Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Sept. 13, 1990, edition 1 / Page 18
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Page 10 DTH Omnibus Thursday September 13, 1990 TELEVflSOQN 'yelaflSlSJ$ t.(X) tnssAcisrisaP2srt,NBC 2.(7) Csai Girls, NBC 15.4, 14&oUfchomes. 4L(X) F332iBciS,NBC' "EkO T4JlmilHoR tomes 5.(9) sica'sfirsHest Baas Vks9, NBC 14.8, 13.8 milliflfi homes &(8) Orsates, CSS 14.7, 'ttrmilfeB'haines 7.(20) C2Sr.ingWcsn,CBS 14 13.2 million homes 7.(2) Eoseanne.ABC 142, 13u2 million homes 9. (4) A Different Wertd, NBC 13.6, T?.8 million homes 10. (3) The Cosby Shaw, NBC 137. 12.million homes 10.(12) taschred Mysteries, NBC 13.7. 12-SmiHion hemes 12.(28 fall Kaise, ABC 13.1, 12-2milioR homes n. (2S Kurpfty Brcwn , CBS 13.1 . laimillion homes t4.(1& Huffer, &e Varcfs.CBS 12.7. If .ftmillian homes t4.(3tJ2sse,CBS 12.7.1tamilliofl homes tS.(X) Carting It Cut, NBC T2.4, 1H5millionhHmes 16.(20 C3Ck, NBC - T2.4, Xt5 million homes 1S.(13Css,NBC 12.4f.tf.5millibn homes t6.(18) Cozcft.ABC 12.4, tfSmillion homes - ' 20. (14 Oo&CCsS? ,ASC ' 'IZLttSmiUionhoiHcs - - Z. testings include tti&weeffsisiWRS until fuRgtoon-; - folate ranking in fmreotrieses, rating, for thawek, and s tool homes An TCifRpaantttsEadfewte awtiaje--only presentation. K rating measurer the peonage of : thffDatiQnM.4rrtiH6Br.TVaQn)fis. , . 'if iJf CQIN L AUNL7RY AND PUB (S! ft HAPPV K53K DM jj 1 I fl H THE miyJKIBJKOfTr u 1 I 9 Vft Cairboro Most Crvilized Laundromat ill 1 ifl EACH WASH LOAD m M Xv'it Monday Thru Friday Only lf -Mf I X&WL- Offer Expires Oct. 31 -pf It's good Parenthood Ed Begfey, Jr. and Wilfiam Windom Ss&atiays 8pra KSC(WPTF Channel 28) 12 Mow's this for an original concept? Take the charac- ters created in one of last I I year's moviesuccesses, along J LJ withtwoofthemovie'schild stars,, and make it a TV show. NBC obviously wants to bank on Parenthood s cinematic triumph. Can the comedydrama make it as a weekly series? Surprisingly, the answer may be yes. The show has been lucky enough to retain Ron Howard as its executive producer,, a definite asset. Howard's vision has been one of the driving forces behind such popular films as Spksh Cocoon and Parenthood. It's hard to mis him here. Having grown up ua- the entertainment industry, Howard may have a special insight when it comes to getting the most out of his actOJ5 particularly the chil dren. Oddly enough, the ending of the movie has been virtually forgotten. While three- of the female leads had newfcorn babies by the end of the movie, there is no mention of these childkert in the series. Also forgotten is Larry, played by Tom Hulce (Amadttus), along' with his illegiti- except for Ed, and BlLLY StOCKARD ir w mate son Cool. These elements are left out either for plot purposes or for budget reasons. Still, it's possible for them to return in some future episode. Inconsistencies aside, the televi sion actors have taken over the roles and actually done quite well. Most surprising is Ed Begley, Jr.(St. Else' where, She-Devil), who has given a new face to the role of Gil, originally played by Steve Martin. Martin can't be an easy act to follow, but Begley, in his own geeky way, has managed to become a strong male lead. Gil's down-to-earth wife, Karen, is played by Jane Atkinson, who makes a good effort at picking up where the well-cast Mary Steenburgen left off. These two try to balance life between their sensitive son Kevin (Max Elliott Slade) and hellraising Justin (Zachary LaVoy). LaVoy, incidentally, is one of two original castmembers starring in the series. What's missing in this family? Humor. Sorry, Ed Begley, but Steve Martin is a joy to watch on screen, and you just doesn't have the same comedic