The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 27

JEfit Ifftilabdpfna Inquirer Section WEDNESDAY July 13, 1988 BADLY MAGAZO PEOPLE HOME MOVIES THE ARTS TV STYLE fs When the U.S. research vessel Viking I landed on Mars in 1976, it sent back this panoramic view of the surface. Viking found no signs of lije, butmw in the wrong place. Destination MARS The Philadelphia InqunerSIU MARSH SOURCE Nam mil Mold Report By Mike Capuzzo Inquirer Staff Writer TT ast week, it sounded like a match made in the heavens Soviet Union to visit red planet but leave it to the Soviets. With apologies to chocolate, caramel and peanuts, they candy-coated part of the story about Mars.

When Soviet scientists announced plans to land human mlAmdl beings on Mars by the year 2010, they never mentioned that Mars is already inhabited. A Martian leader contacted yesterday said the Martians, who number about 1,800, were upset by the slight, which was harder to take because it's so darned hot there nowadays. "We already got Mars, and it's already inhabited by Pennsylvanians," said Ches Marburger, the first mayor and former postmaster of Mars, the small town seven miles north of Pittsburgh. "They call me the Man From Mars." Marburger, who served as postmaster for 23 years at what he called "the only Mars post office on Earth," wondered whether the Soviets had done their homework. One Soviet official last week spoke in terms of the "expansion of human development," but any hard-eyed capitalist could see that a place' with two moons and blue sunsets is destined to be a tourist attraction.

Given the possibilities for Mars mania Marburger remembers postmarking 8,500 letters from around the world when the last Mars mania hit, the day the U.S. research vessel Viking landed in 1976 maybe it's time to start setting the record straight. So, with apologies to the bards of Mars from Shakespeare (who traded mostly in allusions to the Roman god of war) to singer John Prine my stars My Linda's gone to Mars And left me here to Pennsylvania writer Annie Cridge (author of Men's Rights; Or, How Would You Like which envisioned in 1870 a society on Mars in which men are confined to housekeeping and baby-tending and women run the government) we offer the tollowing guide to Mars: What to see. Mars offers many unusual attractions for the visitor, including pink skies, yellow clouds and dramatic vistas of mountains and valleys. Of special note is a volcanic mountain three times higher than Mount Everest and a canyon thousands of miles long and three times deeper than the Grand Canyon.

If you don't have the time for the 100-million-mile round trip to the planet, there's always the 600-mile round trip to the town. "There's not a whole lot here," Marburger cautioned. "We don't have too much attractions, other than the name itself. We have a little historical museum in the center of town about Mars." Local customs. Most American scientists say it is highly unlikely that there's life on Mars.

But the Soviets believe that the Americans, with (See MARS on 8-D) urn imrttrmtiMfi ii mamiwa3l you don't have time for the lOO-million-mile round trip to the planet, the Pa. town is only 300 miles away. Auoctated Press Soviet drawing of space capsule landing on Mars. A vulnerable Bruce Willis fleshes out a jaded-cop role 1 JWMUIlllUMIJPHUIUillWlllLllllH.llklJl.IL WKMm 1 I Review. Film Early care for the blind By Desmond Ryan Inquirer Movie Critic Since Hollywood has been holding a virtual fire sale on burned-out cops in the last couple of years, putting a spark of life in the disillusioned detective is no small assignment.

On the strength make that the weakness of his first two movies, the bland Blind Date and the bloated Sunsef, Bruce Willis hardly seems a likely choice to lift a movie above police routine. But that's exactly what he manages in Die Hard, an implausible but well-turned action film set in a towering new Los Angeles skyscraper on Christmas Eve. There John McClane, a jaded and world-weary New York cop who has come west to see his estranged wife, finds himself in a battle of wits as well as bullets with a gang of ruthless and very well-armed terrorists. Like most movies of its type, Die Hard is not the kind of exercise that can withstand close scrutiny. But John McTiernan, who made such a splashy debut last year with Predator, doesn't allow much time for questions.

He has a real flair for staging spectacularly conceived action sequences on the dizzying heights of the skyscraper. Die Hard is not a good idea for people with vertigo. Beyond McTiernan's panache with the material, the film has several assets. It is a vehicle that allows Willis, who is certainly not the first television star to encounter a rocky road on his way to the big screen, to use some of the talents that made Moonlighting a hit. McClane may be as burned out as Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon, but he also has a bitter sense of humor and a vulnerability.

His fears make his predicament more interesting and involving. The situation also plays to Willis' advantage. Die Hard isn't a buddy movie, so instead of the shopworn banter, Willis is left to look to his own resources as an actor. And that's an opportunity he didn't have in his first two films. McClane arrives at the gleaming new headquarters of the Nakatomi Corp.

in the modest hope of patching things up with his wife (an underused Bonnie Bedelia). She and other executives of the company are enjoy-(See "DIE HARD" on 6-D) By Martha Woodall Inquirer Stall Writer Two years ago, David Rucker was born in an Atlanta hospital 3V2 months premature, weighing 1 pound, 7 ounces. It was six months before he was sent home with an oxygen tank. Before Eddie Gunkel was born, his mother contracted toxoplasmosis, a rare parasitic disease carried by cats that can have tragic consequences for a fetus. And then there's Jennifer McGowan, whose brain was temporarily deprived of oxygen when she was born.

Their three troubled beginnings gave these youngsters a common problem: They are blind. And recently they spent a week at the Overbrook School for the Blind with members of their families, participating in a special program to provide early help for blind or visually impaired children and emotional support for their families. "I'm really glad I came here," said Susan McGowan of Port Richmond, whose 18-month-old daughter suffered brain damage at birth that caused cerebral palsy as well as Nindness. "This is my first child, and Jennifer's the first child in my family who has anything wrong with her. There are other mothers here I can talk with.

This has really opened up my eyes to (See PROGRAM on 4-D) Tr PMKMphit KKjurw VICKI VAIERIO Helen Cavna of Upper Darby plays with her son Christopher, 2, at Overbrook. A special program at Overbrook School for the Blind gives help to children and support to their families. Index i Ideas trends 2-D Ann Landers 2J) Word watcher 2 The Arts 5 Television 10-D Film reviow: The Chad Pool 6 Music review; Philadelphia Orchestra Theater review: Don't Get God Started 3.