THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 24, 1994 TAG: 9411230099
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: LARRY BONKO
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
CBS IS SHOWING a movie tonight that's sweeter than the pumpkin pie you'll be having for dessert today. I suggest you watch it with your kids.
That nice Kellie Martin revives the title role in ``Christy'' at 8.
The Thanksgiving special was filmed near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Townsend, Tenn., a town of 329 people. When the cast and crew of ``Christy'' arrived, the population doubled, which was just fine with the friendly natives.
``The TV people gave us an economic boost,'' said Debbie Batson, who works at the visitors center. `` `Christy' is a big deal here.''
It would have been cheaper and easier for executive producers Ken Wales and Barney Rosenzweig to film tonight's two-hour ``Christy,'' and the episodes that follow, in Hollywood. It worked for ``The Waltons'' and ``Little House on the Prairie,'' which are close cousins to ``Christy.''
But Wales and Rosenzweig decided that because they were doing TV based on the writings of Catherine Marshall, they wanted to be faithful to them. ``Christy'' is the story of a Little Miss Missionary who leaves her comfortable life in Asheville, N.C., around 1910 to teach poor young 'uns at a missionary school in the hills.
In tonight's movie, the crops fail. Winter approaches. Times are hard. Folks are eating squirrels. They convince themselves it tastes like chicken. Bandits stoop to robbing people of the money they earn collecting honey.
It's up to Christy and her mentor at the mission, played by Tyne Daly, to do something about the shortage of food in Cutter Gap.
Robert Foxworth, who plays Christy's papa, comes over from Asheville hoping to persuade his daughter to return home and leave the drudgery of Townsend behind. She frets because her students don't have shoes. Christy wouldn't think of leaving.
``I want to be involved,'' she tells Pop. ``The children lift me up.''
Martin wanted to be involved, too. It took a major commitment for this Southern California teen to leave home and work for weeks in the Tennessee foothills.
``It was a little frightening,'' she told TV writers in Los Angeles not long ago. ``The part that scared me was playing a new character after four years of being comfortable as Becca on `Life Goes On.' It was also scary to leave home for the first time at 18 and live in Tennessee by myself for three months. A big step.
``It was wonderful to be in Tennessee . . . but boring. On the weekends, there is nothing to do. I read eight books.''
Martin had best visit her nearest Barnes and Noble soon. CBS said it will find a place on its weekly schedule for ``Christy'' in 1995, which means cast and crew will be seeing Townsend again.
At first, said Batson, the townsfolk were star struck by Martin, Daly and the other actors. But before long, the locals accepted the visitors as part of the community and never made a fuss over seeing them shop, buy gasoline or do their laundry.
Many of the kids you see in ``Christy'' come from Tennessee.
``Christy'' is the kind of show the network bosses love to brag about - high quality family fare filmed far from smutty, smoggy Hollywood. Trouble is, shows of this genre do not pull high ratings. When he met reporters in Los Angeles, Rosenzweig said the Weather Channel was getting better ratings that ``Christy'' in some urban markets.
``We do enormous business in middle America,'' he said.
Might the producers change ``Christy'' to make it a tad more appealing to audiences who don't wear bib overalls? No chance.
``The show is what it is,'' said Rosenzweig. ``We won't make the mistake of trying to fix something that isn't broken.''
It shouldn't surprise you to learn that ``Christy'' is produced by MTM Entertainment, which is owned by the people in Virginia Beach who bring you The Family Channel. by CNB