PREVIEW TELEVISION
linen-II Heart-throbs a go-go
Why Don’t You Switch Oii Your Television and. . . Rememberthe maxim oi that irritating children’s programme? There can be no better time than now to take the advice - politicians are so much worse when you can see them, besides which, radio is rile with sex symbols this iortnight. On Mon 30, for starters, three venerable institutions come head to head when Radio 2 broadcasts Warren Beatty’s learned address to the Oxford Union (10.02pm). The talk is less likely to be oi academia than Academy Awards (his lilm, Bugsy has been nominated ior ten Oscars), but Beatty has also undertaken to talk about marriage, babies, paternal bonding and the problems oi being a heart-throb, all areas in which Oxiord students need some illumination. Meanwhile Frank Sinatra, who could have given all at Oxiord and Warren Beatty a lesson or two, gets a whole i3-part series dedicated to him in The Sounds oi Sinatra on Radio 2 (Sat 28, 4.02pm)
Juliet Stevenson should throb the odd heart on Radio 3 when she plays the daughter of Mrs Klein (Sun 29, 7.30pm), one at those dramas which contrives to be ‘moving, poignant and bitineg lunny’ all at the same time. The plot centres on three women psychoanalysts struggling to come to terms with the death of one of their number’s son, and is based on the true story oi Melanie Klein, a controversial
~ Women, a satirical look at the world of = lemale academia, starring Anna
child psychoanalyst. Saturday’s Playhouse (Radio 4, Sat 28, 2.30pm) is Melissa Murray‘s Understanding
Massey as a leminist lecturer writing a book about lemale crime, who inadvertently gets caught up in real-lite intrigue. Bulll, a new panel game on Radio 5 (starts Fri 3, 9.30pm) is presented by Simon Fanshawe and all about rude and embarrassing situations. Each week Kit Hollerbach, Nick Revell and their respective teams have to worm their way out oi corners, with loads of laris all round.
Sat 28 Mar sees the start of a new dramatisation oi Hardy’s steamy Tess oi the O’Urbervilles and on Tue 31 Frances Barber. a seasoned sex-symbol of screen and wireless, stars in When the Barbarians Came (Radio 3, 9.20pm), an allegory of Thatcherism set in 4th century Rome. This time the Barbarians decide to give rape, pillage and plunder a rest: instead they change Roman society by appealing to material greed, increasing unemployment and cutting theatre grants. Ho hum. Maybe radio isn't as politics-tree as all that. (Miranda France)
Viv Lumsden
Order, Order
Maybe it’s part oi the ageing process, but in my day politicians were lusty old gits like Harold Wilson or mad, bad and dangerous to know like Thatcher and Tebbit. In other words, elections were interesting. The youth oi today don’t know any better, so they believe John Major, Neil Kinnock and (tor chrissake) Paddy Ashdown are real political leaders, and have to listen to their every utterence on TV. At least, they do it they live in England. Scottish TV companies are going it alone with their election coverage this year which is good news tor everybody north oi the border. Firstly, it means that the independence debate, which is a peripheral issue in every sense oi the word down south, will receive a lull airing. Secondly, in John Smith, Gordon Brown, Robin Cook and even
Michael Forsyth and Nicholas Fairbairn, Scotland has some oi the more traditional MPs; rabble rousers who aren’t afraid oi a verbal punch-up but know just when to inject some wit into their ‘wisdom’.
STV are supplementing their election night coverage (to be introduced by the versatile Viv Lumsden) with a special
series oi debates entitled The Scottish . 500. More accurately, the show should i be called The Lanark 500 because the ! lorum will be composed at 500 : members oi the Clydesdale ; constituency (chosen because it is the 5 most representative otthe Scottish 5 nation’s political make-up). Audience members are given homework in the lorm oi the parties’ maniiestos and then lire questions at various MPs twice a week until 6 April when there will be a 90-minute debate.
BBC Scotland have Kirsty Wark and the ubiquitous Eddie Mair hosting their 9 April special, while also ieaturing nightly programmes called The Scottish Campaign Trail, and Scottish Rustings (introduced by you-know-who) will debate the major issues oi the day every Friday. It we're lucky, we could avoid the sight oi the bland haranguing the bland torthe entire campaign. (Philip Parr)
The Scottish 500, Scottish, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Scottish Hustings, BBCl, Fridays. Scottish Campaign Trail, BBC1, every weekday.
Your guide to what’s new, what’s worth catching and what to avoid on the VHS lront this iortnight.
