The Morning News from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 106

J2 Sunday News Journal, Wilmington, March 22, 19S7 11 Technology, humanity mesh in 'Secrets of the Titanic' T- The discovery and exploration of the Titanic are documented as part of the "Explorer" series. the captain Edward J. Smith. He. chose to ignore a number of ice" warnings, he didn't slow down, nnntinnon nn a mnnnipja nionr Ballard also faults the ship'' owners for not putting enough life-' time until the technology became available." Much of the documentary reveals how that technology was put to use.

Two small submarines were crucial to the project's success: a tiny sub called Alvin that holds three people uncomfortably, and a robot sub that takes pictures in areas too dangerous for the crew to enter. The pictures taken from both ships form the heart of the show, although they are not always satisfying. All the shots are from extremely close range, so that it is difficult to gain perspective. And there is not a great deal left to see; the Titanic is mostly a rusty hulk. But some of the shots are fascinating: the brass stand perfectly preserved that held the steering wheel; a cup sitting on the ocean floor.

Everything is bathed in an eerie light. The story of the crew itself, of its wreckage the next year are documented in "Secrets of the Titanic." The show will be televised on cable's WTBS tonight at 9 and repeated Monday and March 28. It is a presentation of the National Geographic "Explorer" series. "Throughout history there have been points where man has put too much faith in technology," Ballard told reporters at a press conference here last week. "The Challenger disaster would be an example.

"When the Titanic sunk it caused a short pause in the continual development of technology. It's most important to learn those lessons and be reminded we can make mistakes." Of course, it was technology that allowed him to discover and photograph the ship. "Finding the Titanic was inevitable," said Ballard, who is associated with the Woods Hole Oceano-graphic Institution. "It's a pyramid of the deep. It was just a matter of By GARY MULLINAX Staff reporter NEW YORK The sinking of the Titanic has loomed large in the imagination since the luxury liner went down in the North Atlantic on its maiden voyage in 1912.

Here was a ship that took 3,000 men two years to build. It was as long as four city blocks and as tall as an 11-story building. Twenty draft horses were required to haul each of its three anchors. Leading lights of the Gilded Age clamored to be aboard the Titanic on her maiden voyage. Yet none of this mattered when the ship slammed into an iceberg before completing its first trip.

The Titanic sank to the bottom of the sea, taking 1,523 people with her. Robert Ballard is one of the people fascinated by this story. In fact, he led an expedition to find the ship on the ocean floor. His discovery of the ship in 1985 and his firsthand exploration of the boats on board to accommodate' each passenger. But he pointed out that the law at that time allowed-.

this. discovery and exploration of the Titanic, also succeeds only part of the time. When Ballard locates the ship, the young crew members are ecstatic, and we are made to feel their enthusiasm. "The sucker exists," shouts one. "Has Cathy got the champagne?" another wants to know.

But a bit too much of the show documents the waiting that is inevitable in such a project. Shots of the rippling surface of the ocean don't take us very far. Fortunately, the program cuts back and forth from the modern exploration to film clips and still photos of the Titanic and its pas sengers. These pictures of the imposing ship and wealthy passengers decked out in furs and other finery suggest much about the vanity of human wishes, which might be the chief message of the Titanic's demise. Both the historical and modern portions are narrated by actor Martin Sheen, who conveys the drama of the subject matter without intruding.

The man who led the search for the Titanic has developed some theories about why the ship went down. "If any criticism should be mounted it would have to be against lore by the time he found the ship" that the discovery was a very emo: tional experience for him. "When I entered the Titanic site I was in a very special place," he said. "If you're at sea for 22' mnn amii lrnsMaw iirnAMA rhnnn rhA1 'I yeais, jruu miuw wiicic muse ajre- cial sites are." No more Mrs. Nice Guy A rWffprpnt 7 pp Rpmirlr in 'Nutrrnrkpr'.

Absence of cable doomed Channel 61 She fooled the world around her," Remick said, "but not her children. But she did manage to live' a normal life." ine series is based on snana Alexander's best-seller. Paul" Bogart directed from a William made to cast an actress who resem- "Nutcracker" begins with Schreuder's trial and tells the story through extended flashbacks. Remick has never met' By MICHAEL E. HILL The Washington Post Lee Remick used to play such nice women, women you could trust.

"That can be a burden if it's too often repeated," Remick said. "But it's not my idea of what acting is all about. This lady is by no means someone anyone could trust. She's obviously mad as a hatter." That's being polite when talking about your portrayal of Frances Bradshaw Schreuder, the woman who masterminded her son's murder of her millionaire father to get her hands on his money. Schreuder's case was dramatized on CBS in January in the miniseries "At Mother's Request," based on a book by Jonathan Coleman.

This week Remick plays the lead in "Nutcracker: Money, Madness and Murder," a three-night series starting tonight on NBC. been in tough negotiations with Rollins for two years, then Channel 61 rides into town, saying 'Please negotiate for He said that adding Channel 61's situation to the agenda would have suggested "bad faith" on the city's part. Gregory added that the council did encourage Rollins "to be good corporate neighbors." Another industry executive suggested that Channel 61 suffered because it did not appeal specifically to Wilmington viewers. "You have to carve out a clear-cut place in the market," he said. "You can't simply flick the switch and start running old TV shows and seem terribly important to the community.

