“Something Wilder”
7 p.m. Saturday, NBC-Ch. 5
When a comedic actor continues to rehash the devices that have become his trademark, it’s usually a sign that he has gone belly-up creatively. The harder he tries, the more he seems to slip into pathetic self-parody.
And the more painful it becomes to watch it unfold.
At 59, Gene Wilder is fighting the rut of a stalled film career by turning to television – and the early results aren’t all that promising.
In the sitcom “Something Wilder” (7 p.m. Saturday, NBC-Ch. 5), the gentle-mannered Wilder is a devoted husband to a young wife (Hillary B. Smith) and dedicated father to a pair of active 4-year-old fraternal twins (Carl Michael Lindner and Ian Bottiglieri).
As Gene Bergman, Wilder’s age is the sitcom’s central issue and running gag. He met the 30ish Annie (Smith) when they worked in a major New York advertising agency. They gave up the fast track after marrying and having the boys, and moved to rural Stockbridge, Mass., where Gene started a small ad agency with pal Jack (Gregory Itzin) and Gene’s ditz of a brother-in-law, Richie (Jake Weber).
Judging by the first two episodes, the writers figure that the most comical situation is to have the fluffy-haired Wilder roll around the floor with his two kids, exchange witty dialogue with co-workers and take advantage of every slapstick opportunity imaginable-like trying to tackle unruly exercise machines.
In Saturday’s premiere, Wilder’s two boys are heading off to pre-school just as Jack is celebrating a son’s departure for college.
“It seems like yesterday they were getting out of diapers,” Gene says about his two little ones. “Yep,” Jack responds, “by the time they go off to college, you’ll be getting back in them.”
A future episode has Gene volunteering to coach his boys’ soccer team, nearly killing himself trying to prove he still has it.
It’s clear that the charming Smith has been relegated to straightwoman status until Wilder is able to establish the show as his own.
That’s even more reason why Smith ought to keep her day job. Fans of ABC’s “One Life to Live” know her as attorney Nora Gannon. She has mentioned in published reports that she’ll continue to commute from New York to Los Angeles and work both jobs, stopping only if “Something Wilder” becomes a hit.
Smart woman.
– What makes the fact-based “For the Love of Nancy” (8 p.m. Sunday, ABC-Ch. 7) must-see TV is the casting of Tracey Gold as Nancy Walsh, the 18-year-old former model who battled the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. Gold left the comedy series “Growing Pains” in 1992 while suffering from the same deadly disorder.
In “Nancy,” Gold, now about 95 pounds, turns in a strong, meticulous performance as the troubled girl who falls deeper into its depths.
In “Nancy,” viewers learn that the disease often comes from a loss of control, most frequently among overachievers and perfectionists. Nancy began falling apart once she enrolled in college, leaving the secure environment of her overbearing mother (Jill Clayburgh) and loving, but distant father (William Devane).
Nancy’s case grabbed national attention when her parents, fearing their daughter would starve herself to death, took her to court for medical guardianship.
Gold’s acting is dead-on here, giving viewers the sense anorexia is like an evil force.
– A pair of westerns appear this weekend. One is a weekly series; the other only seems like it is.
The series version of the popular “Lonesome Dove” mini-series arrives with little star power but the same authentic appeal. Scott Bairstow is the gentle hero Newt Call for “Lonesome Dove: The Series” (7 p.m. Friday, WPWR-Ch. 50); Christianne Hirt is Hannah, the headstrong woman Newt falls for. The pilot is terrific, but don’t be deceived by the guests: Dennis Weaver, Billy Dee Williams, Graham Greene and Robert Culp appear in the first few episodes but won’t be part of the weekly cast.
Meanwhile, Kenny Rogers returns as slick gambler Brady Hawkes in what seems to be the zillionith “Gambler” movie. In the ho-hum “The Gambler V: Playing for Keeps” (8 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday, CBS-Ch. 2), Rogers searches for his son (Kris Kamm), who has traded school books to run with a gang of thugs.
