Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 135

The coming craze: home re-runs? The new shows Washington: Behind Closed Doors Tues-Sun, ABC GOLDTHWAITE By THOIAS ntcrtatnment Editor Republic New Yojt drama critic Walter Kerr reportrl several weeks ago how cheery and pithy things were on the London staj with so many first rate actors doin such grand things in so many seco 1-rate plays. Keeps 'em from "rust in between hits, Kerr correctly -ervcd in his admiration Tlie Arizona Republic N-7 Sept. 4, '77 for the Wettl End's full employment status. too, but we send our Just so her actors off playlets. tto dreary television "-firf Viewers wl discover the truth of this in ABC-jV's adaptation of John Ehrlichman'sjnovel, "The Company." But adapta'tiji is too generous.

The TV writer, lavid Rintels, claims to New York Times NEW YORK Last week.ijike thousands of other New Yorkers, an advertising executive and a woman companion saw the hit movie "Star Wars." Unlike other New Yorkers, however, they did not watch the film in a crowded theater, but in the comfort of his apartment. The video cassette tape recorder was paying dividends. Early last year, Jeffrey Portnoy convinced his wife that they should buy one. He promised that the machine's ability to copy when they were away from home or watching another show would not only let them watch television more selectively but also encourage them to go out far more often. Today, because of the recorder, the Portnoy's don't go out more often.

They just watch twice as much television. SINCE THE INTRODUCTION of the video cassette recorder to the general public in November 1975, 60,000 of the transistorized devices have been sold in the United States, with demand occasionally outstripping supply. According to Harvey L. Schein, chairman and chief executive officer of the Sony Corp. of America, most of those purchased have been his company's Betamax deck, a recorder and timer listing for $1,300 but available at discounts as high as 25 per cent.

Fewer customers have opted for Sony's console unit, which lists from $2,395 and includes a large-screen, color television set and wood paneling. Later this year, industry wide sales are expected to increase dramatically with the introduction by competitors of at least 17 units using four different, noncompatible cassette formats. have thrownout over two-thirds of the novel fir his 13-hour saga, BiX'iiAimim. if If thrillers, "Twilight Zone" episodes and the original "King Kong." It also omtains a pirated uncut version of "Deep Thrual Like the couple who saw "Star Wars" at home (having paid the going rate of $200 for a bootleg copy), Cohen will not divulge his supplier In an effuri prevent copying, MCA-Univer-sal and Walt DiMiey Studios have filed lawsuits against Sony, its advertising company, several West Coast dealers and one hapless (but for the purposes of the legal action, symbolic) recorder owner in an attempt to halt production of the devices. The two giant movie companies contend that the rental and resale value of their old films will be harmed by widespread public use of videotape recorders.

Black market tapes have also stirred concern among others. David Susskind, the television producer and talk-show host, who says he is "extremely happy" with the deck model he received as a gift last Christmas, has few qualms about his shows being taped. "1 don't think these units will take away from the rerun value of programs," he said, "though 1 am certain they will become a big factor (in the industry) once the price becomes more practical," Sony's Beta system will be used in five of the challenging sets, while Quasar will introduce what it calls the VX-2000 and Sanyo and Toshiba will offer V-Cord-II systems. FOUR OTHER COMPANIES plan to rely on the VIIS-2 system, which has a two-hour capability, and five concerns are scheduled to offer a four-hour version. One of these five, RCA, has a unit due out this month that will retail for $1,000 and use four-hour tapes listing for $24 each.

Sony, which is currently promoting a unit using two-hour tapes, promises to offer soon an automatic changer that will upgrade the system's capability to four hours. Optimistic estimates predict annual overall sales of one million sets by 1979, with two or three systems being dropped as the selection process singles out those most favored by consumers. "I told Peter, 'We don't need it, we don't need but he got one anyway," Cherie Cohen, 24, recalled with an embarrassed smile. "Now I have to admit that it's been a lifesaver with our Jeremy, who is 17 months old. I taped 'The Muppets' and everytime he's cranky, I put it on.

It does wonders." The Cohens have also built their own film library, which includes a melange of James Bond Washington: Jehind Closed Doors. WHO IS 4)ING to save the day, then? Why, lie real pros. Jason Ro-bards finds hat the transition from his old Captje film role to Richard Nixon is efffjtless and fun. And Andy Griffith findjLyndon Johnson as easy as Nabisco p. That said, remains only to watch them keep straight face.

They do; and the othjrs in the cast a J. Edgar Hoovjr, for Heavens sake! comply sobpfy to the kind of elemen tary bold-fe dialogue in cartoon bubbles. (summing up a partieu- Second Ai larly nasty la vie." Robards, Robertson and Vaughn Behind Closed Doors at a press preview, I'm certain this will be, next to an unscheduled ethnic slum comedy by CBS, the show America will take to its heart this week. As David Frost would say we prefer our satire uncluttered and direct, like Johnny Carson or Sen. Gold-water's inevitable appearance this week on NBC's Laugh-In debut 'I've got a better acting group where I am in the Senate," he quips to hcstess Bette Davis).

