ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, November 9, 1996 TAG: 9611120128
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-20 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PATRICIA BRENNAN THE WASHINGTON POST
Not long ago, there were only four networks - ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS. Then came Fox. But thanks to the proliferation of cable channel and the arrival of other fledgling broadcast networks such as United Paramount and Warner Bros., the television world has changed.
There are lots of outlets now, and more coming, and all of them need what the industry calls ``product.''
At the same time, the world seems to be full of filmmakers.
So many channels, so many filmmakers, so few good films. An opportunity for an energetic entrepreneur, you might say, one with good contacts and access to funding.
Enter an earnest, energetic and ambitious Englishman named Christopher N. Palmer, 49, who heads National Wildlife Productions, the film division of the National Wildlife Federation, and who fairly bristles with ideas.
NWF, founded in 1936 and headquartered in Vienna, Va., has an endowment of $60 million and is, according to its figures, the nation's largest member-supported conservation group.
In 1994 NWF, hoping to send its message through films as well as publications, hired Palmer to do for it what he had been doing for the National Audubon Society since 1984: make movies.
And Palmer had been doing that well, establishing contacts that included Ted Turner, whose TBS cable channel carried Audubon documentaries and still does.
``As I developed a relationship with Ted, I got the Audubon board more excited,'' said Palmer. ``They put some money up, and Ted put some money up. From the beginning we [Audubon] were on TBS Superstation.
``Ted, unlike others, was prepared to run programming that was controversial and issue-oriented. It may not get very high ratings, but it was important. We did several shows that were very controversial and led to boycotts.''
Two productions, ``Rage Over Trees'' and ``The New Range Wars,'' spurred boycotts against Stroh Brewing Co. and General Electric, which withdrew their financial backing. TBS ran the programs anyway as part of ``The World of Audubon Specials'' series.
When Palmer became president and CEO of National Wildlife Productions in October 1994, he took with him his secretary, his production co-ordinator, his Rolodex and at least one of his projects, IMAX films.
Now, in addition to Audubon films, TBS is carrying Palmer's National Wildlife Productions films on its ``Wild! Life Adventures'' series. On Dec. 1 the series will run NWP's ``The Last Great American Gold Heist,'' hosted by actor-director Mario Van Peebles and featuring actors Robert Redford and Michael Keaton.
Palmer's productions are carried by many television outlets. Some - TBS, Discovery and Disney - are established channels with many viewers. Others, like the Travel Channel, Home and Garden Television and Outdoor Life Network, are newer and smaller and need ``product'' to attract more and varied viewers.
Several times a week, for example, the Travel Channel carries an NWP eco-tourism series called ``Earth Journeys,'' hosted by Ali MacGraw. On Dec. 1 Travel Channel will carry ``Wildlife Encounters: Alaska,'' an eco-tourism series from NWP.
In April, Home and Garden Television is carrying ``The Living Garden,'' a show developed as a special for Earth Day and planned to become a series. It is hosted by NWF chief naturalist Craig Tufts, who will explain how to incorporate the needs of local wildlife into landscaping plans.
For the Outdoor Life Network, Palmer does ``Nature's Best Photography,'' a 26-parter on wildlife photography.
In August and September, Disney Channel carried NWP's ``An African Love Story,'' featuring Hume Cronyn, the late Jessica Tandy - filmed four weeks before she died in 1994 - and their daughter, Tandy Cronyn.
For Discovery, NWF is also producing ``Wildlife ER,'' scheduled for next year, featuring a private, non-profit hospital in Waynesboro, Va., that cares for eagles, bears and other animals in the nearby mountains.
Palmer said two children's series will begin production soon for Discovery Networks. ``Ranger Rick,'' which may begin within six months on the new Animal Planet channel, is to be based on NWF's magazine for 7-to-10-year-olds. The other series will be based on Your Big Backyard, a magazine for pre-schoolers.
LENGTH: Medium: 81 linesby CNB