Edmonton Journal from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • 16

B4 The Edmonton Journal, Sunday, February 28, 1 999 Television A miew looCdiimg glass voir Alice Modern graphic effects bring Lewis Carroll's weird visions to life Lilana Novakovich Soaps Preview General Hospital's Maurice Benard credits drug therapy "Lucy, you've got some 'splaining to do." That was Maurice Benard's catchphrase as Desi Arnaz in the TV-movie Lucy Desi: Before The Laughter, opposite Frances Fisher, Clint Eastwood's ex, as Lucy As Sonny Corinthos on General Hospital, Benard is more likely to be singing the refrain, "When Sonny gets blua" Benard was born Mauricio Morales Alices of the Past Hollywood has always been loopy for Lewis Carroll's 4ce in Wonderland. Some other film trips through the looking glass: 1933: Everyone from W.C. Fields as Humpty Dumpty to Cary Grant as the Mock Turtle traipsed though this short but slow-moving Hollywood all-star version of Alice's wonderland adventures. Gary Cooper, Edna May Oliver, Jack Oakie and Edward Everett Horton also starred. 1951: The free-wheeling animated Walt Disney version featured the voices of Ed Wynn, Jerry Cotonna, Vema Felton and Sterling Holloway as the Cheshire Cat, along with such lively original songs as I'm Late and The Unbirthday Song.

1972: A dull British rendition, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, swamped a classy cast that included Peter Sellers, Dudley Moore and Sir Ralph Richardson. 1985: Disaster movie impresario Irwin Allen (The Poseidon Adventure) was responsible for this cockamamy television mishap, a collision of Love Boat-calibre celebrities that included Sally Struthers, Red Buttons, Ringo Starr, Merv Griffin and Telly Savalas, plus Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme as Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Yipes. Knight Ridder Newspapers Alice In Wonderland Starring: Tina Majorino, Martin Short Where: NBC When: 9 p.m. today David Bianculli New York Daily News It has taken more than a century but technology finally has caught up with the fertile imagination of Lewis Carroll.

Tonight's Alice in Wonderland, NBC's new three-hour telemovie adaptation (at 9 p.m.) of Carroll's famous Alice books, re-creates in three dimensions all the reality-bending craziness of Carroll's stories and John Tenniel's illustrations. Thanks to state-of-the-art computer graphic effects and high-tech puppeteering, everything comes wonderfully to life, from flamingos used as croquet mallets to smoking caterpillars and huge-headed Mad Hatters. Peter Barnes, who also wrote NBC's Merlin miniseries for executive producer Robert Halmi has adapted the two Alice books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and 1871's Through theLooking-Glassand What Alice Found There by faithfully dramatizing the former and borrowing selected characters and scenes from the latter. What's missing in this TV version are Humpty Dumpty, Alice being crowned Queen and one truly regrettable omission: the Jabberwocky poem, one of the most famous verses written by Carroll (real name: Charles L. Dodgson).

This new Alice is so enchanting, though, that not even that oversight nor its other flaw, the unimaginative music by Richard Hartley can rob this NBC treat of its four- star rating. in San Francisco. His mother, who comes from El Salvador, works at a bank and his father, who is from Nicaragua, works in a bakery He describes his upbringing as "typical middle-class, spiced up a little with some trouble in high school and a midnight blue Monte Carlo low rider." He modelled in his early 20s, then segued into theatrical production in the Bay area, where he played everything from a Latin revolutionary to a Maurice Benard NBC photo Does this Mad Hatter look familiar? Why it's Martin Short! Director Nick Willing, working with visual effects supervisor David Booth, production designer Roger Hall and Jim Henson's Creature Shop, has created the ideal world in which prim young Alice (Tina Majorino, from Andre and Waterworld) finds herself. It's a world populated by familiar and talented performers, all of whom rise to the occasion beautifully Especially delightful are Martin Short as the Mad Hatter, Miranda Richardson as the Queen of Hearts and Christopher Lloyd as the White Knight. Peter Ustinov as the Walrus, Gene Wilder as the Mock Turtle, Whoopi Goldberg as the Cheshire Cat and Robbie Coltrane and George Wendt as Tweedledum and Tweedledee, also make the most of their brief appearances.

Thisto, which isn't really a musical, relies faithfully on the original Carroll text, pulling dialogue and action as well as poetry and visuals. Like the original, it embraces both logic and absurdity with equal fervour, and captures a dreamlike feeling in ways unlikely to be forgotten. If you stay just long enough to fall down the rabbit hole with Alice, you'll know you're in for a truly special TV journey Talk for only two minutes? Gorby just can't do it The Associated Press San Remo, Italy i Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev basking in boffo ratings Friday after appearing on Italy's splashiest, most over-the- top TV show. The winner of the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize for helping end the Cold War endured a storm of advance ridicule for appearing as a special guest Thursday night at the San Remo Song Festival, a glitzy affair on the Italian Riviera. But the fabulous ratings proved Gorbachev right.

RAI state television said more than 15 million people tuned in nearly as good as the festival's opening night, record-setting 16.2 million viewers. San Remo is a formula show guest-host patter, music and more guest-host patter. The music is often mediocre and the show depends on the lure of famous or novel guests and decorative women models to keep people intrigued. The folks at RAI state television call it the "element of surprise." Pressed for money and unpopular at home, Gorbachev agreed to appear at San Remo because he needed the cash. But there was more to his price: he wanted at least five minutes to make a political address.

