European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 21, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Television jewel in the Crown is a Don to miss miniseries by Sarah Bottorff ii does t look Loo promising at first with those old movie tone newsreels creeping across the to screen As ii opening Cret Lils go by. The funeral like music in Thi opener does t help much either and the jewel in i in Crown has All inc look and feel of another Stuffy Public television drama. Bui this is a deceptive miniseries. Even if it sounds like just the sort of thing you Don t want to watch rive it a shot. The five Starling on super Slation an wednesday and running for 1.1 weeks thereafter on sundays is tremendous As Good As or belter than Gimli . It s a lot smaller in scope it deals with five years of world War ii in India instead of All Over the world and has no sweeping cast of characters encompassing generations and All thai sort of stuff winds of War spec Ali de in. Instead it appears to be just a simple Story of a British woman and an Indian born Britain raised Man whom the War pushes into the Backwater of May pore India in 1942. But again it s deceptive. India is not just a British Colony on the sidelines of world War ii it s a rebellion Lorn land with japanese soldiers lurking on its Borders a would be nation whose leaders Are urging its people not to help the British fight the japanese. The Indian born hero Art Mali because of his skin color is confronting intense racism for the first Lime in his life from the very same britons who were his close friends in England. The woman Susan Wooldridge at first Only a typical Gawky englishwoman is confronting sexuality in the steamy Monsoon Rains. And her other would be Lover a British policeman Tim Rigoll Smithis confronting the fad thai he is changing from bully to outright sadist and apparently is Happy with the change. Sound Good but having said All thai i la admit that the first chunk of it is slow going the Ewe does t really gel compelling until the third episode. Hang in there. Trust me it la be Worth it. An plans to show the first two hour episode at 8 . Wednesday 7 . In the United kingdom and the other i f episodes on sundays beginning Oil. 8, at 8 . Central i european time. Southern european broadcasting gets the series beginning the week of nov. 20. If there is anyone out therewith Cable television who s not getting Cable news network thai May soon change. At this Point you can see the 24-hour american news network everywhere from London to the greek islands but can recently announced that it s expanding even beyond that. The can satellite signal will soon reach the azores and everything Between those portuguese islands and i Long Kong. The signal to be sent via a soviet satellite of All tilings will also stretch from South Africa to Norway. All that boosts the Cable Channel s potential audience in 58 million households can spokesman Steve i Haworth told associated press. Haworth said can also is working on a Deal to have its signal broadcast for widespread use in Moscow where currently it is Only watched by the soviet television authority soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev and probably someone in the Kremlin he told associated press. All this is happening soon but there was no word on How soon. In Italy meanwhile on seb a whole Bunch of series Are returning tour of duly for its second year 10 05 . Tuesday head of the class r . Friday for its third year our House at 7 05 . Friday for its first year you be already seen the second year. Go figure and moonlighting sometime this weekend for what is mercifully its last year. Prom what i hear the entire 3rd Armel div in West Germany is mad at me for writing when the new year started on an that tour of duty is not As Good in its second year As it was in its first. Sorry Guys. But i Haven t heard anybody in an Terro Rily complaining that i was too hard on moonlighting. It s a show that s begging for a mercy killing. Heart of the  s third year is of comedy though and it s Nice to see our House s first year and figure nut How this slightly unusual family got together. A new children s series Iem starts on seb Al 10 . Saturday. It s a cartoon about Frau Laiful Brave teen age girls. Needless to say Little boys won t like in much. Also needless to say a marketing line of Jem dolls has been produced for the Little girls who will like it. And there s Highway patrol the 1955 to classic with Broderick Crawford dug up by the Armor forces ratio and television service for military television stations. Arts programmers have been turning up a whole group of old to shows on the theory that those old Black and whiles Are part of the american television experience we should t have to miss Over Here. Besides says Larry Marolla program manager in arts television division in Sun Valley calif., this particular Bunch of Highway patrol episodes includes an appearance by a very Young Clint Eastwood. Seb airs Highway patrol at 4 25 . Tuesday. Simon & Simon passed away peacefully in the sidles this Spring but its eighth year is Starling on sup Stalion an at 10 40 . Monday 9 40 . In the . The other Good news is thai the actor who makes up half the team of san Diego detectives Gerald Mcraney stars in a new series Starling in the uni Lerl states