THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 8, 1995 TAG: 9504070051
SECTION: TELEVISION WEEK PAGE: 1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Long : 134 lines
SINCE WE LIVE on the ocean's doorstep, shouldn't we try to learn all we can of Neptune's vast and deep playground?
Of course, we should.
The Discovery Channel - television that is good for you - begins a five-part miniseries about deep water on Sunday at 9 p.m. ``Ocean Planet'' starts off with an hour that reveals the harm in dumping vast quantities of industrial waste into the seas. Did you think we were going to get away with that?
Roger Payne, a conservationist and research scientist who has been studying whales for three decades, hosts Part 1, ``Finite Oceans.''
Payne says he regards the whale in the 1990s as the miners of old regarded the canary they carried into the deep shafts. The canary warned them when deadly gasses were present. The whale foreshadows the harm that will come to humans unless we wise up.
``Most threatening to the whales now is the slow accumulation of man-made chemicals in their bodies. If whales are showing the effects of toxins, what does that mean for humans? If significant changes do not occur soon, we will witness the slow graying of humanity until humanity goes out not with a bang, but with a whimper,'' said Payne.
Save the whales! Save ourselves!
In Tuesday's segment of ``Ocean Planet,'' the subject is that fascinating weather maker, El Nino. No question that the U.S. in general and the East Coast in particular has undergone a warming trend of late. The winter of 1994-'95 was a wimpy one. ``Ocean Planet'' shows how the sea and the weather are related.
Public Broadcasting also has the survival of the whales in mind in the week to come with the latest segment in ``The New Explorer'' series hosted by Bill Kurtis. In ``The Sounds of Discovery,'' which airs on WHRO Tuesday at 9 p.m., Kurtis introduces a new wrinkle in whale saving that should appeal to all here in the capital of the Navy.
With the help of the Navy's nuclear-powered submarines and the super-sensitive listening devices that are aboard the subs, scientists are doing a better job of keeping track of the whale census.
And to continue with this whale of a TV preview, The Disney Channel on Monday at 7:30 p.m. brings back the Australian-produced series about a mysterious young girl - an extraterrestrial no less - who looks like a human and swims like a dolphin. ``Ocean Girl'' features Marzena Godecki in the title role with support from Charley the 40-Ton Humpback Whale.
In the second-season premiere, Neri is darn near captured by a sinister group called the UBRI, which wants to exploit the Ocean Girl who came to Earth from Out There somewhere. Have no fear. The whale comes to her rescue.
``Ocean Girl'' producers say they will bring Neri's sister, Mera, into the series this season. Maybe Mera knows how she and Sis fell to Earth. Neri doesn't have a clue.
Elsewhere on the tube in the week to come, it begins to look a lot like Easter starting Sunday at 10 p.m. on Lifetime when Penelope Ann Miller hosts a special about one of the Bible's most prominent and most misunderstood women called ``Intimate Portrait: Mary Magdalen.'' On Friday at 8, The Learning Channel repeats the ``Jesus and His Times'' series with accounts of His miracles. ``Among His People.''
Other highlights:
Spring brings pollen, Daylight Saving Time, Major League Baseball - well, almost - and the annual Greater Hampton Roads Crime Line Telethon on WVEC Saturday night starting at 8. Callers who dialed the Crime Line numbers in this area have helped to solve 20,548 crimes and recover property valued at more than $25 million since.
The Crime Lines have paid out $1,230,414 in rewards. Donate to Crime Lines. Reduce crime. It's that simple. John Miller is the telethon producer.
Just when you thought the networks had finished the spring rite of premiering new series they hope will catch on in time to make the fall schedule, here comes one more. ``In the House,'' which stars Debbie Allen and LL Cool J, shows up on NBC Monday night at 8:30. Cool plays a pro football star. Allen's a legal assistant who's building a new life after her husband takes up with a gal pal named Sacha. The Cool character is landlord to Allen and her two kids. Allen is fresh from producing the Oscar telecast's opening production number. Better luck with the series, Debbie.
Channel surfing:
In the wake of the public broadcasting series about women who work in several high-tech fields, ``Discovering Women,'' local PBS affiliate WHRO presents ``Discovering Virginia Women'' on Wednesday night at 10. Judy Shay, the director of the Cooperating Hampton Roads Organization for Minorities in Engineering in Norfolk, will be among the women featured. . . . MTV on Saturday at 1 p.m., and again on Sunday at 2:30 p.m., puts on specials that celebrate animation, which the network features on ``Liquid Television.'' It's called ``Animation Cell-A-Bration.'' MTV also brings back its ``MTV Oddities'' series Saturday at 10 p.m. with a look at ``The Maxx,'' a comic book hero who does what comic heroes do. He's one thing in real life (a homeless dude) and another when nobody's looking (Superhero Outback).
Marathon alert! The Sci-Fi Channel is going monster mad in the days to come starting with a salute to Godzilla and Gamera The Invincible Saturday at 11 a.m. and continuing through Wednesday with ``The Golden Age of Republic Pictures.'' In this marathon, you'll see the good (``Rosemary's Baby''), the bad (``Fire Maidens from Outer Space'') and the ugly (``Zombies of the Stratosphere''). . . . The Nashville Network on Monday night at 8 begins a new weekly concert series, ``At the Ryman,'' which originates from the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. It was the original home of the Grand Ole Opry. Pam Tillis is the host.
Frank Sinatra has no peers as a singer of popular songs. But could he act? Judge for yourself by watching ``Sinatra on Screen,'' presented this month by American Movie Classics. First up on Monday night at 8 is Ol' Blue Eyes in ``Guys and Dolls.'' In ``Suddenly,'' a film about a plot to kill the president, Sinatra is quite compelling. . . . With one major sporting event (the NCAA college basketball championships) out of the way, CBS this weekend covers another, The Masters. It's big-time golf's crown jewel. Coverage starts Saturday at 3:30 p.m. On the new HBO series, ``Real Sports,'' which premiered last week, reporter Frank DeFord thrashed the organizers of the Masters tournament for racist and sexist polices that persisted through the 1980s in Augusta, Ga. ``Real Sports,'' anchored by Bryant Gumbel, elevates sports reporting on TV to a new level. Three more specials are planned in 1995.
He has evolved from a president run out of office in a landslide to respected international adviser and mediator. A&E on Tuesday at 8 p.m. features Jimmy Carter on its ``Biography'' series. . . . Michael Palin alert! Been watching the excellent ``Around the World in 80 Days'' series on PBS? If so, you'll want to catch the wrap-up Saturday night at 8 on WHRO. Pailin beats the deadline. Barely. . . . A.J. Langer, who has won a following as the far-out Rayanne Graff on ``My So-Called Life,'' plays a 16-year-old who must deal with her mother's life-threatening illness on ``Between Mother and Daughter,'' the CBS ``Schoolbreak Special'' on Tuesday at 4 p.m. By the way, Langer is in her 20s but has no trouble ``playing young,'' as the say in the biz. Unfortunately, Channel 3 here won't be carrying it because it would conflict with its early newscasts. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
On Sunday, the Discovery Channel's five-part miniseries "Ocean
Planet" reveals the harm in dumping industrial waste into the seas.
Pictured is an eagle born with a deformed beak because of polluted
waters.
James Todd Smith and Debbie Allen star in the family comedy series
``In the House,'' which airs Monday nights at 8:30 on NBC.
by CNB