‘Remembrance’ Better Off Lost To Memory
Some memories are best forgotten. And that’s the case with first-run “Danielle Steel’s ‘Remembrance”’ (NBC at 9).
A lengthy flashback follows the life of a widowed fashion model (Eva LaRue, “All My Children”): Her mother-in-law (Angie Dickinson) hates her; her first husband dies; and her second husband murders her.
It is sad and depressing. Who needs to watch LaRue suffering for two hours?
Intermixed with the anguish are scenes of LaRue’s character modeling clothes and having confrontations with her evil mother-in-law.
Remember to forget “Remembrance.” It’s nothing more than overdone costumes, pretty houses and conniving in-laws. Don’t bother to get out the hankies.
Highlights
“In the Name of Love: A Texas Tragedy” (1995), FOX at 8: Talk about tragedies. Whew! Here’s an eye-straining two-hour-long flashback to the events leading to a domestic homicide.
One-dimensional Michael Hayden plays a young man who defies the wealthy grandfather who raised him (Richard Crenna) by marrying a woman (Laura Leighton) from the poor side of town. Inspired by an actual case, it’s a dark melodrama that staggers from its own pointless weight and nonstop bickering.
“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” NBC at 8 and 8:30: Regis Philbin fans can watch him in this rerun. He chooses Hilary (Karyn Parsons) to fill in for an ill Kathie Lee.
William Shatner guest-stars in a second repeat at 8:30.
“Monday Night Football,” ABC at 6: Prime time’s most successful sports telecast kicks off its 27th season. Super Bowl champs Dallas Cowboys meet the Chicago Bears.
Parents’ Pick
“Adventures from the Book of Virtues,” KSPS tonight, Tuesday and Wednesday at 8 and 8:30: These stories, animated adaptations of former Education Secretary William J. Bennett’s stories, attempt to instill morals in young people.
They touch on issues such as the meaning of the work ethic, which is the topic of the first of two half-hours.
At 8:30, honesty is examined. Included is a retelling of the famous tale “George Washington and the Cherry Tree.”
Cable Calls
“Biography,” A&E at 5 and 9: Tim Allen, Jack Benny, Roseanne, Danny Thomas and Mary Tyler Moore are profiled as “Biography” kicks off “Sitcom Superstars Week.”
First up is “Tim Allen: Prince of Tools,” an uplifting documentary on the star of top-rated “Home Improvement.” The hour tells how he grgr-grunted his way from a prison sentence to the top of the comedy heap.
“Devil’s Food” (1996), LIFE at 8: Only the truly gullible will be able to digest this tale, which depicts network news anchors and executives as obsessed with one thing: physical appearance.
Suzanne Somers plays a dumpy (the padding is quite obvious), intelligent (hard to see any smarts here) newswoman. She’s awfully weak-willed for someone who has become a top broadcast reporter.
She sells her soul to the devil so she can become trim and therefore land a job anchoring the network news. And, of course, she does.
Dabney Coleman appears as the devil’s top agent. He talks Somers’ character into being “forever thin.”
“Final Take: Devil’s Diet,” LIFE at 10: This documentary, hosted by model-like Willow Bay (“Good Morning America”) reports on how the definition of beauty has changed several times from the dawn of time to now.
You’ll see lots of women trying to exercise into a “perfect” body. It all makes you want to grab a pint of ice cream.