The Sentinel from Carlisle, Pennsylvania • 41

-v (- Variety makes glass great for collecting I 1 I E3 Sunday, August 24, 1997 I 'Great Bear' wt rips il -ry- rid ers will loop, spin, roll it urn of three minutes. The park expects to get about 1,300 passengers through the ride per hour. The new ride will be located in the Mine-town section of Hersheypark near the Kissing Tower. The ride has been custom-designed for the park. The track will weave in and out of the Coal Cracker and the Soop-erdooperLooper, allowing the three rides to intertwine.

The first lift on Great Bear will be 90 feet; the ride will travel from the top of the hill to Comet Hollow, so the actual drop will be 124 feet. A 100-foot loop will take riders 110 feet into the air as they travel along 2,800 feet reaching speeds of 58 mph. The name Great Bear comes from the constellation Ursa Major, the largest constellation in the sky. Bollinger Mabillard of Monthey, Switzerland, was formed in 1988 and has risen to become the top company in the steel coaster industry. It has designed and built roller coasters in Japan, Europe and the United States.

Hersheypark was built in 1907 by Milton S. Hershey as a picnic and pleasure grounds for his employees. It has grown into a world-class theme park with more than 50 rides and attractions. Hersheypark will debut Great Bear for its 91st season beginning in May. By Dan Miller Sentinel Reporter Next season, visitors to Hersheypark can look forward to a ride as wild and woolly as a bear.

The park this week announced plans to add a sixth roller coaster, called Great Bear, in 1998. The new coaster will be manufactured by Bollinger Mabillard of Switzerland, described by Hersheypark officials as the premiere designers of steel coasters. "We are excited to be joining forces with Bollinger Mabillard to offer our guests this incredible new coaster, Great Bear," says Franklin R. Shearer, vice president and general manager of Hersheypark. Shearer says Hersheypark is investing $13 million in Great Bear, the largest sum of money ever spent on a single attraction at the 1 10-acre theme park.

A steel inverted coaster, Great Bear will give riders a thrilling trip through multiple high speed turns, a spiral, a loop, a roll, a flat spin or corkscrew and an "immel-mann." An immelmann is similar to a loop, except riders reverse direction and then complete a barrel roll as they head out of the maneuver. The Great Bear will have two trains, holding 32 riders each. The ride will last just shy I ZuZS This computer-generated photo illustration provided by roller coaster will be when built. Hersheypark shows where the Great Bear' Here's a look at what's coming on cable in fall Tribune Media Services tion of the Songs of Leiber Stoller" (Sept. 14) is a 90-minute tribute to the songwriting partners and features many 'II I I If i Editor's note: This is the first of two articles on the coming fall television season.

This one looks at cable channels; next week's will examine networks, syndication, sports and children's pro-. gramming. lKk2 1 I 'i, The new season of "Biography" begins with a week of profiles of TV perform- ers. Premieijes are; "Andy Griffith i.tfbUy wood's Homespun i excerpts of the musical "Smokey interviews jnclude Peggy Lee and Smokey Robinson. The one-hour special, "The Life and Music of Irving Berlin" (Sept.

20) tells of his youth, singing outside bars in New York's Bowery, and of his prolific songwriting career. Performer Nathan Lane is the newest profile in the series "Inside the Actors Studio" (Sept. 21), and he talks with host James Lipton about his work on stage and in films. CARTOON NETWORK October brings "Obsessed With Vertigo," about the restoration of Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 thriller; and the Fifth Annual Film Preservation Festival (Oct. 3-5), to educate viewers and raise funds to protect and -restore films.

Suspense is the theme of this year's festival, with a full day devoted to film noir and another to the films of Alfred Hitchcock. The originals special "Frank Capra's American Dream (Dec.) honors the director of "It's a Wonderful Life" and many other films. ANIMAL PLANET aQtEIoJII hqteJoljk "Super Chunk" features three hours of the same character Hero" (Sept. 1), "Alan Alda" (Sept. 2) and "Phil Silvers: Top Banana" (Sept.

3). "Sea Tales" also debuts as a weekly series (Sept. 4). This fall, the first of three new literary adaptations for the '97-'98 season debuts. Samantha Morton stars as Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" (Oct.

19) with Ciaran Hinds as Mr. Rochester. It's followed by Robbie Coltrane in the Robert Louis Stevenson sea tale "Ebb Tide," in early '98; and Max Beesley as Henry Fielding's 18th-century English rascal "Tom Jones." Original specials include: "Love in the Ancient World" (Aug. 31), with Kathleen Turner narrating a two-hour documentary that examines attitudes toward beauty, sex, taboos and romantic love, from the Ice Age through ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome; "Gershwin on Ice" (Sept. 28), a celebration of the 100th birthdays of songwriting siblings George and Ira Gershwin that features Dorothy Hamill and a cast of skaters; and "A Judy Collins Christmas at the Biltmore Estate" (Dec.

