
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, September 11, 1993                   TAG: 9309110330
SECTION: SPECTATOR                    PAGE: 12   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: TERRY KELLEHER NEWSDAY
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`THEA': STAND-UP MOM PATTERNS ROLE AFTER HER LIFE

It's terribly facile to describe Thea Vidale as "a Roseanne Arnold type," but you can bet some ABC executives have been thinking along those lines.

Thea Turrell of "Thea" (Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. on WSET-Channel 13) resembles Roseanne Conner of "Roseanne" in that she's a large, outspoken, working-class mother.

Thea Vidale resembles Roseanne Arnold in that she's a stand-up comedian stepping into a TV series without previous acting experience.

Bernie Kukoff, creator of "Thea," made sure his star wouldn't have to work overtime researching her character. Like real Thea before her career took her to Los Angeles, TV Thea is a single mother of four living in Texas.

But note a difference: Real Thea, according to network publicity, suffered "physical and emotional abuse" in "a marriage gone bad." TV Thea is a widow - a status more suitable for the 8 p.m. slot the show will occupy starting Sept. 22. (Real Thea does a lot of stand-up material that would be verboten during the family hour.)

TV Thea has nice kids (not to say real Thea doesn't). Jarvis (Adam Jeffries), her 16-year-old son, is so responsible he wants to take a lunch-hour job in addition to his after-school job. Jerome, the next in line, is a bit of a con artist, but he has such a sweet, innocent face.

Jason Weaver, the actor who plays him, looked sweet and innocent enough to be cast as the young Michael Jackson in ABC's 1992 miniseries "The Jacksons: An American Dream."

Daughter Danesha (Brandy Norwood) is starting to discover boys, but don't worry yet. Her first suitor squires her only as far as the library. James (Brenden Jefferson), the baby of the brood, is incredibly cute with those missing front teeth. Maybe he should play Peewee Hockey so he won't lose his look.

In a recent episode, Thea goes out in the early evening, charging Jarvis with responsibility for keeping Jerome at his neglected homework.

But Jarvis yields to Jerome's relentless cajolery and allows him to escape to the video arcade. When Thea returns, she gives them both a good talking-to:

"If you're bad, I'm in your face. You get real bad, I'll get ugly. I'll get on my broomstick and swoop down on your little sorry butts till I knock you back into the land of the righteous. Do I make myself clear?" Pause for applause.

Sound as though she's performing rather than reacting like a normal person? There, you're getting a feel for "Thea."

But it must be said that Vidale throws her weight around with confidence and a certain style. If not the next Roseanne, then perhaps "a Nell Carter for the '90s."

by CNB