Horses are sent to glue factories, old soldiers fade away, and senior Crimson editors just watch lots of t.v.
All this by way of inaugurating a new feature of The Weekly What, the television volume. My prejudices in talking furniture will become clear over time, but I'll categorize a couple of my prejudices at the outset. First off, erudite t.v. strikes me as a contradiction in terms, and for that reason, WGBH rarely gets my vote. I prefer the hyperdramatic, particularly those wonderful best seller series with tons and tons of power struggles, crises, sex and the like. The standard fare--situation "comedies" and "dramatic" series--leaves me cold.
Two exceptions to that rule. Mary Tyler Moore, of course, and lots of my friends are experiencing all sorts of separation anxiety at the prospect of the termination of her show. And, to a lesser degree, Bob Newhart. Unlike Mary, who's developed a whole case of fine supporters, Bob has had to pull it off pretty much on his own; his secretary Carol, brother Howard, and friend Jerry are the sort of boring eccentrics that you hope will never try to make conversation with you. But Newhart is something different; his cool, understated humor stands in sharp contrast to the abrasive style that dominates most of t.v. comedy. This week, Bob confronts Mr. Death. (Ch. 7, 8:30, Sat.)
Robert Downey's Putney Swope (Ch. 4, 1:00 a.m., Sat.) seemed daring and outrageous when it came out in 1969, at the height of white paranoia about blacks; now, it's just offensive. The censors have undoubtedly cut this one to shreds, so none of the good things you may have heard about this movie are likely to be confirmed.
For sports fans, the big event is all NBA All-Star Game (Ch. 7, 1:45 p.m., Sun.), although if past years are any indication, this will bomb. Better to wait for the two Celtics games later in the week (vs. Detroit, Ch. 4, 7:30 p.m., Tues., and vs. Bullets, Ch. 4, 8:00 p.m., Wed.).
SATURDAY
8:00 p.m., (56), Dark Victory.
1:30 p.m., (5), A Place in the Sun.
11:30 p.m., (7), Advise and Consent
SUNDAY
6:00 p.m., (38), The Ox-Bow Incident.
8:00 p.m., (4), 2001.
9:00 p.m., (5), Oscar's Best Movies
MONDAY
9:00 p.m., (4), The Sunshine Boys.
12:40 a.m., (7), Shaft.
WEDNESDAY
8:00 p.m., (56), Bullitt.