At the last minute RAI apparently reneged, announcing that Gorby's appearance would be limited to a minute or two of patter with host Fabio Fazio. But when Gorby came on stage, two hours into the 2-hour show, the man who once ran a superpower and was always a bit long- winded, showed his mettle. He hijacked the show, defying RAI's muzzle. Fending off host Fazio, he held forth for more than five minutes on globalization, democracy, justice, the need for a new world order and the limits of traditional politics. He even quoted from Pope John Paul.

Counting pleasantries, greetings and goodbyes, Gorbachev was onstage for a full 15 minutes an eternity on live, prime time TV The ridicule in the Italian press over Gorbachev's San Remo appearance has been pitiless. "Poor Gorbachev: From the Kremlin to San Remo," II Giornale scoffed. But what Gorbachev called his "experiment" at San Remo proved a success: a warm reception from the live audience, a vast TV audience and a thunderinghorde of press. Cable 7 Channel 51 Sunday 1 "Jsl A TfionooEi homosexual dying from AIDS. The modelling he would rather put behind him.

He stretched the truth and said he was 5 foot 11, but he came up short. Thank heavens for boots. "The whole period I was just lying," he admits about his modelling career. "The beautiful thing is the great actors are short. Pacino, De Niro, Hoffman.

When I figured that out, I was like, So he took acting and voice lessons and landed a slew of commercials, culminating in his big break as Nico Kelly on All My Children. By then, he'd Americanized his first name and taken as his surname the maiden name of his grandmother. He'd auditioned for the role of evil Creed, but didn't get it But All My Children execs liked him so much, they created the role of Nico for him and he played him from 1987 to 1990. After All My Children, he moved to California and appeared in Ruby, a film about the JFK assassination. He also auditioned for the role in Philadelphia that ultimately went to Antonio Banderas.

Benard first appeared in the role of Sonny in August 1993. "None of my other roles were what I do best," he recalls. "Desi? I'm nothing like Desi. It was a very difficult role. I did a lot of guest shots, the kinds with Latin accents.

Nothing was like Sonny This role is what I do best. Sonny is unpredictable. You never know from one second to the next what he's thinking, feeling or planning. He's a man in personal conflict who maintains an outward appearance of calm at all times, at any cost "My gut feeling was this was a good role. You never know until the script is out, but this was like movie writing.

The first three months playing that bad guy, as an actor I could really sink my teeth into that. It was an emotional roller-coaster. For an actor it was wonderful." The work is enough, but should the accolades come, he'll thank the pharmaceuticals, specifically lithium. "I always say, if I ever win an Emmy award, I will thank my nervous breakdown," he contends. "I'm manic-depressive, so I'm chemicaly unbalanced.

I'm a very nervous person." He's had three breakdowns, the first when he was 22. He now has his demons at bay through medication. "I truly believe that if I hadn't gone through what I've been through there's no way I could do what I do now." Hot Spot Harley Davidson Cooper sounds like the patron saint of motorcycle mamas everywhere. Cooper is the character played by Beth Ehlers on Guiding Light from September '87 through September '93, fresh from a year of college. Ehlers returned to Guiding Light in January '97 for the show's 60th anniversary celebration and was subsequently asked to come back on a permanent basis in May '97.

During her hiatus from the show, Ehlers, a native of Queens, N. worked in Los Angeles as a production assistant on commercials and music videos. She has done a number of TV and radio commercials and voice-overs. Her TV credits include a regular role in the series Best Times and appearances in the TV-movies Family Reunion, In Defense Qf Kids, May May I and Mystery On Fire. Have you heard? Zellers department stores ran a very successful commercial campaign in the fall with The Young And The Restless' Eric Braeden (Victor) which had fans calling television stations across Canada requesting to see it again.

Zellers is doing it all over again with Eric, adding The Young And The Restless' Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki) in a cameo. The commercial is being shot in Miami and will begin airing March 22. Beth Maitland returns to The Young And The Restless as Traci Abbott for two episodes airing March 11 and 12. General Hospital fans can look forward to one of the show's best villains returning from the dead. Anders Hove will reprise his role as Cesar Faison, first airing Mar.

8. Dominique Jennings (Virginia on Sunset Beach) has been written out of the show for storyline purposes. Her last scenes air March 4. The Young And The Restless? Krostoff St. John (Neil) has written, produced, directed, hosted and now marketed Backstage Pass, a documentary on the 25th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, which took place in May 1998.

The video Is the best backstage coverage of any soap event I have seen. Kristoff also won my heart by including me in the credits. At the Emmys last year I filled him in on who's who on the other soaps since his forte is obviously 77k Young And The Restless. He also has an exercise video, Kick Butt, available. For information on both videos visit the Web site: www.soapstarworld.com.

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WhtK Today, p.m. Where: 5 St. Anne St. Albert. Ticrets: $5.

Call 459-1528. UNCLI VANYA Shadow Theatre presents Anton Chekhov's comedy of misguided romance and disillusionment. Vanya and his niece Sonya have spent years working to support Pro). Serebryakcv In his literary pursuits in Moscow. But when the Professor retires and moves to the country estate, vanya realizes that the man he has dedicated his life to la shallow, mean and selfish.

When: The last performance Is today at 2 p.m. Where: Varscona Theatre, 10329 83rd Ave. ext. 3. TRIBUTI TO BLACK MUSICIANS The National Black Coalition of Canada (Edmonton chapter) salutes the life and music of Marvin Gaye as part of Black History Month.

When: Today, 4-6 p.m. Where: Colin Lowe Theatre, Canada Place. TfcftefK $5, $3 child, into 425-0319. This Is selection of events, For complete listing, consult Friday's What's On section. am 11 1 1 A LOVI STORIU In conjunction with the exhibition, Low Sfonea, the Musee Heritage Museum.