
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, June 4, 1994                    TAG: 9406010054 
SECTION: TELEVISION WEEK                     PAGE: 01    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY LARRY BONKO, TELEVISION COLUMNIST 
DATELINE: 940604                                 LENGTH: Long

{LEAD} WHILE THEIR HUSBANDS, brothers and boyfriends were landing on Normandy's beaches 50 years ago, thousands of American women worked in defense plants at home, where they saw this message displayed: ``Good work, sister.''

Another 350,000 American women served in uniform. Remember the WAVES?

In the next few days, television will devote hours of programming to recall and salute the landings in France on June 6, 1944, that began the liberation of Europe in World War II. While not intended as a wartime documentary, the TBS six-hour three-part series, ``A Century of Women,'' which begins Tuesday at 8:05 p.m., includes a a timely segment about Rosie the Riveter.

{REST} She kept the tanks and bullets coming.

In this documentary, Rosie is an African-American woman, a former domestic, who reminds viewers that World War II was liberating for women of all races. ``It was the war,'' she said, ``that took the black woman out of the white woman's kitchen.''

It was the beginning of the end of the idea that ``men worked for the world, and women worked for the men.''

The series, which ends Thursday night at 8:05, uses a nice twist to keep viewers interested who might otherwise go channel surfing when a black and white documentary pops up on screen.

The producers assembled a mythical family embracing four generations of womanhood (Olympia Dukakis, Justine Bateman, Jasmine Guy, Talia Shire, Madge Sinclair, Brooke Smith and Teresa Wright) to discuss the changes in their lives.

Grandmother wouldn't think of leaving her children to work outside the home. Her granddaughter is different. She left her child with a baby sitter on the day she took her bar exam.

Shire, who plays that lawyer, said: ``I was of a generation of women told that boys could do things we couldn't. Our rebellion opened doors that had been closed to our mothers.'' In conjunction with ``A Century of Women,'' TBS this month is reeling off films about women of achievement that include ``The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman'' and ``Casablanca.''

Pittman's accomplishments were considerable. But what has Bergman's role in ``Casablanca'' got to do with advancing the role of women?

This is the weekend when the world pauses to remember the men who landed and died on the five Normandy beaches as the Allies began the long and bloody task of crushing the Nazis' hold on Europe. PBS' and WHRO's special programming includes ``From D-Day to the Rhine With Bill Moyers'' on Monday at 9:30 p.m. Earlier in the day, at 1:30 p.m., and again at 8 p.m., WHRO will air ``D-Day Remembered: A Musical Tribute from the QE2.''

Bob Hope reminisces about entertaining the GIs in four wars.

On Tuesday at 8 p.m, Channel 15 broadcasts ``A Fighter Pilot's Story,'' which is the story of Quentin Aanenson's days as a 22-year-old fighter pilot who came home from the war highly decorated. The problem here is that the producers chose Aanenson to do the narration, and after a while, his sing-song delivery will get to you. On Sunday at 8, A&E checks in with its big D-Day production, ``D-Day: The Total Story,'' which runs for three hours.

CNN has a Normandy invasion special on Sunday night at 9.

Other programming that recalls the Great Invasion: The Discovery Channel on Sunday at 9 p.m. and midnight reels off ``Normandy - The Great Crusade.'' American Movie Classics has a full day of films about wartime scheduled for Monday including ``Away All Boats'' with Jeff Chandler, which was shot in and around Norfolk in 1956. On Sunday night at 11:35 on WVEC, this hour special is scheduled: ``These Hallowed Sands: Remembering D-Day''

Other programs of note for couch potatoes in the hours and days to come:

It's time again for the annual Children's Miracle Network Telethon to benefit the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters. WVEC will carry the telethon starting at 11:35 p.m. tonight. The local cut-ins will originate from the hospital's lobby in downtown Norfolk.

There's something new for the kids in the ``Storytime'' series on PBS and WHRO beginning Monday at 11 a.m. On this show, big names from Hollywood such as John Goodman, Tom Selleck, Mayim Bialik, Fred Savage and John read books to children ages 3 to 7. There will be puppets on the air, too, in case the kids get bored with Goodman and the other live celebs. It's a 40-week series.

Also new for the young set, and a darn good show, too: Jean Stapleton stars in ``Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle'' on Showtime starting Tuesday at 9:35 p.m. The 13-part series shifts to a more suitable time period for children on June 14 when it will be seen at 7:30 p.m. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle has uncommon cures for common childhood problems.

Will poor Marilyn Monroe ever be left to rest in peace? Not as long as TV programmers have time to fill. Tonight at 10:30 and again on Tuesday at 15 minutes past midnight, Showtime promises never seen before pictures and home movies of MM in ``Marilyn Monroe: Life After Death.'' On June 10, Monroe will be the subject in A&E's ``Biography'' series, and in July, The Disney Channel will show a special about her, ``Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend.''

The Oscars? A bore. Give me the ``MTV Movie Awards'' any day. More fun. This time around, Will Smith is the host for the awards that come on Thursday at 9 p.m. Who will win the Best Villain award?. . . HBO has a riveting documentary about life in a jail where it costs the state $58,000 a year to keep a prisoner. ``Lock-Up: The Prisoners of Rikers Island'' premieres Monday night at 10. Watch this hour and you'll meet an inmate with AIDS who was born in Rikers and will likely die there. The joint holds 17,000 prisoners. . . The Black Entertainment Network salutes Black Music Month this month. A highlight: ``Lyrically Speaking With Natalie Cole'' set for Friday at midnight. . . . Sci-fi alert! Starting Sunday at 1 p.m., the Sci-Fi Channel uncorks three classics by director Jack Arnold. They include ``Creature from the Black Lagoon,'' ``Revenge of the Creature'' and ``The Incredible Shrinking Man.''. . . The best documentary series on TV? I vote for ``Frontline'' on PBS. Check it out Tuesday at 9 p.m. when producer Hector Galan covers the intense activity along the San Diego-Tijuana border in ``Go Back to Mexico.'' Guess how many illegal immigrants came into the U.S. last year. The government estimates the figure at 2.5 million. by CNB