‘Caroline’ Episode A Standout
NBC’s “Caroline in the City,” which owes so much to a year in the hallowed spot between “Seinfeld” and “ER,” surpassed my expectations in the 1995-96 season. And it received help from an unlikely source in a rollicking February half-hour repeated at 10:30.
Sharon Lawrence (“NYPD Blue”) gets laugh after laugh as an employment agency head who interviews job-seeker Richard (Malcolm Gets). Unknown to him, she has just sworn revenge on her ex-husband, promising to go to bed with the next man she lays eyes on. Enter Richard.
Lawrence has proven her mettle as a comedic actress in a guest role on “Cheers,” playing a woman Sam Malone met in a sexual-addiction support group. She’s a delight here.
And Gets, the funniest member of the “Caroline” cast, is up to the task of playing her foil.
Why, you ask, is Richard looking for a job? It’s because Del (Eric Lutes) proposes to Caroline (Lea Thompson). That has an unsettling effect on her neurotic assistant.
Del and Caroline’s on-and-off relationship hasn’t been one of the show’s more inspired story lines. The notion that Richard may harbor romantic feelings developed in this episode and became the basis for a terrific first-season finale.
Highlights
“Days of Thunder” (1990), CBS at 8: Tom Cruise races into prime time with yet another screening of this stock-car drama-romance. It’s an OK ride, but it’s strictly being used as filler now by CBS.
“Roseanne,” ABC at 8: Roseanne is chosen to appear on a local TV morning show to deliver blue-collar commentary. The way things are going in local television news, some stations may be inspired to look for their own Roseannes. Let’s hope not. Repeat.
“Mad About You,” NBC at 9: If the kids aren’t around, you’ll be laughing when Paul (Paul Reiser) decides to extract a sample for his fertility test at home and then rushes across town to get it to the lab on time. Repeat.
“The Invaders” (1995), FOX at 8: The movie based on the ‘60s sci-fi series concludes with Nolan (Scott Bakula) attempting to defeat the aliens’ plans.
“Republican National Convention,” ABC, CBS, NBC at 7: The networks plan an hour of highlights and discussion. (C-SPAN, PBS, FAM and CNN have broader coverage beginning earlier.)
Cable Calls
“Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick,” TNT at 5, 7 and 9: Alec Baldwin narrates this superb biographical documentary on director William A. Wellman, whose films include “Wings” (1927), “The Public Enemy” (1931), “Battleground” (1949) and “A Star is Born” (1954).
Some of Hollywood’s greatest stars reflect on Wellman’s take-charge and defiant style. Wellman’s “Across the Wide Missouri” (1951) airs at 11, followed by “The Next Voice You Hear” (1950) at 12:45 a.m.
“Memphis PD: War on the Streets,” HBO at 10: “You shut down emotionally to preserve your self-esteem, and you don’t even know you have changed.” The words by a Memphis, Tenn., police officer set the tone for this chilling “America Undercover” documentary that illustrates how tough it is on the streets and the personal price that police officers pay.