Down-To-Earth ‘Killer’ Keeps Several Story Lines Alive At Once
The crime-fighting adventures of America’s most honest, forthright and ethical Illinois deputy sheriff, Jack Reed, have become a series of down-and-dirty gritty police tales to be savored.
NBC’s fact-based “Jack Reed: A Killer Amongst Us,” Sunday at 9, is the fourth to take viewers to the front lines of police work.
Without Brian Dennehy, his huge, tough exterior and a bark that is far worse than its bite, the Jack Reed TV franchise wouldn’t work. Dennehy is the whole show.
“Killer” is a chilling tale about a seemingly routine drive-by shooting that ends up being connected to a professional hit, a cop killing, a shooting spree and a judicial bribery scandal. To catch the guilty parties, Reed, his immediate superior (Charles Dutton) and colleagues use old-fashioned detective work (which includes searching through a suspect’s garbage and asking lots of questions).
The movie tries to soften the hard-core crime-fighting aspect by focusing on Reed’s home life. His always-understanding wife, Arlene, (Susan Ruttan), willingly allows a drive-by-shooting victim, Sara Landry (Suki Kaiser), to move in with the family.
Meanwhile, back at the homestead the Reed kids cope with adolescent issues such as preparing for the senior prom and Boy Scouts.
It may sound as if this movie bites off more than it can chew, especially when it examines the lives of the professional assassins and corrupt city officials. (CCH Pounder plays the troubled grandmother of one of the suspects.) But “Killer” manages to weave together the many story lines successfully - albeit they are somewhat contrived.
Emmy nominee Dennehy (“To Catch a Killer”), Dutton (“Roc”) and Ruttan (“L.A. Law”) have hooked into a franchise as likable as Reed himself.
Highlights
“The Home Court,” NBC tonight at 9:30: Male chauvinism rears its ugly head when Dan Hedaya (“Cheers”) appears as Sydney’s new boss. He demotes her to traffic court because he feels the outspoken single mom is too concerned with her own family.
“Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991), ABC Sunday at 9: You remember this box-office hit. Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to the big screen as the Terminator for another shoot-‘em-up fest.
“Ivana Trump’s ‘For Love Alone”’ (1996), CBS Sunday at 9: Unavailable for review is the TV adaptation of Trump’s book about a young, beautiful woman (Sanna Vraa) who learns life’s lessons through heartache, love and success. Didn’t Judith Krantz write the same story umpteen times already? Or was it Danielle Steel?
“Masterpiece Theatre,” KSPS Sunday at 8: “The Politician’s Wife” is a fascinating thriller about the spouse (Juliet Stevenson) of a prominent member of Parliament (Trevor Eve) who must face her husband’s infidelity publicly. She can make or break his career in this two-part tale.
Parents’ Pick
“Stolen Memories: Secrets from the Rose Garden” (1996), FAM Sunday at 7: This heartfelt coming-of-age tale offers something truly special. It’s not to be missed.
Set in the summer of 1956, young Freddie (Nathan Watt) is forced to spend the summer in the South with his three spinster aunts (Mary Tyler Moore, Linda Lavin and Shirley Knight). At first, he’s appalled and depressed, but soon he uncovers an old family mystery, meets a girl and tangles with two local boys.
It turns out to be quite a summer for Freddie - and a satisfying movie for parents and their older children.
Cable Calls
“Disclosure” (1994), HBO tonight at 8: Michael Crichton’s controversial thriller about sexual harassment in the workplace brims with tension and a well-casted pairing, Demi Moore and Michael Douglas.
“Legends of the Fall” (1994), SHO tonight at 8: This impressive family-in-turmoil drama, set in the early 1900s, traces the conflicts among three brothers (Henry Thomas, Aidan Quinn and Brad Pitt) who fall in the love with the same woman (Julia Ormond).
“Weird Science,” USA tonight at 9: The cable network rolls out its Saturday night comedy lineup. It’s low on laughs but high on featuring women in either bikinis or skimpy clothes.
In returning “Science,” the double-entendres fly fast and furious as two high school geeks (Michael Manasseri and John Mallory Asher) and their female invention Lisa (Vanessa Angel) spoof Mel Brook’s “Young Frankenstein.”
At 9:30 is a new sitcom called “Campus Cops,” a poor man’s “Animal House” crossed with “Dumb and Dumber.” Ben Bode and Ryan Hurst play bumbling security officers at a college where they ogle female students and contend with a knucklehead of a dean (Monte Markham).
The cable channel brings back for a third season the wacky “Duckman” at 10. The episode offers an uneven parody of ‘40s detective movies.
The best of the lot is “Weekly World News” at 10:30. The half-hour offers tongue-in-cheek news segments on stories recently reported in tabloids.