitely
dont see it as new.
b ALF: The comedy on the cut
ting edge of science fiction is back.
The ambassador from Meimac and
his whining supporter, Willy, have
yet another year to prove that
we will believe any weird concept
Dont get me wrong, l like this
show. Alf's naivete makes the
V it I
CoJU Uo
m
fi
show hilarious. Watch this year to
see if the show takes on any
pretentious, sanctimonious or
otherwise serious themes because
I of the influence of producer and
"MASH" alumnus Thad
iMumford.
d Designing women: The
second best-written comedy on
the tube today. Saved from can
cellation by a write-in campaign,
this program covers everything
from racism to AIDS with as much
humor as possible. And it is very
realistic in its depiction of South
erners. Thank Cod there's a show
where the Southern man isnt
pumping gas and the Southern
women dont EVER say "LH or me."
If you dont believe its realistic
find an apartment with four
female students and listen to
them. You'd swear they were the
inspiration for this show. Also, any
reason to put Lewis Crizzard on
TV cant be bad. By the way,
"MASH" alum Linda Bloodworth
Thomason produces and usually
writes for the show.
d Cheers: After six years of
winning buckets of Emmy Awards,
this may possibly be the last
season (or so TV Guide very pass
ingly suggested) for the best
comedy on TV today. Look for Sam
and Rebecca to hit it off finally
this season, much to the dismay
and surprise of Norm and Cliff and
Woody . . . well, you get the
picture. Lets hope that doesnt
happen we dont need a repeat
of the five years of Diane "Well-get-married-after-l-write-that-
book" Chambers. Although
"Cheers" was at its best then, we
deserve more than a rehash from
producers Les Charles and Glen
Charles, and writers Ken Levine and
David Isaacs ail Emmy winners
and. you guessed it. ail "MASH"
alumni
a Family Ties: This is definitely
the seventh and final season for
this one. Michael J. Fox has out
grown the rest of them Alex and
Steven Keaton were the only
really funny ones anyway. The
rest, especially Mallory, have
become caricatures of themselves,
and the show often seems to be
merely a takeoff of "Family Ties"
as it once was. Dont worry, I'm
sure they will have a reunion show
sometime when Alex owns Man
hattan, Los Angeles and Western
Europe.
a Moonlighting: What in the
hell is going on here? it seems 1
remember something about a
baby, a husband and an astronaut
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WE'RE FIGHTING FOR
V3URUFE ....... ...
is it the astronauts (Mark Harmon)
baby, or is it Bruce "Die Hard" Willis'
baby? Didnt he have one with
Demi Moore? Does it really matter
if Cybil Shepherd is a pain in the
butt?
I dont know and I think they
dont either; yes, and its called
Roomer or something stupid like
that; and, yes again, because the
creator, Glenn Gordon Caron, left
because of it
The season before last wasnt so
bad. They had that witty repartee
(say it with a French accent, you'll
sound intelligent). Then the five
parter when "Luke Skywalker"
(Harmon) asks Maddle to marry
him, only to be dumped for Dave.
Then, it got weird. Cybil really got
pregnant, and wanted a break.
Caron went to the big screen for
"Dean and Sober" and proved the
show is a mess without him, and
that he is pretty good when
moonlighting from "Moonlight
ing." if something great doesnt
happen this year ABC can afford
to drop what used to be one of
its only hits.
a Miami vice: The triumph of
style over substance comes to an
end this season. Plot synopsis:
Much to the dismay of Crockett
(Don Johnson), an old friend, fellow
officer or former girlfriend returns
only to be connected with the
drug kingpin he is currently pur
suing. Crockett must, engage in
soul searching, rubbing his beard
and losing his temper with friends
to a background of Phil Collins
tunes. Pure creativity, isnt it?
a Perfect Strangers: Mark
"itn-a-geek" Linn-Baker and Bran
son Tm-a-geek,-tooM Pinchot
return as two uncool roomie
relatives who are pitiful to watch.
This show, by those who brought
us that jewel taveme and Shirley,"
seems to have revived over the
summer and, unfortunately, gets
good ratings, too. Somebody must
watch it. I only did because the
Olympics got old. There are only
so many times a person can hear
about Louganis hitting his head on
the board.
a it's Garry Shandllng's
Show: This one is hard to find.
(Yeah, if you have the IQ of broc
coli) Its called the Fox Network.
Thafs Channel 22-WLFL for us in
central N.C At 9 p.m. on Sundays,
when ail the other networks are
showing their made-for-TV
movies (i.e. DiseaseCrimeTriumph
Against Terrible Odds 0' the Week),
Garry Shandling invites us into his
living room
Garry has broken down the
"fourth" wall of the sitcom and
actually addresses the audience
and the camera But he is the only
one allowed to do this. The others
know they're on television when
at Garry's but they know they
arent allowed to look into the
cameras. Smart thing. Prevents
anarchy. Think of trte way "Moon
lighting" admits Its a TV show and
compound that to where Shand
ling actually brings the script on
camera, or refers to running the
theme song!
find this show. Newer episodes
can be found on Showtime.
a THS COSBY SHOW: (NO. 1
programs deserve capitals). Bill .
started last week with the first
really good episode in quite a
while. The last few years had the
Huxtaoies patting themselves on
the back, telling each other how
perfect and happy they were, and
performing choreographed dance
numbers. All the time, showcasing
how cute Rudy is. Sickening. Nearly
gave me cavities.
But this year, Superdad has lost
all control of his family. Denise (Lisa
Bonet) dropped out of college,
prompting Dad to ask Clair to tell
him that their daughter "is not
that way." Finally, the "Cos" has
lost all control over an often
irritating family.
a thlrtysomethlng: Who
cares r
a Saturday r:ight Live: Tom
Hanks and Keith Twish-l-cou!d-go-,
it-alone" Richards kicked off the
14th season Saturday, returning
to political humor r with Jon
and Dana Carvey's excessive
ueurge eusn. ur course ine anti
Republican bias was evident
throughout, but "Weekend
Update" was almost as good as in
years past it seems that Chilean
Dictator Pinochet has a second in
command called, Daniel deQuayle
(Spanish accent, please) complete
with pencil-thin, sleazy dictator
mustache.
a The Equalizer: Another
really cool, kick-butt kind of guy.
a The Golden Girls, Amen,
227: Stereotype Saturday Night
They are ail back, breaking ground
thafs been broken before.
a Head of the Class: Althouah
its messages are often heavy
handed, this bunch of prodigies is
usually rather funny. Of course,
the presence of Robin "now-that-l-think-of-it.-this-Tyson-guy's-a-creep"
Givens may hurt the show.
And if Howard Hesseman goes
back to helping the communists
in El Salvador, the show may get
killed like "WKRP" did.
a Growing Pains: Look for a
new kid.
a And the shows that wont die
despite poor ratings, year after
yean Simon and Simon and Ur.
Belvedere. The Simon brothers
usually have a well-written show,
sometimes provided by UNC alum
nus Micheal Piller.
The relationship between Bel ve-
rtere anrl WpcIpv te wnrth
watching.
Well, there are plenty other
returning shows. Just because
they arent listed here does not
mean I hate them, simply that
there is nothing to say. So. enjoy
this year's veterans and in future
weeks I will review the new stuff,
from "Dear John" to "Dick Van
Dyka We will return after these
messages. "