flair. Thus, the humor must come from other sources. Enter Gil's parents, Frank (William Windom) and Marilyn (Sheila McRae), along with Marilyn's mom, fondly known as "little grandma," (Mary Jackson from The Wcitons). There's conflict here between Frank and his mother-in-law, so some inter CLEAN laundromat double & triple loaders 35 washers 22 dryers wash, dry, fold COZY pub with T.V.'s beer soft drinks video games hot dogs snacks Carrboro Plaza Hwy-54 next to Sav-A-Ccntcr 929-3101 esting situations are bound to occur, especially since grandma has a hear ing problem. According to Frank, "That woman would not hear a hy drogen bomb if it went off in her brassiere." William Windom is an excellent choice for Jason Robards' role as the cynical father-figure of the whole family. Mary Jackson gives great grandma both spunk and wisdom when she says, "We start out as chil dren and we end up as children. All we can hope is that people are nice to us." She just may have summed up the show's entire message. Ron Howard and crew carry on the movie's efforts to show that the generation gap can be spanned. Also present are Gil's sister Susan (SusanNorman) and her perfectionist husband Nathan (Ken Ober), origi nally played by Harley Kozak and Rick Moranis. Ober's Nathan is more pompous than Moranis', as he trains his daughter Patty (played by orignal cast member Ivyann Schwan) in al gebra and Japanese while other kids are playingNintendo games. Nathan's obsession with Patty's education makes him resent the easy-going, natural relationship between Gil and his kids. Nathan's exasperation sur faces when he sees Gil's kids drinking soft drinks at a party. NATHAN: "You let your kids drink soda?' GIL: "Yes, but only when we're out of beer." Finally, there's Gil's other sister, Helen (Mary Edith Burrell) played by Dianne Wiest in the movie, a role for TV Listings. Pages 12-15. OMNIBUS. All this and more. V" - It Folds! It Holds! FoldingStacking Bookcase only $45)88 Rams Plaza 15-501 ByPass Chapel Hill 967 BVIM IS he's OK which Wiest received an Oscar nomination. Her offbeat family in cludes a daughter and son-in-law who take pictures of each other in the nude and a son who reads dirty magazines. The show seems to have forgotten that Helen got married and had a baby at the end of the movie, just as it has forgotten that daughter Julie (Martha Plimpton in the movie) also had a baby. So much for conti nuity. Apparently, there's more humor in Helen's choices of dates than in Helen's married life. Because so much of the movie's plot was resolved at the end, writers Lowell and Babaloo probably had to leave certain elements out for a con tinuing series. But the show maintains the balance of characters that made the movie a pleasure to see. While great-grandma looks at a photo album, picking out who's dead and who de serves to be, Julie and her husband Todd are necking at the dining room table. While Gil is saving Kevin from an embarrassing situation at school, Helen needs her dad to save her from a date who's too drunk to drive. The characters, despite their conflicts, remember that they are family, after all. Fortunately for longevity's sake, these are not flat characters, either. Overall, this has been a smooth transition from the big screen. As long as Hollywood produces quality movies, TV networks will snatch what concepts have worked and apply them to the small screen. After all, who wants to come up with something original? $ j 2988 DeskWorkstation Unit B FURNITURE AND ACCESSORIES M-F 10-7 Sat. 10-6 Sunday 1-5 - 7060 VISA tin 1 Li!5 i 1 MH-Jii 1
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Sept. 13, 1990, edition 1
18
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