THE PLOT. The President disr laces LB.I in waging the Southeast Asia war, and on the home front he escalates wire tapping, bugs everyone, orders a break-in to cover-up some campaign money laundering by a Syndicate-type pal. And he toys with a convenient assassination plot. It's typical TV stuff. Escapist fantasy If you tune in at odd moments and see a lot of girls shopping at the Watergate Mall and gossiping about their affairs, it's only off-hours fun by a dozen or so top White House aides.

Don't despair. Each scene has been cut to 45 seconds or under. ouble-cross): "Well, c'est "Yeah, heh, hnh, heh." First Aide Biggest sappointment: Secretary of State Ca Tcssler by actor Harold Gould. I'res mably a resemblance was avoided. I itn't know why.

Kissinger works at now; but would he be the only qii lified person able to sue for libel? CLIFF BERTSON, as director of the CIA, an the other 130 or so walk-ons are bland. But Top Aide Rohert Vahn's dour-faced villainry, so stern tit expletives are unthinkable, provies just the right hiss to keep the ajors awake. After willing nearly four hours ol Video flicks open with a blast from the past Projected returns; Landslide for Jason Robards. The FiHpatricks The nei hour-long series chroni BACK TO WE MOVIES 'The Ilin-denburg" booms in a new season of SBC movies Tuesday. Others during the year uill include "Little Big Man," Hard Times," "Rooster Cogburn," "The Reivers," "The Other Side of the Mountain" and "The Godfather Saga," a nine-hour version made up of "The Godfather" and "The Godfather, Part II." Civ Tuesdays, CBS ttT cling thd breakfast to lunchtime adventure! of a Flint, steel-worker aij his "Irish-Catholic family that han together hoping for a bright futire," as CBS describes it, has all tie charm of a Christmas calendar jom United Spark Plug.

This fanily with four kids seems destined inly squabble over grape or raspbirry jam, or whether acne and wll Interfere with popularity and if its going to rain for the picnic. Sound like The Waltons? Or the evening nevs? IMAGINE af0-minute TV commercial for KoolAid. The Fitzpatricks, I'm afraid, ap ideal. The consumer elements written into the script: closeui of breakfast egg frying in skillet, folpwed by closeup of egg being consuried. "M-m-m-m," the kid smacks.

It i the morning's biggest dramatic sere. "Am I gojig to have to wash that again," decires Mom holding up soiled jeans, lapr in the day. Slice of life dialogue embraces chiefly invective. "He's a dip and three-eights!" vies with "Go jiie the mangey mongoes" as the ultimate putdown. The Fitpatrick kids for this is a kiddies slf)w on prime time display aptitudes.

Sean the carefree athbte, Jack the mechanical wizard, jfetty Mo and little Max, the enterprijng capitalist with the paper PBS: The high cost of welfare KPAZ returns Bert Kramer: Dad neighborhood who, like his elders on black situation comedies, has no visible intelligence. As comic relief at every Fitzpatrick meal he is duly patronized: "Don't talk with your mouth full, B.J.," cries Big White Mama. Surveying his hard lot from his post in the picket line at Fraiser Steel, Dad muses hopefully: "I don't want any of them in the mill. Scares hell out of me." Forecast: Dad's light route. Left i the talent lurch apparently the colored kid in the Dollar figures represent KAET purchase price of popular programs; others are provided through Public Broadcast System grants.

Masterpiece Theater PBS and Mobil Oil Corp. Evening at Pops PBS and Martin Marietta Co. Age of Uncertainty for 13, one hour programs. Great Performances for 25 programs. Nova $12,214 for 20, one hour programs.

Washington Week in Review $2,370 for 52, half-hour programs. Sesame St. $15,439 for 130, one hour programs. Wall $treet Week $2,593 for 52, half-hour programs. Onedin Line $8,400 for 42.

one hour programs. Firing Line $7,408 for 46. one hour programs. Forsyte Saga $1,270 for 26, one hour programs. MacNeil-Lehrer $17,231 for 260, half-hour programs.

is little 6 Mondays, CBS Patrioi McGoohan showed early signs distinctive eccentricities By HARDY PRICE Trying to figure out the financial aspects of KAET-TV, the Valley's Public Broadcasting Service outlet, is like explaining away Bert Lance as an error in arithmetic. That is until one looks at the situation a little closer. The confusion stems in part from those announcements at the beginning and end of KAET programs. "Chevy II has been brought to you in part by a grant from Lube Job Oil, Lou Earn-hart's DeSoto and the Pals of Channel 8," for example. Just who pays for what? According to Joe Zesbaugh, station manager, there are three routes that the station can use to get programs on the air.

"WE GET SOME programs for free," said Zesbaugh. "These are programs that are available to us on the PBS system that are paid for by somebody else, like an underwriter." Masterpiece Theater, funded by Mobil Oil, is an example. hen we get some programs through the Station Program Cooperative (Friends of Channel 8)," he continued, "which we buy. Examples would be the MacNeil-Lehrer Report, Evening at Symphony, Washington Week in Review, Great Performances, Sesame St. and Nova.

