North County Times from Oceanside, California • 40

Sunday, April 9, 1995 Suitable for Framing 1 retells a classic tale E-4 By Barbara Vancheri Pittsburgh Post-Gazette When you think about it, a newsroom is the perfect place to relocate and update All About Eve. Like the theater, a newsroom can harbor egos the size of Goodyear blimps and a squadron of eager young people who would happily step into their elder counterparts shoes or desks, in this case. Writer Edna Buchanan takes the story of the aging star and adoring acolyte and transfers it to The Miami News, where heroine Britt Montero finds herself fighting for her job and then her life. Suitable for Framing (Hyperion, $21.95) is the third novel with Britt, and shell also crop up in Buchanans next book, Act of Betrayal, which will hit stores in February 1996. (The writer seems to be on a yearly track, which must make her popular at her publishers.) Suitable for Framing opens with Britt at the top of her reporting game, as usual, and happily dispensing advice to a seemingly sweet, eager newspaper librarian named Trish who has designs on a reporting job.

Trish sucks up Britts every word like an industrial-strength vacuum, literally sits at her elbow to watch her work and soon is transferred to the reporting staff. Her stories quickly land on page one, scooping Britt in a highly public, embarrassing way. After one of Trishs more spectacular articles leads to a guest spot on the Today show, where the interviewer calls Trish the top crime reporter for the paper, Britt reacts this way: I stared at the commercial that followed. The woman was not a Fans wont Buchanan knows newspapers. Shes been on leave for several years from The Miami Herald, where she earned a Pulitzer Prize.

She also knows cops and crime from her stint on the police beat. As usual, she combines both, weaving in newsroom atmosphere, culture and politics with crime stories like carjackings and gang shootings. The Miamian drops in small, telling details about thieves who wear spark plugs around their necks or belts and use the porcelain tops to crack car windows. Or the ones who seek out GM cars (The GM steering column is the lifeblood of thieves, one cop tells Britt) or steal cars that are ordered by their ringmasters. Buchanans style is as breezy as a day at the beach; like a fine reporter, shes thrifty with words.

Like any good murder yam, which is what this turns out to be (although the resolution was a little too abrupt for me), Suitable for Framing can be read in a couple of hours. I figured out one of the ways Trish was scooping Britt on her beat, but Ill leave you to ferret out the clue. Suitable for Framing is Buchanans seventh book and this one isnt quite as creepy as some of her others, both fiction and nonfiction. Reporters almost always love reading about other reporters, especially when the fictional ones are created by an author in the know, but I think anyone who gobbles up the Sue Grafton books also will like Buchanans. Grafton and her hard-boiled female detective, Kinsey Millhone, are lucratively working their way through the alphabet, and theres no reason Britt cant slog her way through the capital crimes.

NYPD Blue opens door for Nick Turturro By Bob Thomas The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Life looks great for Nicholas Turturro a new house, his first starring role in a movie and an expanding role in one of TVs hottest drama series, NYPD Blue. Turturro is amazed at the turns of fortune that moved turn from a doorman at a Manhattan hotel to a recognizable face and name to millions of TV watchers In the back yard of his Sherman Oaks home, along a row of post-World War II houses, he recalled his New York City tryout for the NYPD Blue role of Detective James Martinel I was on a break at the hotel, about 12 oclock in the afternoon, he said. I didnt put much emphasis on it. Usually, when you think about an audition, you get keyed up. This one, I figured out, was just another audition.

I knew it was a series, but I didn think it was going to be a big, big thing. I had no expectations. I ran up there in my doorman pants, put a sweater on, as I always did on my breaks. The guys used to laugh at me: There he goes to another audition. Whatre you doin today? Another commercial? This one was easy; I just ran up to Columbus Circle, didnt have to take the subway.

(Series creator) Steven Bochco and everybody was there. It look a long time to get in the room, and I had to get back to work. I had a nice audition. They seemed to be taken with me, but I didnt know if Id get the job. I figured theyd go back to Hollywood and say, We found somebody we liked better.

Not this time. Soon, Turturro and his wife and daughter were picking up stakes and moving to California. With his authentic Queens accent, Turturro fits neatly into the precinct station milieu. This season, his role has been deepening, with more crime-tracking assignments and a hint of romance. Turturro, 33, also can be seen in theaters as a small-time thief in the independently made, critically praised film Federal Hill.

