Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 27, 1992 TAG: 9203270318
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
"This show" is Waterston's series "I'll Fly Away," an NBC night-time drama about a rather deliberate Southern lawyer in an unnamed Southern town. The show airs tonight at 9 on WSLS-Channel 10. While it has been well-received critically, this has not translated to date into good ratings.
His role is, in part, reminiscent of Atticus Finch, the lawyer in the 1962 film "To Kill a Mockingbird."
He dismisses the notion that the series wasn't producing enough sparks to sustain an entire season.
"When they say it's slow - compared to what?" he asks. "Compared to a sit-com, it's certainly slow. It's a deliberate effort to say that more than just those frantically paced stories can be told.
"And maybe they just can't anymore - you know, in the golden years of television, plots took forever to develop and audiences loved the shows - but maybe it just can't be done now . . . but we'd like to try."
If anyone can develop a solid television following, it could be Waterston. He hit his high-water mark when he was nominated for an Oscar for his role in "The Killing Fields," but he has been known as a steady player with a reliable following since his early work in Shakespearean theater in the '60s.
At 51, he's an avid skier and poker player, the father of four and a man whose successes have given him the luxury of choosing his scripts carefully.
"Look, it was always unlikely that this was going to be an instant hit - but we've really bet the farm on it," he says.
by CNB