The Fresno Bee from Fresno, California • 40

14 MONDAY JUNE 11998 THE FRESNO BEE entertainment Practice safe viewing habits and avoid this sexploitation Dumb-as-rocks plot and actors destroy movie By Rick Bentley THE FRESNO BEE The eky is Ming The sky is falling and falling im falling Enough! Stop! This veal's hot-button film plot has to do with a chunk of some sort of space rubble making its way to the destructive end of Earth Those flying masses of death and destruction can be as big as Texas and New York or as small as the flaming rocks that land in the USA Network movie By Rick Bentley THE FRESNO BEE 1 Please check your calendars The one hanging over my desk reveals it is 1998 But after watching the HBO series and the City that date has to be wrong It must be 1978 There is no way this series would be airing an era when death is just an unprotected sex act away No producer would put up the money to create a series where four females bed- If PREVIEW hop through the New York stud scene with absolutely no regard for their mental emotional or physical well- first impact i pm Wednesday After watching the made-for-cable film there was only one decision to make Which would be more painful watching the TV movie again or taking a hunk of rock in the head? At least the hunk of rock would be quick The two-hour torment starts in the sleepy town of Leroy This is a community that once a year dons costume rejects from a being Itisi It is Actresses who made the unwise choice to star in this series are clockwise from front: Cynthia Nixon Kim Cattrall Kristin Davis and Sarah Jessica Parker Stars Tom Wopat and Roxanne Hart do anything to prevent the film from flaming out After a series of idiotic subplots dealing with young lust corrupt politicians and beauty pageants the meteorites start falling Hie defining moment of the disaster comes when a reporter from a tabloid newspaper stands and watches one of the meteorites hit him between the eyes All left is a smoking pair of shoes Sometimes tributes to old Three routines work Most times they The film ends with everyone running for cover Despite the urge to give away the idiotic ending all that will be said that if you are running from huge meteorites hide in a place that has already been buried by the shower This latest disaster-fram-the-skies prqject might have worked if the actors lock embarrassed to be in the film Wopat was more believable as one of the of Hazard" boys and Hart should be billed for long-distance service since she phoned in her performance proves that even low-budget stories of terror from outer space can be a black hole Of entertainment Encore showings to miss include 10 pm June 6 and 1:30 pm June 13 aplaining about the frequen-too much and too little) (too convention to shout the praises of visitors from another world If aliens actually landed in this community they would leave to go look for signs of intelligent life As luck would have it Leroy ends up in the of a tail an attempt to i why the comet is about to pepper the i with rocks but none of it makes sense It really matter since it is nothing more than a plot device to put the local yokels in danger When the first meteorite wipes out a home the sheriff turns to retired police officer Tom Johnson (Tom Wopat) He has moved from the big city to the hole in the wall after making a mistake while working on the bomb squad That mistake have been as big as this movie The ex-bomb specialist have to worry about defusing his wife Cath (Roxanne Hart) as the biggest dud of the TV movie whole purpose is to stand around and look can fused Hey Cath join the crowd inconceivable that actresses such as Sarah Jessica Parker Cynthia Nixon Kim Cattrall or Kristin Davis would agree to portray morally bankrupt women who have reduced the values of their lives to how often they can have sex That kind of show cant exist in 1998 Unfortunately it does and the based on Candace book of the same name slithers its way onto the premium schedule starting at 9:45 pm Saturday Two 80-minute episodes will be shown back-to-back