This ‘Virus’ Is Not Exactly Contagious
If you think of the movie “Robin Cook’s ‘Virus”’ (NBC Sunday at 9) in terms of a novel, it would surely be a book with wide margins and large print.
The print seems even larger when the 1995 TV-movie thriller is repeated. “Virus” has a plot that rarely keeps you guessing where the story is going. And with star Nicollette Sheridan in nearly every scene, it’s not likely you’re tuning in an Actor’s Studio clinic.
“Virus” gets some mileage out of current fears provoked by even a mention of super-resistant viruses. This tale employs the infamous real-live Ebola strain that strikes quickly and leads to a horrifying death.
Sheridan plays Dr. Marissa Blumenthal, a rookie researcher at Atlanta’s Centers for Disease Control. She is dispatched to Los Angeles where several patients at a Health Maintenance Organization clinic are dying from an unidentified virus. Simultaneously, an identical outbreak occurs at a St. Louis HMO.
The problem with the script is that the plot is given away in an early scene in which Blumenthal attends a reception at the home of her lover (William Devane), a prosperous Atlanta surgeon. You don’t have to be “Diagnosis Murder’s” Dr. Mark Sloan to spot the villains.
The last 45 minutes of the movie are padded with various scenes of Blumenthal evading killers. Sheridan, for the record, is twice seen removing articles of clothing.
“Knots Landing” fans may enjoy seeing Sheridan and Devane reunited. It’s unfortunate it’s not under healthier circumstances.
Highlights
“Spring Fling!” (1995), ABC Saturday at 9: This fun-in-the-sun romantic comedy lacks jokes, levity and, most importantly, good times. Not even the beach scenery can brighten this teen disaster about two kids (Monica Creel, Justin Burnette) hoping to dissuade their father (James Eckhouse, “Beverly Hills, 90210”) from selling his beachfront motel.
Remember Joyce DeWitt from “Three’s Company?” She’s barely recognizable here as a private school teacher. She brings a group of students to Florida on a class trip. Guess which beachfront motel they stay in?
Another familiar face (Pat Harrington Jr. of “One Day at a Time”) plays an Italian playboy. The stereotypes fly. It’s a bad day at the beach.
“She Led Two Lives” (1994), NBC Saturday at 9: Connie Sellecca is back in another soap opera of a movie. Here she splits her time between her doctor husband (Perry King) and college-campus lover (A Martinez), who becomes an additional husband. Blech! Repeat.
“Touched By an Angel,” CBS Saturday at 9: You can catch blues greats B.B. King, Al Jarreau, Dr. John and Al Hirt in this sober hour about a down-and-out owner (Hal Linden) of blues club.
“Saturday Night Live,” NBC Saturday at 11:30: It’s a repeat of the show featuring Alanis Morissette and Gabriel Byrne.
“For Better or Worse: The World’s Funniest Wedding Disasters,” FOX Sunday at 7: Want to tune in wedding day mishaps? Back for another whirl is this special full of nuptial traumas.
“Muppets Tonight,” ABC Sunday at 7: Whoopi Goldberg laughs it up with the Muppets and William Shatner. Shatner gives Goldberg a ride in the not-so-friendly skies.
“Far and Away” (1992), ABC Sunday and Monday at 9: Director Ron Howard’s epic tale traces the adventures of a poor tenant farmer (Tom Cruise) and a wealthy landowner’s daughter (Nicole Kidman). They sail to America in search of a new life and land in Oklahoma.
Set in 1893, the location shots of Ireland and Montana are breathtaking, but the scenery isn’t enough to sustain this weak film. It’s essentially scene after scene of Cruise involved in various brawls.
After the first few minutes, you’ll want to get far and away from this saga. Repeat.
“Masterpiece Theatre,” KSPS Sunday at 9: If you missed six-part “Middlemarch” the first time around, here’s another chance to catch a standout drama. This adaptation of George Eliot’s 1872 novel is set in 1829 where Juliet Aubrey plays an optimistic young woman, hoping to help Rev. Edward Casaubon (Patrick Malahide) with his writing.