THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 20, 1995 TAG: 9505180070
SECTION: TELEVISION PAGE: 1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Long : 156 lines
YOU WON'T BE seeing Andy Griffith play cagy ol' Ben Matlock on ABC any longer, but that doesn't mean the actor quit television for a life of fishing and tinkering in his workshop on Roanoke Island.
Just a week after ``Matlock'' wrapped up its run on ABC, Griffith is back in prime time Saturday night at 8 p.m. on NBC as the grandfather from hell in ``Gramps.''
It's a role light years removed from the lawyer Matlock or Sheriff Andy Taylor. In this TV movie, the Griffith character indulges in arson, assault, lying, cheating and kidnapping. The sinister Gramps Jack tries to disrupt his son's happy home life. Heck. He even cavorts with hookers.
This isn't Opie's pop.
Griffith expects his fans to be upset with him for taking on the dark role of a disturbed musician who walked out on his family when his son (John Ritter as Clarke MacGruder) was a youngster. Now he's back. What's he want?
``They're always upset when I play somebody who is off-center,'' Griffith said of his fans. ``People don't like it. The fans should understand that this role gave me the best material I've had in years. I enjoyed every second of being Gramps.''
Griffith made his comments during a recent conference call.
He also announced that he intends to keep working in TV, and that there is talk of reviving ``Matlock'' on cable. ``The only time I'd quit working is if I were forced to stop,'' said Griffith, who will be 69 next month. If the script calls for him to be a villain, so be it.
``To keep working, there are times when I have to go against the grain.''
Sheriff Andy as a villain is just one of the stunts, specials and spectaculars let loose by the networks as the ``A-May-Zing'' May sweeps rush to their climax. There is so much going on in the week to come, that the TV Tipster's popcorn bowl runneth over. Consider these offerings:
Sherilyn Fenn stars as Elizabeth Taylor in ``Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story,'' which runs for four hours on NBC starting Sunday at 9 p.m. NBC did not send out preview tapes on this miniseries. Could it be that the network fretted about Taylor's lawyers making still another move to keep it off the air? Word is that Liz hates the whole idea of this miniseries as well as best-seller from C. David Haymann, which is the basis for ``Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story.''
An NBC spokesman in Burbank said that Taylor's life with her seventh husband, our very own Sen. John Warner, will be taken up, ``but not in great detail.'' Charles R. Frank plays Warner, who was married to Taylor from 1976 until 1982. Did her star power help get him elected? You betcha.
Also on NBC, ``Blossom'' ends its run after five seasons on Monday in an hour-long episode at 8 p.m. Blossom (Mayim Bialik) goes to work in the mailroom of an advertising agency, brother Joey plans marriage and Blossom's dad decides to sell the home in which Blossom and Joey were raised. In the finale, Blossom shows us videotape of her growing up years, and then ends it all with ``I'll see ya.'' Bialik is bound for Yale.
That nice Bob Saget, who put in his high school years in Norfolk, empties out ``Full House'' on ABC Tuesday night at 8. No special good-byes here because ABC dropped the show after taping wrapped. Saget is still around with his little home videos show on ABC. And you haven't seen the last of the Olsen twins. ``Blossom'' and ``Full House'' have this in common: The kids watched religiously but adults all but ignored the shows.
Did I say ``A-May-Zing'' stunts? No sweeps' stunt is a better ratings grabber than, sigh, a wedding. On Saturday night's ``Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,'' the frontier doc and Sully exchange vows in a two-hour special on CBS. Who says she's still a virgin? On ABC's ``NYPD Blue'' Tuesday night at 10, Detective Andy Sipowicz marries Costas after coming to grips with losing his faith. On ``Melrose Place'' (Fox) Monday night at 8, Billy heads for the altar not with longtime love Alison, but with that rich bitch Brooke. And the season finale ends with a bang thanks to weird Kimberly.
On ``Wings,'' the long, long courtship of Helen and Joe finally ends at the altar Tuesday at 8 p.m. with a pretty funny episode. Joe's bachelor party fizzles when the stripper shows up sick. On the other hand, Helen's bachlorette party is a riot. She begins her wedding day with a hangover.
For those of you who have longed to see Lenny and Squiggy again - and what red-blooded sitcom freak hasn't? - your wait is over come Monday at 8 p.m. when ABC puts on ``The Laverne and Shirley Reunion.'' Did you know that this series debuted at No. 1 in the ratings? See again how splendidly the stars, Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams, handled slapstick comedy. Lenny (Michael McKean), Squiggy (David L. Lander), Eddie ``The Big Ragoo'' Mekka join the reunion along with Ron Howard and Henry Winkler.