2), in which George Washington Vanderbilt's fabulous chateau near Asheville, N.C, is the setting for a holiday special featuring the singer and the Charlotte (N.C.) Children's Choir. AMC 7 4 New prime-time series are: "Pet Shop" (Oct. 1), about celebrities and their pets; "E.S.P.U." (Oct. 19), dealing with the anti-poaching efforts of Africa's Endangered Species Protection Unit; "Wild Rescues" (Sept. 29), the heroic stories of humans sav every Saturday afternoon starting in September.

Marathons include 56 hours of "World Premier Toons" (Sept. 26-28) and 25 hours of "Scooby Doo, Where Are You?" (Oct. 25-Oct. 26). "Late Night Black and White" presents cartoon classics every Sunday starting Oct.

9. Halloween programming (Oct. 31 and Nov. 1) offers two Bugs Bunny specials, 'Tiny Toons Night Ghoulery," "ACME Hour," Dr. Seuss' "Halloween Is Grinch Night" and every episode of "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo." nmmoi Planet CNBC A daylong interactive special helps professionals in their job search on "Opportunity Knocks: The CNBC Executive Search" on Labor Day (Sept.

1). i A i CNOC ing animals and vice versa; and "Horse Tales" (Jan. '98), which follows the lives and training of 13 horses. Added to the morning children's block are: "Once Upon a Tree" (Sept. 29); "Pet-line" (Sept.

29), a pet-care advice show; and "All-Bird Radio" (Sept. 29), devoted to bird-watching. Continuing series air new episodes: "Lassie" (Oct. 5) "Emergency Vets" (Sept. 29), and "Animals A to (which becomes "Planet Safari" later in the season, Sept.

29). BRAVO "Baby, That's Rock 'N' Roll: A Celebra- Samantha Morton will star as "Jane Eyre" on The third season of AMC's original series "Remember WENN" features a guest appearance by Jason Alexander (Oct. 11). Original documen CINEMAX Feature films include Edward Burns' taries include "Songs in Shadow: The Making of Carly Simon's Film Noir" (Sept. 16).

repeat of "Comic Cabana Labor Day Special" with Anthony Clark, in addition to episodes of "Make Me Laugh," "Win Ben Stein's Money" and "Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist." Movie marathon hour exploration of Italian life and culture; "Treasures of the Earth" (Sept. 15-17), about the most coveted materials of the nat ural world; "Wolves at Our Door" (Oct. 27), a two-hour special documenting six years of a biologist's study of a pack of wolves; the three-part scries "Strictly Supernatural" (Oct. 20-22), which delves into the world of the occult; "Strike Force" (Sept.

14), chronicling the history of the U.S. Air Force; and the "Planet Explorer" special "Intrigue in Istanbul" (Oct. 19), which examines how factions throughout history have plotted to seize control of Turkey's most important city. The daytime schedule continues to focus on the practical, featuring "Interior Motives," which offers design advice; and "Start to Finish," a look at arts and handicrafts. DISNEY CHANNEL "She's the One" (Sept.

5); Jean-Claude Van Damme's action spectacle "Maximum Risk" (Sept. 12); the quirky "2 Days in the Valley" and the stylish "William Shakespeare's Romeo Juliet," starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes Other star-driven October films feature Whoopi Goldberg in "Bogus" and Anthony Hopkins in "Surviving Picasso." Cinemax also has new "Reel Life" attractions. "Elton John in 'Tantrums Tiaras' (Sept. 3) offers an intimate look at the superstar. The unique documentary "It Ain't Love" (Oct.) explores the realities of dating violence.

CNN Investigative reporting continues on themes include "Back to School" (Sept. 5 and 7), "Dysfunctional Family Fun" (Sept. 12 and 14), "Just Say I Do," which presents excerpts in between programming from a viewer's all-expcnse-paid wedding in Las Vegas (Sept. 26 and 28), and "Big Big Movie Marathon" (Sept. 29-Oct.

3). "South Park," Comedy Central's original animated series, airs back-to-back episodes on Sept. 19; and "Fawlty Towers" runs for eight hours (Sept. 21). THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL 1 -v I I The young team of Discovery's 'Travelers" visits festivals throughout the country on an all-day marathon version of the show (Sept.

1 The premiere series "Into the CHANNU, Several series move to the cablcnct in September. Animated series are "Aladdin" (Sept. 1). "Timon and Pumhaa" (Sept. I and "Jungle Cubs" (Sept.

1 Off-net work comedies arc Impact, airing bun-days; CNN continues to cover the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee hearings Unknown" (Oct. 2) investigates mysterious animals such as sea scrpcnis and giant squid. Specials and miniseries premicring this fall include: "The Italians" (Sept. 7), a two- "Growing Pains," which launches with an afternoon marathon (Sept. Tonight," featuring 12 nevcr-bcforc-aircd Sic Cable, E2 on campaign financing when the Senate reconvenes on Sept.

3. COMEDY CENTRAL The "SPF Labor Day Wrap-Up" (Sept. 1) features "The Bert Fershner Special" and a "Kenan Kel" returns for a second season on Nickelodeon..