this fall major dad about a Marine major who marries a woman with a pack of screechy teen age girls. Much of the  for the show was conducted Al Camp Pendleton in California and some outdoor scenes were filmed there executive producer Earl Pomerant Lold associated press. But most of in is filmed on a soundstage in front of an audience some of whom Are marines he said. A Marine Reserve officer is an adviser on the show and the extras Are real marines said Pomrantz because we could t get extras to get a haircut for $35 a  marines seemed to like the show. We showed this show to marines Pomerantz said. Actually we did t show 11 All of a sudden it was bootlegged All Over the Camps and so when we came Down there they were already talking demographics and can we beat  it s a mystery to me and a lot of people Why when Simon Simon founders and stuff like Beauty and the beast gets cancelled shows like Charles in charge swim happily into their fourth year with Good ratings and lots of advertisers. But in Case you be never seen it there s nothing to violently object to about Charles the Story of a handsome College kid playing housekeeper for a single Parent household. On the other hand if in sounds a lot like who s the Boss in is. And if i Tell you that its lend player Scott Biao makes Boss s Lead player Tony Danza look like an actor of subtlety and depth that ought to give you a general idea of what this show is like. It starts Al 7 . Get on an Friday. Networks expect closer scrutiny from sponsors by Kathryn Baker associated press networks Are beginning the new to season with a new fact of life increasing sponsor scrutiny of the shows on which their advertisements appear. The networks insist there will be no censorship by advertisers or pressure groups but they also say they re looking More closely Al shows of questionable taste. The question is whose Lasle will prevail Abc entertainment president Brandon Tartikoff whose network vowed to air tin1 critically acclaimed but controversial to movie about abortion. Roe is. Wade without sponsorship if in came to thai said he was concerned about a possible trend toward programming by boy Coll last season. What you become concerned about is sort of a new mccarthyism he said. What i was fearful of is today the sex tapes tomorrow  last season sponsors walked at so called trash to fare but also Al Roe is. Wade because of the controversial subject and Al the critically praised miniseries lonesome Dove because of ils authentic but somewhat Raunchy Western dialogue. But networks acknowledge that advertisers have a right to withhold their sponsorship of shows to which they object and have always shied away from certain programs. We gel advertiser pullout All the Lime said lbs entertainment president Kim Lemasters. Thai s a Normal landscape for network  advertiser Boycotts Don t become tantamount to censorship i emasters said unless the network bows to the pressure. Of controversial shows he said i plan to continue to broadcast  lbs broadcast group president Howard Stringer sees advertiser sensitivity As part of a larger viewer revolt  sexually explicit or violent fare. The message to the creative Community is again that Lasle albeit difficult to define still revolves around Quality and that the audience is smarter Al that then you tend to think he said. We can defend ourselves when we put something on the air that s really Worth defending. And some of the sitcoms in which sex is a one track theme alienate the  Abc president and chief executive office Robert c. Wright said advertisers Are simply responding to consumer desires and Don t have any sinister intent to Cremor what s on the airwaves. They scare off real easy when it comes to having their company s name associated with something even though it might not have any real Impact. What i have been Tring to do is gel them to focus in on that and say listen investigate the real facts. Try to make a More informed opinion " Wright said. The networks believe thai allowing advertisers to screen shows before broadcast will help educate them. But at a meeting of television critics this summer concern was voiced that pro screening is an even bigger step toward censorship. No say network executives. Advertisers will see completed shows and those shows will go on the air regardless of their reaction. The networks Hope pre screening will Lei advertisers make an informed decision and counteract any biased information. Overall i think they advertisers have pretty Strong feelings on their own and they Don t need any help from the outside said Abc president Ohn Sias. When they do make a decision obviously it s in the interest of third parties who want this to make in appear that their pressure has been primarily responsible for  Al the critics meeting Terry Rakolta the Michigan housewife who organized a Boycott of the Fox comedy married., with children backed off some of her earlier criticisms and advocated policing the airwaves Only during family viewing hours. What we re saying is self regulate she said. You know the boundaries. We re not in the line drawing business. You draw the  Tartikoff told the critics i do think there were.,. Some shows that were ill advised to have Bee broadcast in the form that they were and we be recognized  24 stripes Magazine september 21, 1989