"If you're going to be on the air in Wilmington, you can't hope to compete with the Philadelphia stations. You don't have technical parity, or the resources for program acquisition or promotion. So you'd better be out there doing all the high school sports, local news." Slape said the station tried for more local focus than it ultimately offered. He said the University of Delaware would not let it televise home games without guaranteeing the gate and that road games were too costly. High school sports, he said, "have traditionally not done well around the country." He said the cost of going on the air with a local newscast was prohibitive.

Gary Mullinax Wilmington's WTGI-TV (61) fell victim to the problems facing other new independent stations, plus a few more. The main problem was that it failed to get on the Rollins Cablevision system or the Heritage system, which replaced it. One industry executive suggested that the station assumed it would have an easy ride in Wilmington and did not properly appeal to city government for help in securing a cable position. He also said the city failed to do all it could have. Dan Slape, Channel 61's general manager, said the City Council showed little interest in adding the station's situation to the city's contract negotiations with Rollins.

"We were offering to do the best job we could to use the TV station for the public interest. City Council never really seemed to grasp the idea that if they stepped up and took an active role in developing a broadcast station, they could come back to us and say we would like you to do something for us. "We weren't asking them to make life easy for us, to lend aid to a business, but we know they do that for businesses all the time. Otherwise the banks wouldn't be here." Theo Gregory, chairman of the City Council's broadcast and communications committee, said Channel 61 asked for help "late in the day. We had otuicuuci.

mere was a niumeii- tary thought on my part to go to; Remick said. Then there were sec-: ond thoughts. "I didn't think it would have been valid," she said, even supposing Schreuder would have agreed to see her. "She main-: tains her innocence she says it1 was all a family plot and that was not the story we were doing." On the tube Continued from Jl owner and chief executive officer of WGBS, made Philadelphia its third base of operations, along with Chicago and Miami. "We knew what to expect," Smith said.

"Grant stations buy a lot of programming, whatever they can get their hands on, good or bad, and commit a lot of promotional dollars behind it initially. You know they're going to spend money." In anticipation, Channels 29 and 17 bought some syndicated shows they might have passed on if Grant weren't on its way to town, although Smith said the "wild escalation" found in other markets where Grant moved in did not occur here. He cited his station's purchase of "Three's Company" as an example of how the process occurred. "If Milt hadn't been coming to town, we might have let that sit a while and try to negotiate the price down," he said. "We paid more than if he hadn't been coming." Indeed, just six years ago, independent stations in this market rarely paid more than $15,000 per half-hour of syndicated programming.

Today, the range is $15,000 to $35,000. The highest price paid for a show here is about $60,000 per half-hour. "By the time Channel 57 arrived, most of the commitments had already been made by other stations for the really popular programs," said Eugene McCurdy, general manager of Channel 17. "They were kind of the last players on the block." Partly for this reason, WGBS stayed well behind Channel 29 in the ratings and a couple of points behind Channel 17. Still, Grant's Philadelphia outlet was not the real problem for the company.

WGBS grossed $18,000,000 last year, which is thought to be a record for a first-year independent station. Grant has just worked out a deal with Viacom, a major programming syndicator, as part of its effort to negotiate a suitable payment schedule under Chapter 11. Grant will pay Viacom $2,050,000 of the $6,393,000 it owes. The payments will stretch from 3Va to five years. Grant will continue to operate, airing Viacom programs pri- RESTAURANT Mall will do some producing in the WTGI studios.

Gary Mullinax is a staff critic who writes regularly about its regular programming and now airs a home shopping service, Video Shopping Mall of Jenkintown, Pa. The service buys time on the station and also offers a percentage of sales. In addition, Video Shopping marily. Channel 61 also will negotiate with programming distributors about a payment schedule that will allow the station to stay in business. When filing under Chapter 11, the company listed assets of $10,973,196 and liabilities of $10,452,627.

The station has dropped most of proudly presents THE LEGENDARY includes the following and more Soup, Shrimp Toast, Escargot, Salad Salmon, Prime Rib, Veal plus Dessert Bottle Of Wine (for 2 people) $38.00 per couple Regular Menu Available Reservations Recommended big BAND SOCIETY AHMAD JAMAL Sunday, March 29, 1987 ttff TWO SHOWS: 6 PM AND 8 PM Tickets Available at: Ambrosia: (302) 654-2229 1605 N. Claymont Del. Tickettown (302) 656-9797 9th West Streets ft TV Service: (215) 874 9002 8tti i Lincoln Streets, Chester Midtown Ticket Office: (215) 546-1337 1403 Locust Street, Phili. Presents: Ballroom Dancing Featuring THE HAL DAVIS ORCHESTRA Dance on one of the Finest Ballroom Floors in Delaware March 25, 1987 The Cavalier Country Club located at Addison Dr. off Churchmans Rd.

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UJilmington, CovjoflO'ed bg the Delaware Center tor the Contemporary Hrts Dr. Michael Kaplan, Optometrist, P.A. 9 Parkway Plaza, Du Pont Highway New Castle. DE 19720 (302) 322-4444 Sponsored By Domino's Pizza, Inc. As Part 01 The Bicentennial Celebration To Benefit Delaware Special Olympics "Professional fees not included..