C+
Any dramatization of Abraham Lincoln's murder is sure to have moments of power. In this TV movie based on Jim Bishop's 1955 book, Lincoln's son Robert (Wil Wheaton) asks the attending physician if he knew the dying President. "No," he replies. "But I loved him." The words are simple, yet fill us with profound regret. Could this great man have united the Civil War-torn nation had John Wilkes Booth not shot him on April 14, 1865?
Unfortunately, the drama too seldom does justice to history. Lance Henriksen (Millennium) takes an uninspired approach to Lincoln, playing it safe, stately and stiff. Rob Morrow (Northern Exposure) is competent in portraying Booth the poseur, but less convincing when his character is supposed to shed real tears for the defeated Confederacy or a lost love. Dialogue problems include phraseology that would be more appropriate to the Clinton era (a Cabinet member warns the President of "a public relations disaster") and an instance of unintentional (we hope) humor: "Does the whole of Washington know something about this play that we don't?" asks First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln (Donna Murphy in a strong performance) when she has trouble lining up companions for that fateful outing to see Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre. At least nobody says later, "Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?"
CBS (Sun., April 12, 9 p.m. ET)
C
Some may think this drama works too hard at being inspirational, but you can hardly expect two hours of cynicism from a TV movie that follows Touched by an Angel on Easter Sunday. Set in the 1870s, the story is based on the legend of the so-called miraculous staircase of the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe. Barbara Hershey stars as the terminally ill mother superior, determined to see the chapel completed before she goes. Things look bleak because the builders somehow forgot to allow for a staircase leading to the choir loft. The sisters pray like mad, and behold: A kindly but mysterious carpenter (William Petersen) offers to construct a wooden spiral staircase—using no nails—in the extremely tight space remaining. A feasible project—for those who believe faith can move mountains.
An interesting relationship develops between Petersen, whose wisdom and goodness seem almost heavenly, and the sharp-tongued, irreverent Hershey. But the film is sidetracked by the intrigues of the corrupt contractor (David Clennon) and incompetent architect (Justin Louis) who botched the chapel job initially. And the four-handkerchief ending would be a bit much on any night.
ABC (Mondays, 8 p.m. ET)
D+
If Nike ads aren't hot enough for you, pay a locker-room visit to the potential Olympians of this new series set at fictional Cal Southern University. In the April 6 pilot, assistant gymnastics coach Nikki (Jamie Pressly) recalls her time as a member of the U.S. team at the 1996 Atlanta Games: "All that muscle and sweat, and the sex was just—well, you know gymnasts and sex." (Sure, John Tesh told us all about it on TV.) Nikki is carrying on with head coach Victor (Adam Trese), but she frets that he would rather be carrying on with gymnast Cara (Laurie Fortier), who's carrying on with slimy creative-writing teacher Bryce (Paul Kaye). Meanwhile, swimmer Scott (Eddie Mills) would love to love swimmer Erin (Maureen Flannigan), but he's petrified that he may be HIV positive, so gymnast Tyler (Scott Gurney) has a shot at her. The only character who seems focused on sports is nasty track man Dempsey (Jason Behr), who pops pills in an effort to run faster than teammate Milo (Jacobi Wynne). Flannigan and Mills are appealing, but this is nothing more than jock soap opera with a music-video look. Okay, student-athletes: Hit the cold showers.
>Pepper Ann's Creator, Sue Rose
AN ANTI-BARBIE FOR THE 'TWEEN SET
HER PARENTS ARE DIVORCED (BUMMER), her face is prone to zits, and she's terrified of being labeled a dork by her seventh-grade friends. In short: "My life is trash!" wails the animated, acerbic star of Disney's Pepper Ann, part of ABC's top-rated Saturday-morning cartoon block. The rookie series is especially popular with " 'tweeners"—the too-old-for-Barney, too-young-for-Leonardo set. Sue Rose, Pepper Ann's creator, explains the kid's dilemma: "Around 12, something causes girls to be more self-conscious, introverted and insecure. I feel I'm in touch with those feelings," says Rose, 44, who can still vividly recall her own angst at that age.
Not coincidentally, then, the curly-haired, bespectacled Pepper Ann also bears a striking resemblance to her creator, an art-school student turned J. Walter Thompson account exec who quit the ad game in 1986 to take up her first love, cartooning. She draws upon her own childhood in Hudson, N.Y., to tell the story of her animated alter ego and her adventures with her first bra, her first kiss and her divorced mom's first date.
Rose's own mom, a women's clothing-store owner, and dad, a sportswear manufacturer, have been wed 50 years. But for the series, "I wanted to show single-parent families as valid and loving," says Rose, who—single herself and living in L.A.—says she might have kids someday. In the meantime, she keeps tapping into 'tween-set anxieties. "We're not telling kids how to live," says Rose. "But by talking about certain things, we're telling them they aren't alone."
- Contributors:
- Todd Gold.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
