THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 30, 1994 TAG: 9407270051
SECTION: TELEVISION PAGE: T1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY BONKO, TELEVISION WRITER
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
YOU'RE DEAD WRONG, my friends, if you think that Cheryl Ladd regrets the years she dressed in a bikini and chased bad guys on ``Charlie's Angels.''
Ladd makes no apologies for playing Chris Monroe, maybe the best Angel of them all.
Hey, if Ladd had any regrets, would she be back in prime time today, swimming in the Pacific in the buff in the opening shot of her new CBS series, ``One West Waikiki''?
She plays a forensic pathologist working in Waikiki. Think of it as ``Hawaii 5-0'' meets ``Quincy.''
While facing a pack of TV writers gathered here to preview the fall season, it must have been a temptation for Ladd to be politically correct and condemn ``Charlie's Angels'' as sexist trash.
The women journalists probably would have given her a standing ovation for that. (They hooted Timothy Dalton off the dais during a press conference promoting the ``Scarlett'' miniseries, in which he used unflattering four-letter words to describe women.)
Ladd didn't take up the feminist banner when she flew in from Hawaii to talk about her new series, which will help give CBS a fresh night of programming on Thursday.
First comes ``One West Waikiki'' in a two-hour made-for-TV-movie version at 8 p.m., and then CBS will put on another new show at 10: ``Hotel Malibu.''
Ladd's role is a stretch from ``Charlie's Angels,'' but let's not forget that Ladd has been working hard at her craft in three feature films and a half-dozen TV movies and miniseries.
When asked about replacing Farrah Fawcett on ``Charlie's Angels'' 16 years ago, Ladd said it's a line on her resume that she points to proudly.
``Nobody ever thought we were doing Shakespeare on that show, but we did think there were some really positive elements in it,'' she said.
``We showed how young women could make choices to become something other than housewives, nurses or schoolteachers. We showed how women could work well with each other, have some power and put the bad guys away. I think we made a feminist statement. We opened doors for young women.'' (``Charlie's Angels'' is still attracting viewers on cable.)
Ladd said she gets fan mail from the cable crowd. ``College coeds ask where I got the outfits we wore,'' she said. ``They were the worst, and now they're back in style. I laugh when I see the reruns. I was such a baby when I did that show.''
She is quite mature now, and has to be to play Dr. Dawn Holliday, the medical examiner who shows up after a homicide and says, ``Nobody touch anything until I'm through.'' Pathology is hot now, with the technology being used in the highly discussed O.J. Simpson case.
Producer Glen Larson says Ladd's character was inspired by the career of a deputy medical examiner in Honolulu.
The writers put the superefficient 1990s woman, Ladd, in conflict with a police lieutenant who thinks all women should be in a trailer park raising six kids. ``The audience will see some underlying sexual tension,'' Ladd said.
The other summer series to debut on CBS Thursday, ``Hotel Malibu,'' stars Joanna Cassidy as a widow who runs a hotel in trendy Malibu. Trouble is, the joint is going broke, and that's the hook for this series.
``It's high-spirited fun,'' said Cassidy, who has been on the verge of stardom for years.
I wouldn't advise you to miss your bowling night to see these shows, but they are just right for keeping your mind off the heat and humidity.
Swimming in the nude will be kept to a minimum, Ladd said. MEMO: Television columnist Larry Bonko is in Los Angeles for the twice-yearly
press tour.
ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo
A medical examiner (Cheryl Ladd) and police detective (Richard
Burgi) team up to solve homicide cases in ``One West Waikiki,''
premiering Thursday at 8 on CBS.
Black\White photo
"Hotel Malibu" debuts Thursday at 10 p.m. on CBS.\
by CNB