Rental
I Prospero’s Books ( 18) Peter Greenaway‘s loose version of The Tempest uses high definition television technology and stunning costumes along with computer generated effects to make a feast for the eye that almost compensates for the confusing narrative. Best on the large screen admittedly. but attractive viewzak on video. Tom Bell. Michael Clark and John Gielgud star. (Palace) I Backdratt (15) Inexplicably a huge success at the box office. this mundane fire-fighting thriller is notable only for a few half-decent inferno scenes. It‘s the old tale of sibling rivalry crudely told against a background plot ofa mad arsonist setting fires with his expert knowledge. Robert De Niro has a low-key role as the fire officer investigating the arsons. (CIC) I Stepping Out (PG) Yo. sloppy dance routines in the area. Liza Minnelli plays a dance instructor attempting to whip her beginners‘ class into shape fora chariddy show. It's the usual stuff about losers learning to dream a little. become better dancers and better people, to love each other. . .euuurghcch (someone clean up this desk. please). (CIC)
.64 ‘ ICitySllckers(15)An amiable soft-centred comedy starring Daniel Stern. Billy Crystal and
; Bruno Kirby asthree buddies facing mid-life
crisis who take off to the
Midwest for a real-life cowboy experience. The i laughs manage to
outweigh the sentimentality. and craggy
' old Jack Palance gives a
sterling performance as the leathery trail leader Curly. (First Independent)
I Meeting Venus (15)
Glenn Close plays
operatic diva Karin
Anderson (with the voice
of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa) in an ambitious ifslightly dull tale of creative folk‘s infighting on the set ofa Wagner production. Director lstvan Szabo
‘ plague her as an adult.
gives the personal conflicts political reverberations. and laces the whole with a welcome dose of wit and visual
invention. (Warner)
I Memphis ( 15) Cybill Shepherd stars in a ropy but raunchy thriller which she co-wrote with novelist Larry MeMurtry. She stars with J.E. Freeman 'and John Laughlin as a team who believe they have a plan for the perfect crime. (First Independent)
I Welcome Home Roxy Carmichael ( 15) Winona Ryder in straight-to-video flop shocker. She plays teenage weirdo Dimky Bosetti. who convinces herself that she is the lovechild of local celebrity Roxy Carmichael and the gardener (Jeff Daniels). The resulting farcical happenings fail to be either funny or intriguing. (20:20 Vision)
I Drop Dead Fred (12) An | irritatinglyvulgarcomedy I starring Rik Mayall as the anally-fixated imaginary childhood pal of Phoebe Cates. turning up to
Daft slapstick stuffthat‘ll keep the kids giggling. (20:20 Vision)
I FX 2 - The Deadly Art Of Illusion ( 18) (RCA/Columbia)
I Teen Agent ( PG) (Warner)
I Survive The Savage Sea (PG) (Warner)
I Living A Lie ( 15) (Odyssey)
I Chance Ol A Litetime (15) (Guild)
I Edward II ( 18) Definitely not the sequel to Edward Setlssorhmtds. oh I don‘t knowthough . . .(Palace)
Sell through
I Burning Secret (PG) (First Independent £10.99)
I The Whales Oi August (U) (First Independent £10.99)
I Desert Hearts ( 18) A sensitive and entertaining lesbian romance. (First Independent £10.99)
I The Dead (U) John Huston directed daughter
Anjelica Huston in his final film. a virtual word-for-word adaptation of J oyce's doomy story. (First Independent £10.99)
I The Moderns ( 15) (First Independent £10.99)
I The Rainbow (U) (First Independent £10.99)
I Swann In Love ( 18) Jeremy Irons stars in Volker Schlondorfl‘s acclaimed adaptation of Proust's A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu. Swann has been accepted into 19th century Parisian aristocratic society. but his position is threatened by his ObsL'SSlVL love for the beautiful. but socially inferior Odette (Ornella Muti). (Artificral Iiye £15.99)
I Full Moon In Paris(15) Another of [Eric Rohmer's voyeuristic outings. looking at the lov e-life of the young independent- spirited designer Louise. Critics coo over Rohmer's lightweight romances. others find them sloppy and self-indulgent. (Artificial Eye £15.99)
I Manchester City's Greatest FA Cup Victories) Look out for the great Rodney Marsh. one ofthe unsung heroes of70s soccer. (Watershed £10.99
I West Ham United's Greatest FA Cup Victories (Watershed £10.99)
K‘éiON
(El l‘l IEEilhi'l' IEE 25B WI'
/ iGLLHE
I Aston Villa's Greatest FA Cup Victories (Watershed £10.99)
I Red Owari ll—Kryten (PG) Collectable space sitcom with Chris Barrie. Craig Charlcseral. Three episodes on each tape. (BBC£10.99)
I lied Owari ll-Stasis Leak (PG) (BBC£10.99) I Sharks— On Their Best Behaviour(BBC £10.99) I Match 01 The Day- Derby County (BBC£1().99)
I Match Oi The Day- Nottingham Forest (BBC £10.99)
The List 27 March — 9 April'1992 57