We buy those. "Then we also, to sort of round out the schedule, buy from syndicators as well, and these could be from other PBS stations or commercial outlets." The current Onedin Line from Time-Life and the coming Lohman and Barkley, a Los Angeles comic interview team from Four Star Productions, are examples. "Local underwriters pay the cost of these programs, or sometimes pay the cost of transmission of these programs." AT PRESENT ALL of the programs on KAET are purchased from the SPC fund, secured by the Friends of Channel 8. "We don't buy any of the programs that I can think of, in fact, I'm sure we don't buy any with university funds right now," he said. "We're trying to keep that pretty much separated so that we use the Friends fund, the money that we get from on air fund raising or underwriting, for program acquisition or production.

"We may use money out of there for Public Memo," he continued, "but we try to keep that as separate as we can because the university money that we get is pretty tight operational money which just allows us personnel, studio facilities and that sort of thing." Last year the Friends came up with $552,000 for the station, while Arizona State University kicked in $534,000 for salaries and the day-to-day operation of the station. Thus the Friends pick up the tub for say a Sesame which costs the station $15,439 for KPAZ-TV (UHF Channel 21) will resume regular programming Monday, according to a spokesman for Trinity Broadcasting of Arizona, the station's new owners. KPAZ-TV was purchased recently from the Glad Tidings Church and the Federal Communications Commission approved the license transfer July 21. The new owners operate a 24-hour station in Los Angeles, Channel 40, which offers viewers programs by evangelists and features produced by a few religious sects. IT HAS APPLIED for additional licenses in Seattle, Denver, Oklahoma City, Houston and Hawaii.

Paul Crouch, president of Trinity Broadcasting, has outlined the schedule for KPAZ's return to the air Labor day: "We will sign-on Monday through Friday at 5 i in. with a variety of wholesome childrens programs, Bible studies, music programs and some of the nationally known religious shows such as Oral Roberts and Jimmy Swaggert. On Saturday we will be on at 2 p.m. with Spanish language programs until 6. On Sundays programming will start at 7:30 a.m.

and be on all day." "The heart of the programming," Crouch said, "will be the Praise the Lord program each evening at 9 p.m. There will be trained counselors available during the program for viewers to call for prayer and counseling," Crouch added. The Praise the Lord show is slated nightly from 9 to 1 1 o'clock. Other highlights: Oral Roberts Mondays at 8:30 p.m. Enjoying Marriage Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.

Dwight Thompson Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Jimmy Swaggert Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. Bible Pi uphesy Saturdays at 7 p.m. Ralph Wilkerson Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Love Special Sundays at 9 a.m.

and 7:30 p.m. Church services Sunday, 10 a.m. to noon. years in a first-rate British spy series, Scret Agent. At his best he's an excittile Richard Burton, sputtering nasaj squeals in white-lipped fury that abi(iptly recedes into ominous, smolderiig calm, his crescent eyes boring ito the souls of men.

It is a characterization the Irish-American actor exploited in film Station jnd encored in another British TV leries, The Prisoner, which was an expermental but confusing In Raerty all the glamor is absent and he sjttles for a dull stock portrayal of an ordinary tough TV medic, the mlsfi' who bests his snooty superiors. Still McGoohan strains to the limit to recreite a role that has unfortunately acquired in almost senile exaggeration. Now he squints and mumbles compilsivjly, pipes in a treble fussl-ness, md She old, once forceful Morse Code rhhms of emphatic speech have 411 bjt disappeared. "It's the best not to do he declares with a snap of the old rllex; but he's really facing a threadbai script and a format that by now as hackneyed as this exchange. Paralyse teenager: "Dr.

Rafferty, 1 4 a 1 Hi ft A4i 130 hour episodes. It also helps in the cost of a Nova, at $12,213 for 20 hour shows or Wall Street Week In Review, at $2,593, for 52, half-hour programs. THERE IS STILL a cost factor involved for the station on the free shows from PBS. That is why at the end of a Masterpiece Theater one hears the announcement about local broadcast of the program was made possible by a grant from, in this case, Mohagian's Furniture. Mehagian's is picking up the approximate $100 per huur operating cost of the station.

This is an example of local underwriting. The same is true with the Onedin Line, which is paid fur by the Friends, bul local broadcast costs are absorbed by a grant from John F. Long Homes. Currently the station has approximately 30 local underwriters and 30,000 individuals on the Friends of Ch. 8 mailing list Each Friend has pledged at least $15.

The week-long fund raising drive two weeks ago was, in Zesbaugh's words, an experiment to test the summer market. 11 raised approximately $23,000. The two major on-air drives are yet to come, however, one slated for Nov. 27-Dec. 6 and the other for March 5-19.

McGoohan: Rafferty insurance, might be the new hope of the season and bungle as many cases as his colleagues are destined to do. But simple, Sid, ex-colonel, widower, been-through-it-all realist, is a certified hero; and more, as a colleague gushes: "As a diagnostician you cross over the line of science to art." Prognosis: Early demise. can you nKe me "Yeah, jid, that's the one thing I can do. ftke better. I had hred that Sid Rafferty, who's so tough fc doesn carry malpractice.