Edmonton Journal du lieu suivant : Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • 33

BEST COPY AVAILABLE Ennteir LifeC7 WeatherC12 EDITOR: Jeff Holubitsky, 429-5346 SPOTLIGHT SPECIAL REPORT ttanimimneimtt CBS throws a summer curve in the ratings game The Journal's television writer Bob Remington is in Los Angeles for the annual summer preview by the U.S. networks of their new programming. Today, he writes of a switch by CBS from the usual strategy for summer programming of reruns, reruns, reruns to something fresh Northern Exposure. 1 1 I 7 it i I mnilhDng) feNfV' feat I' pIT 7 jmi Rob Morrow stars as the alturistic Northern Exposure Maggie O'Connell, a self-reliant pilot; Darrenn E. Burrows as Ed, a native Indian wk is Maurice's assistant; and John Corbett as Chris Stevens, a radio deejay whose eclectic broadcasts capture the flavor of the area.

CBC's Love and Hate, starring Edmonton native Kenneth Welsh as Colin Thatcher, wowed 'em here by finishing sixth in the Nielsen ratings when it aired Sunday and Monday on NBC. The two-part movie, which was the highest-rated movie on CBC last season and the first Canadian TV movie to be sold to a commercial U.S. network, drew this tongue-in-cheek comment Tuesday from Bob Wright, president and Chief Executive Officer of NBC: "All of our production development, of course, is going to be moved to Canada based of our success with our Canadian programming." 3 I i could create themselves," says Brand. "I think that, like a lot of people, Alaska represents something that holds a very powerful sway in people's imaginations, certainly in mine." In last week's premerie episode, viewers were introduced to lead character Joel Fleischman (played by Rob Morrow), who was greeted by Chamber of Commerce president and former astronaut Maurice Minnifield (crusty film and TV veteran John Corbin) with the words: "When I had a crack at getting a Jew doctor from New York, I jumped at it because you people do good work." That didn't sit well with some critics, who were also indignant about some of Northern Exposure's portrayals of Indians. "We don't want to be offensive or degrading," says Brand, who like Joel Fleischman is Jewish and from New York.

"But by the same token, there's something real about it to us." When Maurice refered to the "Jew doctor," in his mind it was a compliment, Brand says. "It's something that maybe makes you a little uncomfortable. It certainly makes Joel feel uncomfortable. But it is Maurice's point of view. If you want to buy a car, you go to Detroit.

If you want to get a doctor, you go to New York. I think he's an equal opportunity bigot in his won way, Maurice." As for the portrayal of the native population: "Our Indian advisor told me it's OK to call them Indians, that they've earned the right to be called Indians. So I feel OK saying that." In tonight's episode, viewers discover a deeper side to Maurice when he goes on the local radio station and displays tolerant attitudes toward homosexuality. That's typical Brand and Falsey twists that are unexpected. The series also has an environmental theme and a touch of the mysticism and small town eccentricity of Twin Peaks.

Inveterate CBC viewers will also find it reminiscent of the short-lived series 9B, which was set in northern B.C. Co-starring are Janine Turner as Los Angeles Summer used to be a time when TV networks hung out the Gone Fishin' sign, airing nothing but reruns during the lazy, hazy days when people were outside rather than watching the tube. Only one problem. When they returned in the fall, the complacent Big Three CBS, NBC, and ABC discovered they had lost customers because their competitors on cable and the upstart Fox Network kept the store open all year. Now, CBS is staying open for business, too, with fresh programs for summer.

Tonight is the second episode of Northern Exposure, a CBS series from Joshua Brand and John Falsey, the creators of St. Elsewhere and A Year in the Life. Wednesday night it unveiled Top Cops, a reality-based series that is on its fall schedule, and on Friday pops the lid on Wish You Were Here, a summer comedy about a stock broker who quits his job and travels overseas with a video camera sending video postcards to friends back home. Of the three, Northern Exposure is easily the best. It contains Brand and Falsey's usual stamp of quality, marked by good characters and great writing.