Fox Broadcasting, proceeding with its plan to lose the sleaze image and become a network for all the viewers, puts on an original science-fiction film, ``White Dwarf,'' Tuesday night at 8. It's from Francis Ford Coppola and Bruce Wagner. The setting is 400 into the future on a planet that is half in darkness, half in light. The story revolves around a doctor (played by Neal McDonough) sent to a clinic on this planet Rusta. If you liked ``Wild Palms,'' you'll like ``White Dwarf.'' Same look. Same style.
Home Box Office on Saturday night at 8 premieres ``Indictment: The McMartin Trial,'' which is the cable channel's version of the events surrounding charges of sexual child abuse at the McMartin Pre-School in California. James Woods is his usual intense self as the attorney who defends three of the defendants in the trial, which dragged on for years and cost taxpayers $16 million. And you thought the O.J. Simpson trial is taking forever.
This special from HBO Pictures has caused a stir among child advocate groups, including the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and the Children's Civil Rights Fund. The members say this is sensationalism that promotes skepticism about children giving testimony.
Oliver Stone is executive producer. To the criticism, HBO says, ``Each scene has been substantiated from interviews, videotapes, court transcripts, evidence, and public record including print and video coverage.''
Shades of who shot J.R. Ewing! When ``The Simpsons'' wraps for the season on Sunday night at 8 on Fox, executive producer David Mirkin sets up a ``Who Shot Mr. Burns?'' climax. The answer won't come until September. ``All summer long, America will forget going to beach, forget going to movies, and will concentrate on solving this mystery,'' said Mirkin who promises many clues.
And that's not all coming at you in the ``A-May-Zing'' sweeps.
On Sunday at 8:30 p.m., CBS breaks out ``Barbra Streisand in Concert.'' If this seems familiar to you, no surprise. HBO produced this flawless special last year.. . . Promoted as a ``positive alternative to today's other music videos'' by series' creator, executive producer and host, Bob Streater, ``Music Video Encouragement'' signs on Saturday on WVBT at 11:30 p.m. and on WAVY May 28 at 7:30 a.m. . . . Chris Noth ends his tour of duty as Detective Mike Logan on ``Law & Order'' Wednesday night at 10. We'll miss the big guy.
That wonderfully gritty ``Prime Suspect'' series on PBS ``Mystery!'' returns to Channel 15 Thursday night at 9. Helen Mirren stars. She's great in this. . . . How much do you really know about that legendary detective, Sherlock Holmes? A&E on Monday night at 8 fills in the gaps on ``Biography: Sherlock Holmes, the Great Detective.'' A&E here assumes that Holmes really lived. . . . Navy folks hereabouts will be interested to hear that ABC on Monday night at 9 presents the prime time version of what happened during the Tailhook scandal. Gail O'Grady of ``NYPD Blue'' looks great in Navy white. . . the result, Nick on Saturday at 8 p.m. presents ``The Annual Kids' Choice Awards,'' hosted by Whitney Houston. And the kids' favorite animal star is. .
Alfred Hitchcock alert! The USA network on Saturday has booked an Alfred Hitchcock triple feature starting at 11:30 a.m. with ``Rear Window,'' followed by ``The Man Who Knew Too Much'' and ``Vertigo.'' . . . The Sci-Fi Channel on Tuesday night at 9 begins re-runs of ``The Golden Years,'' the story of a man who doesn't age. He gets younger by the day. . . . Just in time for the big race at Indianapolis, PBS and ``Nova'' present ``Fast Cars'' on Tuesday night at 8. The cameras track car owner Carl Hogan and driver Bobby Rahal as they try to get an edge on the competition at Indy. . . . Nostalgia time on PBS Sunday at 3 p.m. when Channel 15 airs ``Your of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy'' followed by ``Jackie Onassis: An Intimate Portrait.'' . . Carly Simon, who has been singing forever and sounding great forever, is profiled on Lifetime Sunday at 9 p.m. in ``Intimate Portrait: Carly Simon.''
Martin Show, a hit on TV with ``Saturday Night Live,'' but a bust as star of his own show, makes a nice comeback Saturday night at 11:30 on NBC in ``The Martin Short Show.'' Lots of sketch comedy here. His parody of Kato Kaelin is dead on. . . . Is summer near? Must be. Why else would MTV send Cindy Crawford to Nassau to film ``House of Style: Swimsuit Edition'' for showing Tuesday night at 10. Can't wait to see the Daisy Fuentes 1996 swimsuit calendar. . . . Do you dig E.C. Fields? Who doesn't? Come midnight Monday, The Disney Channel profiles the comedian in a special hosted by Dudley Moore. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Just a week after "Matlock" had its network finale, Andy Griffith is
back as the grandfather from hell in "Gramps," which airs Saturday
night at 8 on NBC.
[Sherilyn Fenn as Elizabeth Taylor.]
by CNB