Performances Strengthen ‘Child’s Cry’

Resonating performances by Veronica Hamel and Pam Dawber fortify NBC’s “A Child’s Cry for Help” at 9, a 1994 TV-movie about a dedicated doctor who suspects that a young boy’s mysterious illness is being caused by his mother.

The repeat drama is based on a rare mental disorder known as Munchausen by proxy syndrome. It involves a parent, usually a mother, who causes illness in a child in order to perpetually demonstrate her devotion and concern.

Hamel plays a hospital administrator who attempts to diagnose an infection that has kept a young boy in critical condition. She soon suspects that the boy’s mother (Dawber) is responsible. In a move that could cost her her job, she reports the mother to a child services agency, which places the boy in its care and banishes the mother from the hospital.

The movie stretches credibility somewhat. There are too many shortcuts in the medical aspects of the story, as well as some paper-thin acting by Daniel Hugh Kelly as Hamel’s boss and Daniel Benzali as a rival doctor.

And a layman would realize there’s something not quite right about the doting mother long before these doctors figure it out.

Nonetheless, “A Child’s Cry” manages to maintain tension as the evidence begins to pile up.

Dawber is effective in a courtroom scene in which her character’s stable facade begins to crumble.

Highlights

“Guilty as Sin” (1993), FOX at 8: A lawyer (Rebecca De Mornay) will do anything to get a smug womanizer (Don Johnson) off the hook for the murder of his wife. She doesn’t lose much sleep knowing that he’s guilty until she fears he plans to take her life next.

The cat-and-mouse game between De Mornay and Johnson is particularly annoying. Find the screenwriters guilty of sinfully bad plot development.

“NFL Football,” ABC at 5: The Minnesota Vikings and the Miami Dolphins meet in an exhibition game.

“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” NBC at 8: Richard Roundtree guest stars as a minister who becomes enamored with Vivian (Daphne Maxwell Reid). In a second repeat that follows at 8:30, Dick Clark turns up as series stars step out of character to present some of their favorite bloopers and outtakes.

“Cybill,” CBS at 9:30: You’ll get a kick out of Maryann (Christine Baranski) as she plans for a hot first date with Ira (Alan Rosenberg). But even funnier is Cybill’s visit from her favorite waiter from Trattoria (Tim Maculan), who is distraught over breaking up with his boyfriend. Repeat.

Cable Calls

“VH-1 Presents the ‘70s,” VH-1 at 8 and 11:30: I confess. I was only going to sample a few minutes of this five-part documentary on the ‘70s. Five hours later, I was amazed at the depth and insight I’d gained.

Tonight’s Part 1, “Power to the People,” looks at how the Vietnam War and Watergate influenced pop music. The high-voltage documentary continues in one-hour-long segments over the next four nights.

“Bedtime,” SHO at 9:40: This series has gotten better week by week, impressing me with its intimate dialogue and evolving plots. In this episode, Liz (Susan Gibney) shows how ambivalent she is about life with her lesbian partner when she brings home a man.

What has helped is that these couples aren’t as disconnected as we were originally led to believe. A secret extramarital affair (or is it a common fantasy?) links two of the characters. And in this episode, a sexy bra perks up one couple’s sex life, but almost dashes another’s romantic moment.

Talk Time

“Tonight,” NBC at 11:35: Jennifer Aniston (“Friends”) and comedian-actor Sinbad.

“Late Show With David Letterman,” CBS at 11:35: Actress Marilu Henner and actor-producer Ed Burns.

“Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” NBC at 12:35 a.m.: Heather Locklear (“Melrose Place”) and comedian Marc Maron. Repeat.