Astonishingly, filmmaker Michael Corrente shot it in four weeks at a cost of $80,000, which probably would pay for five minutes of NYPD Blue. Federal Hill is about five young Italian-Americans who skirt the edge of the underworld in a blue-collar district of Providence, R.I. Ralph, played by Turturro, is the most volatile of the bunch, unpredictable in his violence, yet gentle with his ailing father. I get to go into the spectrum of this character, which is nice for an actor to do, Turturro said. Its nice to be able to show one side, and then come back and show a different side.

You say, Wow! Do I like this guy? Do I dont like him? Do I feel bad for him? An interesting part, a complicated kid. Turturro noted that Federal Hill is similar to his own home grounds, the Rosedale section of Queens. Its the same small-town mentality, he said. Its like being trapped in a world and having dreams, but not knowing how to go about your dreams. Being ignorant and closed-minded.

Queens had the same temptations, Turturro admitted, but I wasnt too mischievous. I could have been, but I got involved in sports, and that seemed to keep me out of trouble. Sports was good for me. Otherwise, I could have wound up like Ralph. Nick also had the steadying influence of his older brother, John Turturro (Barton Fink, Quiz Show), who preceded him as an actor.

It was John who introduced his little brother to films, getting him a job as an extra on Spike Lees Do the Right Thing. Lee hired Nick for three other films, and Nick began doing stage and TV work as well. crime reporter. I covered the damn police beat. The mistake was natural, I realized.

She had covered a death by suicide, the vice mayors arrest, then a shootout. If she was not the papers top crime reporter, she was doing a pretty damn good imitation. For the first time I began to worry about my job. If I didnt dig in and start producing, she would be the crime reporter if she wanted let Christy, the job. And I had no doubt that that was what she wanted.

As Britt tries to figure out why shes losing her grip, she also reaches out to a reluctant gang member who wants to free himself from his vicious car-jacking pals. Eventually her involvement with the teen leads to a violent showdown with the cops, and a murder then gives Britt a close-up view of the criminal justice system. other shows the goal of Viewers for Quality Television. The Virginia-based group is involved in campaigns to save My So-Called Life, the NBC police drama Homicide, the Fox family drama Party of Five and the CBS crime drama Under Suspicion. Yet while she encourages viewers to support their favorite programs, VQT founder and president Dorothy Swanson believes too many campaigns for too many shows can undermine overall effectiveness.

The problem occurs when its overdone. If you have a campaign for every show that comes down the pike, I think people get tired of it, she said. This organization is very picky about which shows we go to the wall for. If we did this all the time, no one would pay attention to it. But Im always an advocate of viewers asserting their power.

When Christy premiered last April, Kara Genavin of Tully, N.Y., was an instant fan. The 38-year-old paralegal enjoyed the show because it was one of the few, she said, that she could watch with her two daughters, ages 8 and 11, without concerns of any questionable content. When the show dis hatch GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE NOW! 10FF Heg. Price WITH COUPON Reg. Prices: Adult $12; Junior 13-16 $10, Child $9 Mon-Fri, Sat Sun 9am, 2pm.

Not valid with any other offer. Max 4 persons per coupon Expires 4-30-95 Ask About Our Daily Sportfishing Trips I Warnin BBS Su Grani writer and television analyst in Los 1 he Boston Globe Angeles. Now people who watch For months, Christy, a CBS TV and that means the majority family drama, lingered in limbo, of us have really found their existing in that peculiar network voices and their power in helping netherworld reserved for programs the networks decide whats on the excluded from the nightly lineup of air and off the air. shows, but not yet slated for the can- If you want to apply modern ter- cellation ax. Although the pro- minology, this is a form of interac-ducers had 11 new episodes of the tive television viewers deciding hourlong drama starring Kellie in a very direct way what TV shows Martin and Tyne Daly ready to air, they want to watch, he said.

I no one seemed sure when, if ever, think its good for the networks as a those shows would be seen. reminder of who they are working But fans of the rural drama for, and its great for TV viewers. refused to let their favorite show The success of the campaign to quietly fade away. bring back Christy may be a boost They made telephone calls. They for fans of My So-Called Life, the wrote and faxed letters.

