Without begrudging him his success, and acknowledging that his two best-selling novels, ”Presumed Innocent” and ”The Burden of Proof,” were solidly written, I would like to suggest that Scott Turow stick to writing novels or practicing law rather than spouting off on other matters.
Not long ago, in a national magazine, he wrote an embarrassingly naive essay that was meant to be a celebration of Chicago.
And over the last couple of weeks, Turow has been discussing why he chose to have his second novel adapted for TV rather than the big screen.
”I realized that `The Burden of Proof` could not be boiled down to a 120-minute film,” he told writer Nancy Randle.
There`s inherent arrogance in that statement, implying that his novel has a depth and complexity that Dickens might envy. Turow should be reminded that it`s generally such literary lights as Danielle Steel and Judith Krantz who are accorded the dubious honor of the four-hour TV fling.
His attitude would come as a shock to such authors as Pat Conroy
(”Prince of Tides”) or William Burrows (”Naked Lunch”), both of whom recently allowed their novels to be handled by the big screen without any damage.
Turow`s decision was a crucial mistake, for the four hours that it takes to tell ”The Burden of Proof” (8 p.m. Sunday and Monday, ABC-Ch. 7) proceeds so deliberately as to prove numbing.
With all that time, one might have expected that certain characters would be allowed to flesh out. But with the exception of Alejandro ”Sandy” Stern
(Hector Elizondo), a stiffly formal but brilliant lawyer, and Dixon Hartnell (Brian Dennehy), Stern`s womanizing, financier brother-in-law, the cast of characters remains superficial.
Victoria Principal, for instance, is reduced to mouthing such things as
”Well now, buckeroo” and ”jack squat” in a strange Southern accent, as Hartnell`s right-hand-woman and Stern`s one-night stand.
Stephanie Powers is stuck with the almost nonsensical part of therapist-friend-lover of Stern.
And Mel Harris, late of ”thirtysomething,” is almost made laughable as Stern`s courtroom adversary, especially when she doffs her clothes and plops her pregnant self into a hot tub with Stern.
There`s nothing misogynistic at work here. One never gets a sure sense of the men who move in the Stern-Hartnell world.
They are all at play in a plot that begins with the suicide of Stern`s wife, which brings out all manner of problems that need to be resolved: a medical report, a missing $850,000, papers locked in a safe, a naughty neighbor. . . .
As these matters are explored, mysteries are uncovered, secrets exposed. They are shocking only in a minor-league way.
Though serious, herpes is hardly the most serious threat afoot. And a $600,000 scam pales alongside Boesky-esque boondoggles. The axes around which the plot, and the sex, spin are less major crimes than melodramatic misdemeanors. The four-hour sentence they receive here is too harsh a punishment for the audience.
”THE BURDEN OF PROOF”
An ABC mini-series, from Mike Robe Productions Inc., in association with Capital Cities/ABC Video Productions. Executive producer is Robe, supervising producer is Preston Fischer, produced by John Perrin Flynn, directed by Robe, written by John Gay, based on the novel of the same name by Scott Turow. With Hector Elizondo, Brian Dennehy, Mel Harris, Stephanie Powers, Victoria Principal, Adrienne Barbeau. Airing at 8 p.m. Sunday and Monday, ABC-Ch. 7.
`ROC`
7:30 p.m. Sunday, Fox
A wonderful, precarious thing takes place at 7:30 p.m. Sunday on WFLD-Ch. 32. It is called live television, and though this was once the only way TV was delivered, when ”Roc” arrives Sunday it will be flying without a sitcom safety net.
”The stakes have been raised,” said Rocky Carroll, one of the show`s stars. ”Suddenly it`s . . . anything can happen.”
None of the ”Roc” producers or actors is expected to encounter such disasters as missed lines or sets toppling over. All expect things to go smoothly. And why not? ”Roc” may have TV`s most live-performance-savvy cast. The four central cast members-Charles Dutton, Ella Joyce, Carroll and Carl Gordon-are all accomplished stage actors, a series rarity and among the many reasons ”Roc” is such a pleasure.
Dutton, Carroll and Gordon appeared together in ”The Piano Lesson,”
August Wilson`s Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Joyce recently starred in Wilson`s ”Two Trains Running.”
TV is not at all like theater; making a series can be cumbersome and dull. It`s all a matter of stops and starts. Change the set. Get a new costume. Touch up that makeup. Move that camera. Many sitcoms are taped live in front of studio audiences, but the process is generally boring.
In this episode Dutton`s real-life wife, Debbi Morgan, guest stars as a homeless woman who is invited into the ”Roc” household.
But why the ”live” thing?
Because this is a sweeps ratings period, and producers will try almost anything to set themselves apart. That ”Roc” is such a fine, funny and worthwhile show softens a bit the sting of that ratings-hungry hustle.
`TITMUSS REGAINED`
8 p.m. Sunday, PBS
”Smarmy,” as defined by my handy dictionary, means ”flattering in an oily, insincere manner; unctuous.” What a fine, though incomplete, description of Leslie Titmuss, who maintains one of the stiffest upper lips in the wicked world of British politics.
He is again played by David Threlfall, who first brought us the character in the lengthy ”Paradise Postponed” five years ago, in this three-part
”Masterpiece Theatre” presentation, created by author John Mortimer, who has also given us Rumpole of the Bailey for ”Mystery!”
What an interestingly complex villain Titmuss is. He has finally gained a position of power-he`s the prime minister`s right-hand man and runs the Ministry of Housing, Ecological Affairs and Planning.
But love starts to get in the way as he woos and weds a lovely young widow (Kristin Scott Thomas). They buy handsome Rapstone Manor. The problems begin.
Titmuss gets caught in a public-private, political-personal conflict when an ambitious junior minister announces plans to commercially develop Rapstone Valley. That presents a dilemma: should Titmuss support his ministry`s project or save his country house and the land his new wife so loves?
The way Titmuss handles this hot potato makes for good, lively and even humorous viewing.
