THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 8, 1994 TAG: 9410070155
SECTION: TELEVISION WEEK PAGE: 01 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY BONKO, TELEVISION COLUMNIST
LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
IF YOU DIG hard-boiled, gritty, slice-of-life, smell-of-the-precinct cop shows, then lay in a supply of Doritos and settle into the ol' La-Z-Boy for ``Homicide: Life on the Street,'' which is back on NBC starting Friday night at 10, and the return to Hampton Roads of ``NYPD Blue'' on Tuesday at 10 p.m.
I give ``NYPD Blue'' a grade of A-plus. I give ``Homicide: Life On the Street'' a grade of A.
The season premiere of ``Homicide: Life On the Street,'' from executive producer Barry Levinson, deals with a murderer who deposits the victims' nude bodies in trash bins near Roman Catholic churches in Baltimore, but not before wiping them clean of blood and slipping white gloves on their hands.
This is goose-pimply TV.
There's a new face in the cast, a female shift commander (Isabella Hofmann) who, don't you know it, gets involved with a married colleague. Very unprofessional.
Returning to the ensemble cast are Richard Belzer and Ned Beatty who engage in wonderful little exchanges of dialogue. Andre Braugher as the very intense detective Frank Pembleton all but steals this series away from old pro Beatty. Bet he solves the trash-bin murders.
``Homicide: Life on the Street'' falls into the category of TV that is too good for TV - a show the critics love but viewers avoid by the millions. ``Picket Fences'' is similarly blessed and cursed.
How come ``Homicide: Life on the Street,'' one of the best TV dramas to come along in years, has been so slow to catch on? When Levinson met with TV writers in Los Angeles not long ago, he said the show which won a Peabody award didn't have a chance to get rolling because it was mauled by heavyweight competition.
``When it comes to opposition, you can't ignore the power of `Home Improvement,' '' he said. ``We were also on opposite the Michael Jackson interview with Oprah. Then we were on opposite the Grammys and the American Comedy awards. Basically, our show just faded away.
``That was the past. Now we're back with renewed life.''
And a killer who is stuffing the trash bins of Bawl'mer.
The Great Blues Blackout ends in Hampton Roads Tuesday night at 10 when ABC affiliate WVEC begins carrying ``NYPD Blue,'' a show the station decided was too hot to handle in 1993. ``NYPD Blue'' appeared briefly in this market when Fox affiliate WTVZ picked up the series but lost the right to carry it when the Channel 33 bosses censored some scenes.
Now it's back. Rejoice.
On TV this week
Led Zeppelin alert! Robert Plant and Jimmy Page will appear in a one-time-only reunion of these old rockers Wednesday at 9 p.m. on MTV. The 90-minute special was taped in London, Morocco, Wales and Outer Space, if I know these guys. MTV promise re-worked versions of the Led Zeppelin songbook plus new material for the ``Unledded'' recording.
What could be bigger than a Led Zeppelin reunion? How about Howard Cosell? A&E's excellent ``Biography'' series sheds its light on Cosell in ``Howard Cosell at Large'' Monday night at 8 p.m. Let's face it. ``Monday Night Football'' just hasn't been the same since he left.
Offbeat pick of the week: As part of Bravo's ``Opening Shot'' series for youngsters, the cable network will show a special about the ballroom dancing craze in Australia - ballroom dancing for 11 and 12-year-old kids. ``Ballroom Dancing'' will be on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. preceded by a special about a 16-year-old guitarist, ``Smokin' Joe Bonamassa and the History of the Blues Guitar.''
It took a while for Public Broadcasting to uncork its new fall programming, but when PBS gets all cranked up, as it does every October, watch out! The new programming in 1994 and 1995 will surprise and amaze you and make you want to pledge more money than ever before to commercial-free TV.
Coming up on Tuesday at 9 p.m. is Part 1 of ``FDR,'' a 4 1/2-hour study of Franklin D. Roosevelt, one of this century's strongest leaders. Roosevelt was terrific on his radio in the ``fireside chats.'' Imagine how effective he would have been in the TV age.
It opens the seventh season of ``The American Experience'' series, which in the past has examined the lives of other U.S. presidents including John F. Kennedy and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Coming in November is a 90-minute program about the Battle of the Bulge, a big, bloody battle of World War II.
At 8 p.m. Monday, PBS introduces ``Future Quest'' hosted by Jeff Goldblum. Imagine Paula Poundstone and Kurt Vonnegut on the same series.
A game show on snobby PBS? Yes, indeed. Starting Monday at 8:30 p.m., WHRO and other PBS stations will begin carrying ``Think Twice!,'' which has everything a game show should have - a smarty-pants host, a studio audience, an ``applause'' sign, prizes and a fancy sets, everything but Vanna.
Also on PBS, ``Mystery!'' begins its 15th season on Thursday night at 9 with the adventures of Chief Inspector Maigret of the Paris police played by Michael Gambon.
In programming that may be less entertaining but a good deal more important, PBS on Friday at 10 p.m. presents ``Health in America: Search for a Cure, Beyond the Debate.'' Just when you thought the health-care debate was over, here comes Robert Bazell to examine health-care reform in the United States in general and three special issues - mental illness, care of the sick in rural areas and how society will deal with people living longer. ILLUSTRATION: Dennis Franz, left, and the departing David Caruso star in "NYPD
Blue", which makes its return to Hampton Roads Tuesday night at 10
on WVEC.
by CNB