Parker portrays Bushnell a newspaper columnist who prowls the New York night life looking for material When not able to scrape up enough scum from her own life for her column Bushnell turns to a group of self-centered female and neurotic male friends for fodder They discuss in glowing terms such emotional problems as being addicted to dating models or variations on sexual positions All of these sex flies buzz around the fame of the writer obviously getting some absurd Mfffiml stimulation from talking the talk And that talk never drifts for from sex If they arent talking about what they did they are the kind of people who make you long to die from food poisoning when seated next to jiw at a banquet The miserable lives of the four women are played out against the ultra-hip night life of New York It is such a realistic world that single women can stand on street corners in the pre-dawn hours or walk 85 blocks through town without fear of death and the features characters too pathetic to be ignored as romance-novel pawns and too emotionally destructive to be dismissed as being just good gals These are no more than obnoxious characters living a lifestyle that few could envy Even 20 years ago they would have been emotionless hulls looking for a happiness that will never exist waste your time watching this act of sexual suicide dressed up for a television comp cy They even manage to torn tripe to fashion shows and restaurants into forums for their sex-driven libidos Some will argue that my reaction to the series wouldn't have been as negative if this had been four male friends discussing their conquests It certainly would have been if those four had been so blatantly unsympathetic Parker's character is a voyeuristic leech sucking flame and fortune from encounters At least she have the self-destructive nature of character This woman has been reduced to attempting to suck the life out of much younger partners as a way to recapture her own youth That leaves the frustrated character played by Davis and the relationship-challenged role for Nixon Both characters are Parents using TV ratings to guide viewing By Richard Huff NEW YORK DAILY NEWS While more than half the parents polled in a new survey said using the 18-month-old TV content-rating designations when making viewing choices for their kids many also conceded they explain what the ratings mean Fifty-four percentof the parents said they use the TV ratings to guide their viewing and 45 said they have stopped at least one of their kids from watching a show because of its rating according to the study released by the Kaiser Family bols mean while 46 know five or fewer The ratings range from TV-MA which designates suitability for viewers 17 and older (Comedy "South is the only regular series to carry the MA label) to TV-Y the label for such all-ages kid shows as Last October ABC CBS Fox and most mqjor cable networks added mod designations to their age-based content ratings to warn parents of strong violence sexual content or language NBC refuses to modify its ratings though it does provide on-air warnings Gallery features summer guest artists and eon Mark designer of waterfalls Information: 325-0777 Fresno Bee Gallery in Clovis will resume its summer demonstrations by guest artists Friday as an adjunct to the weekly Farmers Market schedule Painter Peggy Jelmini will be first in the series doing landscapes and florals in watercolor color July 10 Lynn Napoli portraits in oil and pastel July 17 watercolorist James Soares recently accepted in the National Watercolor Society July 24 paper-bag art by Sharon Oliver and July 31 Donald Maxwell bird carver not always understand the system and there are changes like to see made said Drew Altman president of the foundation a research group concerned with the impact of entertainment The survey conflicts with a March poll conducted by The Associated Press that indicated that parents were overwhelmingly ignoring the ratings In the new survey me out of five parents claimed never to have heard of the ratings system