Want Plot And Acting? Maybe In Your Dreams

Sat., Feb. 24, 1996

Faye Zuckerman New York Times Syndicate

February’s last Sunday night serves up two-time Oscar nominee Ann-Margret competing for viewers against formidable bad girl and former “Beverly Hills, 90210”-star Shannen Doherty. Doherty, of course, could never outdo Margret in the acting department.

The ironic twist in the latest battle of big-budget four-hour tales is that the one Doherty stars in, “Gone in the Night” (CBS Sunday and Tuesday at 9), is better acted - Doherty notwithstanding - and even more engaging than Margret’s “Seduced by Madness: The Diane Borchardt Story” (NBC Sunday and Monday at 9).

In “Madness,” Margret bumps and grinds as a high-school study hall teacher who uses her feminine wiles to persuade a teacher’s pet to kill her estranged husband (Peter Coyote).

Margret’s the best at playing a conniving seductress. But do we have to see her pouring on the grunts and groans in nearly every scene?

The supporting players, especially Coyote as the long-suffering husband, turn in strong performances. The tale, however, is long and drawn out.

Over on CBS, “Gone in the Night,” which features Dixie Carter and Ed Asner, is meatier and more satisfying. Between scenes of Doherty, who can turn on the water works faster than any daytime soap diva, the four hours provide a behind-the-scenes look at corrupt politicians, headline-chasing members of the media and close-minded cops.

Doherty plays a loving mother whose child is stolen - and then killed - late one night while the family is sleeping. Local politicians and the police peg Doherty’s character Cyndi Dowaliby and her husband (Kevin Dillon) as the culprits. The couple soon embark on a seemingly hopeless battle against everyone, even city hall, to prove their innocence.

Who would have thought that Doherty would win against Margret in any kind of acting competition? Only in TV Land.

Highlights

“All New All-Star TV Censored Bloopers - Fat Free!,” NBC Saturday at 8: You can titter and giggle at some of the mistakes Cynthia Stevenson (“Hope & Gloria”) and LL Cool J (“In the House”) have made on their TV shows. Also, goofs from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “Caroline in the City” are good for a few laughs.

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III” (1993), ABC Saturday at 8: The heroes on the half-shell, a fad that has faded as fast as Power Rangers, land in 17th-century Japan on a rescue mission. This movie is corny, violent and idiotic.

“Figure Skating,” FOX Saturday at 8: Michelle Kwan, Todd Eldredge and Chen Lu hit the ice for $2 million in prize money. Taped in Paris.

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