Darden Only Warm In ‘Summer Night’

Thu., March 12, 1998

John Martin New York Times Syndicate

What people want to know most about ABC’s “One Hot Summer Night” at 9 is how the heck did former O.J. Simpson prosecutor Christopher Darden end up starring in a TV movie? After playing a minor role in an episode of CBS’ “Touched By an Angel,” Darden says he was bitten by the acting bug.

Is he any good? Not really. As homicide detective Earl Mingus, Darden investigates the murder of an arrogant sports tycoon (Barry Bostwick), who may have been killed by his estranged wife Kelly (Erika Eleniak) and her divorce lawyer (Brian Wimmer).

I wouldn’t say the plot is transparent, but when you reach the final scenes, it certainly is familiar. The only twist to the often-used formula is so improbable that it’s embarrassing.

Darden more or less plays himself. He’s not asked to show much passion or do much more than stand around asking detective questions. There is, however, a line in the script that refers to Simpson which Darden handles with a deft casualness that you have to admire.

Bostwick is as effective as a villain as he is funny in ABC’s “Spin City.” Eleniak (“Baywatch”) can only be described as blah. But I can’t blame her for bringing the movie down.

Long stretches of the script are so numbing it would be easy to miss her better moments. As movie potboilers go, this one is only lukewarm.

Highlights

“Basketball,” CBS at 4:30: March Madness steps into full swing with a day of college hoop action. CBS coverage of the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Tournament begins at 9 a.m. today and continues into prime time beginning at 4:30.

“Friends,” NBC at 8: Joey (Matt LeBlanc) is offered a job in a movie as Al Pacino’s naked body double.

Monica (Courteney Cox) faces her neatness obsession, and Chandler (Matthew Perry) finds himself in a complicated relationship with a new woman (Sofia Milos). Repeat.

“New York Undercover,” FOX at 9: When the unit goes undercover to investigate a series of arsons, Delaney (Marisa Ryan) lands in a special kind of hot spot when clues suggest that her firefighter brother (Dean Winters) is involved.

“Seinfeld,” NBC at 9: Jerry shops for a new car at a dealership where Elaine’s boyfriend Puddy (Patrick Warburton) works. George negotiates, and Kramer goes for a wacky test drive. Repeat.

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