They e- acclaimed ABC drama starring mailed network executives. And Claire Danes as a 15-year-old girl they took out an advertisement in negotiating life and the mine field several daily newspapers last of adolescence. Although the show month: Whatever happened to drew about 10 million viewers Christy? Thats a question you weekly, its ranking was 106th out of should ask CBS. 127 shows. Apparently enough people During an America Online forum asked CBS that question for the net- in January, ABC Entertainment work to announce last week that President Ted Harbert wrote, One Christy would return Saturday of the unfortunate things about my and network executives credited job is that even though there are 10 fans for saving the show.

million My So-Called Life fans out The return of Christy is a there, the brutally competitive tribute to the loyalty and support of nature of my business requires that the shows viewers, said Bill Allen, I try to put on shows that more president of MTM Television. They people will watch. wrote and called CBS in record But even before the show was numbers, and the network placed on hiatus last month, sup-responded. port for it was building. A group Its the television fans version of called Operation Life Support on fighting City Hall.

Take their America Online raised money for favorite show off the air, and they two full-page advertisements on the toss aside their remotes and reach programs behalf in Variety and for the telephones or paper and The Hollywood Reporter. And pen, or hop on the information while ABC officials decide the superhighway to rally the like- shows fate, MTV, the music video minded on the Internet and on-line cable network, announced this services such as CompuServe, week it has picked up the rights to Prodigy and America Online. Some- all 19 episodes of the show. The protimes their efforts succeed, as with gram will air weeknights at 7 for a Christy; other times they are less month starting Monday, successful. But increasingly, televi- Everybody here loves the show sion fans wont let their shows go and our audience loves the show, down without a fight.

said Joe Davola, MTVs senior vice For a lot of years the networks president of original programming were viewed as this great almighty told the New York Daily News, universe where the only common Maybe we can raise the aware-people who counted were those ness." mysterious Nielsen families, said Raising awareness of television Michael G. Kolwaller, a free-lance shows they consider worthwhile is Miss Greater Del Mar crowned fade away appeared from the CBS Thursday night lineup last fall, Genavin was devastated and she let the network know about it. I waited a few weeks, and then I called CBS to ask why the show was off the air. I was connected with a comment line, left my comment, then hung up, said Genavin. I felt like I made myself heard, and I told friends who liked the show to do the same.

We felt that if enough of us made noise, the network would have to hear us. CBS officials did not have an accurate count of the number of calls and letters received about Christy, but a spokesman said, Fans of the show have been writing to the network by the hundreds of thousands. This is not the first time fans support has resurrected a dormant program. The most famous example came in 1983 when Cagney and Lacey, the CBS police drama starring Tyne Daly and Meg Foster (later replaced by Sharon Gless), was canceled after a lackluster debut season. Loyal viewers flooded the network with calls and letters.

V'-. Vs' To Parents from the Oceanside PoliceeeVment With summer vacation rapidly approaching and what appears to be an early start to gang violence in Oceanside, the below listed twenty-two gang warning signs to parents are once again being printed to give parents of at-risk children a guide in what to look for that would possibly indicate that their children might be involved in gang activity. 1. Lack of interest in school (school problems) 2. Physical assault on and off campus 3.

Change in friends 4. Change in hairstyle andor style of dress (Sports gear, such as: hats, jackets, pants, tennis shoes) 5. Excessive use of facial make-up by females 6. Tattoos 7. Nicknames 8.

Graffiti on personal items 9. Change in personality (hostility towards parents, teachers, or those in authority) 10. Staying out late at night. 11. Increased contacts with police 12.

Hanging out with groups of friends, rather than just a few. 13. Stenciling clothing 14. Hanging out in known gang neighborhoods 15. Runaways being found in gang neighborhoods 16.

Increased amounts of money 17. Types of parties juveniles are going to 18. Child referring to his friends by nickname only 19. Belt buckles with initials affixed to them 20. Child using gang slang with friends 21.

Child uses hand signs called "flashing" 22. Child becomes the victim of a gang-related crime (example: stabbing, shooting, beating) Printed as a Public Service by SouthCoast Newspapers, Publishers of the Blade-Citizen PREVIEW The Scout Chevron The Compass a A Boutique For DEL MAR Elena Noel Brown, a sophomore at MiraCosta College, has been named Miss Greater Del Mar. She was crowned at a pageant Tuesday at the North Coast Repertory Theatre. Brown, 19, plans to pursue a career in international relations. As Miss Greater Del Mar, Brown will be one of 33 community pageant finalists vying for the dual title of 1995 Fairest of the Fair and Miss San Diego County.

The Fairest of the Fair will be selected May. ELENA NOEL BROWN 26 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. fust opened, in a homelike setting. in looA to the brighter side Uliy jjfjj Beautiful choices in postmastectomy breast forms bras and swimwear bet UHC byAmoena Pamper at the Best Creative Hair, Skin Nail Salon of So. Cal signer ltgmenKquldrm GRAND OPENING SPCCIfU.

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