The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 17

fllEWS.vTJSwS PKlaiV.Lfe.WB Olivia passes the Physical ABOVE: Up and away again. The Fall Guy. RIGHT: Patrick Hagman and Linda Gray, from Dallas. BELOW: A new man. The Greatest American Hem: BELOW BIGHT: Tony Porter, Barry Crocker and Andrew Harwood It Could Be You I r.

1 mm? to inn TAcross the channels 1 with GARRY SHELLEY Newton-John is costumed in a stun ning variety of materials (by Australia's Fleur Thelmayer) and surrounded by an equally well-groomed gathering of back-up singers and dancers. One beautifully filmed segment has her swimming and singing with dolphins in a Hawaiian lagoon. It is her own song, The Promise, which she dedicates to these graceful creatures of the sea. The show is not all singing and dancing. Olivia has lots to say while, linking up each musical segment.

She has not lost her Australian accent, and oddly enough her speaking voice has more colour, often, than does her singing. Olivia's special Is fit for the family; there is nothing offensive in it at all. And the star looks so sensational that I doubt if any set of viewing eyes will wander in other directions anyway. Where the actionis THOSE crazy drivers in The Dukes Of Hazzard should throw their hats into the ring now that Lee Majors is back on telly as the craziest stunt-man of all. He is the star of an action-Jammed series called The Fall Gay, which comes to (9) tomorrow, Tuesday, at 73 pt- v.

As Colt Stevens, he is a pro fessional stunt-man who, when not falling from high buildings or smashing up cars with grinning abandon, doubles as a bounty hunter in search of ban-jumpers. He has a young partner, Howie Munson (Douglas Barr), who is a bit overbearing and wet behind the ears at first but soon catches on after a good clout under the chin. The two-hour pilot moves so. quickly that one's eyes flash from left to right with every frame. There is Eddie Albert as a villain wanted for manslaughter, singer Lou Rawls as a bail-jumper pursued by Majors and three Mafia-type thugs, Paul Willi ami singing Crazy while a bar room erupts into a wild brawl, a lot of cars crunching into an Arizona 7.c ''Mir OLIVIA Newton-John gets more gorgeous as she gets older.

She is one of the lucky breed of photogenic types who show a good side from every angle. And in Olivia NewtoD-Joki: Physical, on (7) tonight at 7.30, we even see her upside down. Naturally the song Physical, which caused little Miss N-hyphen-J's fall from grace, plays an important part in a musical special designed to show off a new-look Liwy, and to flaunt what more uninhibited critics have laughingly called her new-found raunchiness. However, there is more paunch iness than raunchiness as half-a-dozen flabby, sweaty gents quiver their mountains of avoirdupois while OKvia warbles lyrics such as gotta handle you just right, you know what I and heaven forgive ine something about horizontally. It is all kid-stufr really, nothing to bring on a middle-age heart attack.

Not unless the sight of Olivia Newton-John squeezed into the tightest of tights is too much of a shock for the memory bank. I like Olivia's special, which I'm told cost about $1 million to produce. It certainly looks a lavish affair, with dazzling, gimmicky special effects, elaborate sets, animation and a superb light show designed by Mike Sutclifle. Miss for the family river, and a marvellous helicopter chase which culminates with the hoisting of a limousine full of' hoodlums on to the top of an scene filmed in a psychiatric hospital as tiw caped hero, ogled with awe by inmates and staff, tries to convince them verbally that "lam nM mad." The Greatest American Hero is one of US television's hit shows. And Joey Scarbury's theme song.

Believe It Or Not, is high on the charts there as wett. For escapist fare melded with dcnk-and-dagger plots and unbridled humour, TGAH is top of the class. And William Katt is just as funny with both feet on the ground as be is when weaving his wonky way high above the city's skyline. I love him. i most elephantine tusks, the host of Moneymakers at lpai, which offers as prizes $50,000 in cash and the equivalent in gold bunion.

The Grundy offering is reputed to be the richest game show on afternoon a television. With all that loot, gold and Jimmy's flashing ivories, the show is not short on mooU -or molar. I Stepping into the Hanlon brogues as host for It Could Be Yon (at Ul pm) is another wearer of champion choppers, Barry Crocker. The Lyte McCabe production differs sUghtty from the Tommy Hanlon format because the cameras at least get out the studio occasionally to surprise some lucky critter at worker home. Working with Barry is Andy -Happy Harwood, another lusher (of fangs), who is one of TVs brightest characters and a good mate.

Except for guest spots on Maureen Duval's Good Morning Sydney and ap-. pearances in Paul Hogaa repeats, we dont see enough of ham these days. The third and junior member of the ICBY team is Tony Porter, a tern-vision journalist who has brought us -many a snippet of -information from the big city in the south on Good Morning Australia. It Could Be You' was a screen-drencher when shown for eight years back in the 1960s. Segments which featured the remitting of long-lost mothers, sons, fathers and daughters wtenched howls from all diieetions.

Jaws part ill? There is also a lot of humour in The Fall Guy. And Majors, who has never been renowned for being the world's best actor, is surprisingly entertaining with his wry, tongue-in-cheek dialogue delivery and his Batman-like derring-do. The show also has its in-jokes. A stunning blonde soars high through the air in a sedan and crashes into a pile of water-melons. It is Majors of course, standing in for his ex-wife Farrah Fawcett, who just happens to be one of the episode's bevy of guest stars.

They have a verbal exchange which is so sincere it might well have been ad-libbed. (The couple were in court for divorce proceedings about the same time as I sat through the preview.) The Fall Guy should reap a big following of action fans. And the witty title song Unknown Stuntman, sung by Lee Majors himself, might soon become a popular party piece. Up, up and crraaash! IS it bird? Is it a plane? Is it UFO? No, it is yet another caped crusader in the shape of The Greatest American Hem, and he flies on to (It) an Friday at 731 pm as the star of a rib-tickling comedy series which is bouh'dTo become one of this year's favourites. In the ted suit and bms cape is William Katt, a fine young actor and the son of film oldies Barbara Hale and Bill Williams.

In mufti he is Ralph Hinkley, a high school teacher. But as soon as he dons his red outfit he becomes superhuman but die most unconifoftable-looking superman ever. Curly-haired and scrawny, he ups-ups-and-aways with shaky take-offs, crashing into brick walls, falling out of trees and behaving in such a manner that everybody he meets thinks he is a complete nut case particularly his girl friend (Connie Sdecca) and some patronising policemen. There is a hilarious I HOPE some of our toothpaste people had the commonsense to' visualise this week's display of glittering crowns on (10) and peddle their wares like crazy. Today is T-day with two game shows: The $NMN MamyaWra and a revamped version of the old Tommy Hankm tearjerker It CetM Be Yen.

(With respect to Mr Hanlon, who is a very charming gentleman, that last hae should read Tommy Jimmy Hannan, owner of TVs I ff If ii in A A Get out your box of tissues could be yon bawling this time, even if the team are from laughter. In spots it very, very funny. And listen for that knock on the door. Barry is not there to sing you a lullaby. I IhaSHH See-Hser, kto, hbrasryli IBS.