Set in Alaska (although filmed in Washington State), Northern Exposure involves a New York medical school graduate who returns to Alaska to re-pay the state for financing his education. Brand and Falsey got the idea from reading an article in the Wall Street Journal about a small town in Maine that overcame a rural doctor shortage by making a contract with a medical student in Boston who received financial assistance for his education from the community. Brand and Falsey chose Alaska because of its rugged, somewhat mystical quality, and they chose well. The characters in fictional Cicely, Alaska, seem real, or at least as real as the characters I remember from travelling in Alaska and The Yukon. "It represented, to us, a place where people could express their individuality and where people mm US' A heads to work in Alaska in NBC Entertainment (Tartikoffs old position), Littlefield becomes the most influential person at NBC in terms of deciding what goes on air.

NBC's news division president Michael Gartner offered a simple reason for troubles on its morning program, The Today Show: "We screwed it up." He denied that replacing Jane Pauley with Deborah Norville was the cause, saying that "We just threw her (Norville) in and expected her to be Jane). Pauley, meanwhile, told a press conference that all the adulation thrown her way since leaving Today is "an embarrassment of good publicity." Magazines have put her on "most beautiful" "most polite" and even "best wife" lists. 'I'm bracing for the backlash," Pauley joked, "Because I am making myself sick." loved cut-ups arranged to have the two trans ferred to Montreal where they became headliners in the weekly Canadian Army Radio Show. Their success led to a Canadian tour and later to England, France, Belgium and Holland. Their group was the first to entertain troups in Normandy after D-day.

i "This was a toughening-up process," said Wayne. "If the men could survive us, they could survive anything." By 1947 Wayne and Shuster had a regular CBC show with a live audience. Ed Gould, in his book Entertaining Canadians, says they threatened to quit if they had to play to canned laughter. After numerous guest appearances on American TV, the pair was offered control of their U.S. programming if they would move.

"Why should we leave all this to live on airplanes?" Wayne replied, from his comfortable home in Toronto's Forest Hill district. They started their regular CBC-TV program in 1954, building an array of characters such as the Brown Pumpernickel, Professor Waynegartner and Tex Rorschach. i Cher Cher COming: Singer-actress and perfume sponsor Cher brings her Heart of Stone tour to Northlands Coliseum August 21 at 7:30 p.m. The 25-year veteran of stage and screen has produced a string of chart hits since recording Got You Babe with her then-husband Sonny Bono in 1965. She's also become an acclaimed actress for her roles in Moonstruck, Silkwood, The Witches of Eastwick and Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.

Tickets for Cher's performance will be $27.50 plus service charge but their on-sale date will not be announced for several days. She'd rather go jogging: Pop star Madonna turned down an invitation to help launch a charity record for Romanian orphans Wednesday and went jogging in London's Hyde Park instead. Olivia Harrison, chairman of the Romanian Angel Appeal, invited Madonna to join husband George Harrison and his fellow ex-Beatle Ringo Starr at a Hyde Park Hotel luncheon to introduce the record Nobody's Child. But Madonna, who is staying at the hotel, went for a run in the park. Proceeds from the record will provide food and clothing and improve training and care at orphanages in Romania.

Garbo goods up for grabs: The public which the late actress Greta Garbo held at arm's length in a lifetime she dedicated to being "left alone" will have a chance to buy her art works, furniture and rare books. Sotheby's New York announced Wednesday that it will sell Garbo's collections in three days of sales starting Nov. 15. The collection was consigned to Sotheby's by Gray Reisfield, Garbo's niece and sole beneficiary of her estate. The Swedish-born Garbo died April 15 aged 84.

McCartney's beef: Beatle is expected to attract more than 55,000 people to the show Wednesday night at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, in the heart of the United States' leading pork-producing state. But it's the Meat Stinks campaign of an animal rights group that has been attracting all the attention. The Maryland-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said it plans to staff an informational booth at the concert. McCartney and his wife, Linda, a keyboard player in his band, are vegetarians and have taped a message for the group's hotline. What's On IN CONCERT: Uptown Rock Party, Klondike Kickoff, featuring Paul Janz, Sue Medley and The Burners, tonight at 7:30, at the Convention Centre, 9797 Jasper Ave.

