ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, May 3, 1996 TAG: 9605030018
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CARYN JAMES N.Y. TIMES NEWS SERVICE
When Della Reese sits down with a man who is cheating on his wife, she's not coy about her purpose. ``You don't have to be an angel to see what's going on around here, but that's what I am, an angel sent by God,'' she says. As Tess, a sometimes acerbic, no-nonsense senior angel, she warns him, ``God is not pleased.''
In a different kind of show, the man might say, ``There's no such thing as an angel,'' or ``Get outta here!'' But this is ``Touched by an Angel,'' so he decides to fix up his life.
There are several wonders surrounding this show: It is an unlikely hit that has re-energized Saturday night for CBS, and, thanks to Reese, it is more charming and less mawkish than it sounds.
Sandwiched between ``Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'' at 8 p.m. and ``Walker, Texas Ranger'' at 10 p.m., it is the centerpiece of what seems to be a mismatched trio. In ``Touched,'' there is always a moment when Tess, or a junior angel named Monica (Roma Downey), says: ``Don't be afraid. God loves you.'' In ``Walker,'' there is always a moment when Chuck Norris uses some martial arts moves to knock out drug dealers and other lowlifes. On ``Quinn,'' Jane Seymour spends every moment solving medical and emotional problems in the Old West.
But the shows all reassure viewers that there is order in the world. ``Touched'' is based on the idea of forgiveness and second chances. If you can't wait for divine justice, Walker is around to set earthly problems straight. And Dr. Quinn deals with contemporary issues like stepfamilies from the soothing distance of the 19th century.
CBS likes to call this block ``America's Night of Television,'' and it's not far wrong. Superficially, the shows address the problems of a violent, dysfunctional society. On a deeper level, they speak to a longing for an older, more orderly America, when people stayed home Saturdays and watched ``Gunsmoke.''
These may be the most deliberately uncool three hours on TV, but they have become a phenomenal success. ``Touched'' was floundering on weeknights, but when it moved to Saturdays it became such a hit that it sometimes helped to propel ``Walker'' into the top 10.
In the old days, Saturday was an event, from ``Your Show of Shows'' in the 1950s to ``The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' in the '70s. Recently, it has become a little-watched dumping ground. NBC shouldn't be surprised that its new Saturday series, ``Malibu Shores,'' an Aaron Spelling soap opera about teen-agers, is one of today's lowest rated shows. What self-respecting high-school student would admit being home to watch it?
CBS' Saturday shows are thrive precisely because they are so conventional. And their reassuringly familiar, retro styles reinforce their comforting message, with no jolts or surprises.
``Touched,'' however, puts a lively spin on its predictable stories. Though Downey's Monica is supposedly at the center of the series, Ms. Reese is its soul and greatest strength. She delivers unspeakable lines with sassy conviction. ``You get your little angel butt back to the city,'' she told Tess in an early episode.
Monica, a little slow on the uptake, wants to interfere in human lives. Tess is there to remind her, as she does in Saturday night's episode about the philandering husband (played by Ted Shackelford): ``God made us angels, not police. We can hope and pray that he makes the right decision, but the choice is his.''
Saturday night's episode is not as powerful as next week's, in which Valerie Harper plays a mother whose son is accused of murder. Even death is given a reassuring spin, as the show works toward its effective, tear-jerker ending. When the father of the murder victim says he will never see his daughter again, Tess tells him, ``No, honey, we angels don't talk about never.''
It may seem jarring to go from peaceful angels to the karate-kicking Walker, but the ranger's martial arts skills are a professional necessity, and less lethal than gunplay. He is a Matt Dillon for the '90s, who in one recent episode actually saved an innocent man from a lynch mob.
Saturday night Walker goes after drug dealers who are holding him and his partners captive in an isolated lodge. Despite shootouts and several exploding jeeps, the violence is less graphic than in the typical urban-cop drama. Norris' low-key manner wears better here than it did in his vigilante movie days.
If Walker is Matt Dillon, imagine Miss Kitty as a proto-feminist, and you'll come close to ``Dr. Quinn.'' With its annoyingly perfect heroine and her anachronistic attitudes, the show can be grueling. It recently tackled the issue of competition between professional women, not a big problem in 19th-century Colorado.
All three series have been renewed for next year, though it isn't clear where ``Touched by an Angel'' will go. Last week, when it was shown on Sunday, it did so well that CBS is considering moving it there.
LENGTH: Medium: 89 linesby CNB