Take A Look At New ‘Candid Camera’
“Candid Camera,” which has aired as hour specials, returns as a half-hour weekly series at 8:30.
The premiere suggests it has gone back to basics, capturing people “in the act of being themselves” in clever gags. That’s different than the sexist and demeaning bits I’ve criticized in the past.
I thoroughly enjoyed the half-hour hosted by Peter Funt and his new co-host, Suzanne Somers.
This is the kind of stuff that Peter’s dad, Allen, made famous:
At a photo studio, customers eagerly await their first look at family portraits. But “Candid Camera” has inserted strangers in the family poses.
New Yorkers react to a bald-headed stranger who sneaks under their umbrellas to escape a shower - and then has the nerve to ask them to go out of their way so he doesn’t get soaked!
Post-office box owners try to remove a 15-foot-long package from their boxes.
Elementary-school kids use their imaginations to come up with a perfect gift for their beloved teacher.
Passers-by inspect a baby carriage, but the swaddled infant turns out to be a chimpanzee.
It’s a kinder, gentler approach than that which I’ve blasted in the past. The most recent special, for instance, taped men’s reaction to being asked to hold a ladder for a pretty young woman in a miniskirt.
There is no nonsense of that sort tonight. And in a half-hour dose, this “Candid Camera” is greatly improved.
Highlights
“Dateline NBC,” NBC at 8: Scheduled is a report on the controversy that has surrounded the decision by a social worker to remove a foster child from the home of lesbian parents.
“The Soap Opera Digest Awards,” NBC at 9: This year, the annual awards are based on voting by magazine subscribers. Drake Hogestyn and Leeza Gibbons host the ceremonies from Universal City in California.
“Millennium,” Fox at 9: Investigating a series of murders, Black (Lance Henriksen) determines that they match a familiar pattern. They look like the work of killers incarcerated in a nearby prison for the criminally insane.
“Boy Meets World,” ABC at 9:30: In a special rerun episode, a spoof of the movie “Scream” finds Shawn (Will Friedle) surrounded by carnage at John Adams High.
Evidence points to a new student (Jennifer Love Hewitt, “Party of Five”). But she claims she was locked in a classroom when the mayhem occurred. (A first-run “Boy” airs in the series’ regular 8:30 time slot.)
Cable Calls
“Smilla’s Sense of Snow” (1997), MAX at 8: Julia Ormand’s captivating performance as a woman attempting to unravel the mysterious death of a 6-year-old boy lifts this shadowy drama directed by Bille August (“Pelle the Conqueror”).
The trail leads to a Greenland mining company and a revelation that is startling though totally unbelievable. But the acting, the locations and August’s agile directing make this an extraordinary film.
“Deadly Relations” (1994), LIFE at 9: Robert Urich is cast against type as a hateful father who murders his sons-in-law in hopes of making a profit. The fact-based movie plods along as his naive daughters (including Gwyneth Paltrow) realize dad is homicidal.
Talk Time
“Tonight,” NBC at 11:35: Olympic gold-medalist Picabo Street, David Caruso (“Michael Hayes”) and sportscaster Jim Lampley.
“Late Show With David Letterman,” CBS at 11:35: Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski, actress Kate Winslet, and Ray Romano.
“Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher,” ABC at 12:05 a.m.: Keenen Ivory Wayans, Rob Lowe and Arthur Kent.
“The Late Late Show With Tom Snyder,” CBS at 12:35 a.m.: Kate Mulgrew (“Star Trek: Voyager”) and Olympic gold-medalist Nikki Stone.
“Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” NBC at 12:35 a.m.: David Schwimmer (“Friends”), MTV reporter Kurt Loder and comedian Ed Byrne.