No minors. Call 421-9797 for information. The Judds, and Restless Heart, perform tonight at Northlands Agricom, 79th Street and 115th Avenue, 6 and 9 p.m. Call 471-7373 for more information. Kim Mitchell, and Pursuit of Happiness, perform Friday at Northlands Agricom at 7 p.m.

Call 471-7373 for more information. EVENTS: Klondike Loonie Breakfast takes place today from 7-9 a.m. Proceeds support the Variety Club. Please bring food bank donation. Churchill Square, 100th Street and 102nd Avenue.

Cost, $1. Klondike Days Parade, today at 9:30 a.m. Clowns, floats, bands and breakfasts. Downtown. Klondike Days starts today, featuring U.S.S.R.

culturaltrade exposition, free entertainment, midway, fireworks and more. Downtown, Edmonton Northlands Fairground, 113th and 118th avenues, 73rd amd 78th streets, 11 a.m. to midnight, $7, youths, $2.50 kids. More information at 471-7210. For complete listings consult Friday's What's On pullout.

Ik young doctor Joel Fleischman who so-called Brandon Tartikoff, Boy Wonder who led NBC to its No. 1 position in his 10 years as head of NBC Entertainment, got kicked upstairs in a surprise announcement here this week by NBC. Tartikoff becomes chairman of the NBC Entertainment Tartikoff Group, which among other things is responsible for network-made productions. He will, however, still be involved in the direction and planning of overall network programming, although scheduling and creative development now passes to his former right-hand man, Warren Littlefield. As head of ous condition that developed last April.

But he had responded to treatment and Starmer was working with Wayne and Shuster on a new show looking at the first 50 years of the comic partnership. Starmer said the show will be completed as planned. Wayne, one of seven children of a Toronto clothing manufacturer, teamed with Shuster at Toronto's Harbord Collegiate where they wrote, sang and acted in an annual revue. They continued their partnership at University of Toronto and developed a radio program called Wife Preservers which dispensed household hints with humor. Their fee was $12.50 a week each.

At university, Claude Bissell, then an English lecturer and later the university's president, said to Wayne: "What I like about you is you don't let studies interfere with your education." Still, Wayne got his bachelor of arts. What did interfere with their early career was the war and both enlisted in the army. But soon after, impresario Jack Arthur the Guue off ttlhie hmqs off amadiiaDD comedy Johnny Wayne, with partner Frank Shuster, were Canada's best -J -jT tional awards. Certainly they won glowing reviews in the United States during their Ed Sullivan variety show days but they always remained Toronto-based, resisting invitations to move to New York or Los Angeles. An early break came during their college days when Canadian songwriter Ruth Lowe recommended them to a talent agency as potential professional funnymen.

"Actually," Wayne said later, "we don't know why she was enthusiastic. She wrote I'll Never Smile Again after catching our act." Of their experiences entertaining wartime troops, comic Wayne said: "We had the distinction of being the only military unit in World War II that was fired on deliberately by all sides." Leonard Starmer, executive producers of the Wayne and Shuster CBC-TV show since 1970, said Wednesday that to know Wayne "was to be challenged by his sense of humor and his general being I've lost a real friend. "It's been very difficult for Frank. Both of us feel drained." leakHVavne died of a cancer The Canadian Press Toronto Johnny Wayne, one of the kings of comedy of Canadian radio and television as half of the Wayne and Shuster team, died Wednesday of cancer. He was 72.

Wayne and Frank Shuster had a long career as Canada's best-known cut-ups, starting with a Boy Scout fund-raising show they did in 1930 and carrying through radio, as a touring army act during the Second World War, on TV and in London and New York. Wayne is survived by three sons. His wife Bea died in 1982. In 1950 Wayne and Shuster began appearing as guests on various American TV programs, including a record 67 performances on the wildly popular The Ed Sullivan Show. Although their wide-ranging skits described as an amiable mixture of slapstick, pantomime, sheer corn and sometimes ingenious twists on classic situations did not always win critical acclaim, they remained broadly popular and won many Canadian and interna Johnny Wayne I.