Twenty-seven percent said they had heard of the system though 'they or "hardly use it The most common reason for not using the system was that parents would rather decide themselves what their kids should 866 A third of the 10-17-year-olds polled tad that thwir nprant nave stopped than at least mux from watching something because of the rating Also more than a third admitted they had not watched a show based on the rating In that 40 said they did so use their parents would not approve while 26 said they tuned elsewhere because the rating indicated the show was for a younger audience good news for the ratings system is that many par-arts are using the ratings and find them helpful but they do The survey also found though that only 54 of the respondents know what at leak six of the 11 ratings sym CHR5 FARLEY MATTXW PERRY tmynjfo 49 scrabble word sleuth solutions Subsequent programs from 5-8 pm Fridays will be: June 12 Donna Wright abstract works in watercolor and collage June 19 Laura Olson Teddy Bear characters June 26 Phyllis Neufeld the award-winning textile artist turned watercolorist specialising in flowers July 3 Isabel Bennett traditional subjects in oil and water- Samuf GRAMS SOLUTION BY JUOO MW raiMhMI Alfliost History Alnost Lftgcidi ALMOST HEROES MJMSTHEBOCI(FOHN(tta 245 fcOON KU (KFOMFACTpO-tO) (1215 230 630)130 BMCT(FO-1S) (100 400)700 330 QUEST FOR CMKPTW (1216 216 430) WOO(R 700 too FMMJE(F8 (1200 230 446) CnVOFANOKSfO-ll) 700 300 nEOEJECTOFETIHlCiaiEHttS tOO 215)71) 345 00 SB Mostly Rldlcsloss euh Ra RACK 3 57 Dt RACK 4 JO JUDO'S TOTAL 100 PQ-13 i it imbMmbb mt Cmoi mmtm HOFS FLOATS (FOLM) (1200 230 600)700 1000 7iMM0UWnMMLMVE00a(1n 045 nnuac(Ffrn (1215 43045 Q0nUAFM((tt Ifl HO HO 4flMRtfl TOO THE BUTCHER BOY (R) (1200 215 440)700 ftttf UUMRIMOS (1210 200 400)705 tool lMKIMSLH(Ffr1N (1240 23015 OOM InWMCIFe-UI (1200 400)745" "eiisVciSwi TIE INK IHOISDSaOSafflBMOKB iTNIInKaCHNM ms DHTML mw) 6O0DBLLAMM ttmitStDOHMOOg? 8301000 CRY OF ANOKA 1215246530ft Irani 161046 HmNEMMMCHMIM HOFE FLOATS (Ffrlft 110)20044673)1006 AS BOODMIT GETS FAIR 1004007161016 THEOBECTOFWMHMA 100346700246 ilWUlEmiKCHCMNK 4 AUIOST HEROES m-m 1140146416646016 ifl BUUMRTHfH) 1030 116346 7i0 940 FEMANDUMTHNQM LMVEMInl4CM10 FRESN01STADIUMJ2 SLACKSTONE AT HERNDON 1200)436100 masmr- mw-om BMOl "WoW plAyiNg FEATURES START AT DUSK CMLDREN UNDER 11 FREE ONE SOUNO IN All SCREENS 'dau rriA riNi rnofrsHoivrs i ar tinctsf oiuj5frrM FNLUCA dAttt-JGAGtrU Lli im MKIliA(N13) inHiiMjjayNos) 11063UOS308S) LOftT IN (FACE po-m QOOO HULL HUNTMQlBI 130430730 1030 11462158007301010 1 SDIMNBtfWfWaBK DBNNCTnni N4610043D7M1Q16 aouxiApa-iR 190230400530 TffltaDIMC 4 HOPE FLOAT! (TO-1 1246300616730046 MSP IMPACT (M-13) KNUNNSl FHSENIHIMO nmifspSxx IHAKCONNiaua MKftMJSn-11 113012001230200-230 300430800830-700 7308158(6-1015-1045 nawMsnauHiEiuM FfESENlBEDWMSpuSD 0M A6IANT8CREEN IMRM6 CHRIS HUUY iMumEwnnY ummtsn-is 11301454008158301045 FHTUUMflUIUHSEAnM )MMrWt0UN0 PRESENTED IN mm-w 1200-100-130-200-300 400-430-500-600-700 730-800-900-1000-1030 Ifl TITAMK (Pt-lg) 'Uwu'XllitiKNima a imvftMHnT 1230246500716030 AIMOfTHIMIi(Pt13) with U(P3-H) 0N2WNT IWWMMOI 3R0SERT if R60FQHD 4 KRISTIN SCOTT THOMM BULWOHTHM MHD3B430MHMS QUEST FOR CMHOTn IWWNB H4TURIH6SWDIUN8 0N 2G1ANT cnoBiim iiuuRlni i DIRnniM R9Km I HALE BERRY NUNsnn 1145-100-230-330-500 800-730830-1000-1045 HOPE FLOATS MnCUITRIMIMd) ionmsMci(pfi3) iUESRYM INKOUSME mMwnn 715-1015 OIIIMITNIOIMO DEEFfttPACTira-l 1M6H523M16SS7IS030N1! IHE SED0M0 NNOEI Mai 1 In NMNH 23J 1246600916 3REAES MI 246700 mmti i mi 1200-100830430 715815-1045 FHnMNG8W)MI0IXnN PRESENTED IN ONTDILSOIW ONAIUNTSCRai WWNB1 OF 11 ACAOaWAHMRDS INCLD0MG BEST PICTURE IWWN6LHWIR00DICN1K0 nDucn-i 1230430830 MOOT IMS HOOK-UFm 1230246600716000 5660 EAST OLIVE AT CLOVIS (MS) 266-7460 or (808) 261-1363 IWWNB JOHNNY OWF SCREAM in 1200440015 WILD THUMB 226706 ON 20 imam om umuTiMi rsrin KJts mrncMBnn 1230-115-230-315 430815830830-1030 3335E IAMAMS EVERY SUNDAY MOM 4 AM -4 PM 1200145845430 530715815845-1045 nm11 Imowumc iw SUM ilb 4S iwmisinn-m nr.