TELEVISION

Boston story tops Hamptons frivolity

By JOANNE WEINTRAUB of the Journal Sentinel staff

Sunday, June 2, 2002

Slap a label on something and you may seal its fate.

"The Hamptons" comes out of ABC's entertainment division and has been proudly dubbed the network's first "reality miniseries." "Boston 24/7," on the other hand, is produced by ABC News, which has given it the more sober, less sexy "documentary" designation.

In truth, though, the six-hour Boston project turns out to be more entertaining than the four-hour Hamptons show, for reasons that have nothing to do with geography or time frame and everything to do with approach.

"Hamptons" producer-director Barbara Kopple owns a pair of Oscars for two unforgettable documentaries, the 1976 "Harlan County, U.S.A." and the 1990 "American Dream," both about long, bitter labor strikes. Here she takes on a very different slice of life: a summer at Long Island's most famous resort, where monied celebrities share the salty air and splendid views with working-class fishermen, cooks and cops.

It's hard to believe that the filmmaker who so skillfully framed the drama of Kentucky's coal mines and Minnesota's meatpacking plants could stumble so badly on the beaches of the Hamptons, where all those WASPy old-money types, artsy new-money types and six-to-a- hotel-room wannabes rub shoulders -- and sometimes more than shoulders, surely -- with the locals.

But Kopple flits so distractedly from chi-chi soiree to sweaty singles bar to weather-beaten dock to jam-packed gourmet store that she never gets beyond the surface. And once you've had a nice laugh over Christie Brinkley's tiny daughter's elaborate birthday party or young socialite Paris Hilton's amazing vacuity, the surface isn't much fun.

The Hamptons' more down-home residents don't reveal much of themselves, either. Glimpses of an old cop's retirement party and a young newcomer's adventures in waitressing flash by like carelessly taken snapshots of strangers, providing little in the way of human interest.

The people we spend the most time with, unfortunately, are two singles of breathtaking shallowness and narcissism, Jacquie and Josh. Even more unfortunately, they never meet; they'd go together like a blank sheet of paper and a new envelope.

THE HAMPTONS When: 8 tonight and Monday Where: ABC

"Boston 24/7," in contrast, covers just about the same time period as "The Hamptons" -- three months in the life of "Boston's unsung heroes" -- and finds infinitely more color, more texture and more drama. Though it lacks the sharp focus of "Hopkins 24/7," a similar series on Johns Hopkins Medical Center seen on ABC two summers ago, it has substance and palpable humanity.

Its subjects include the city's mayor and his growling terrier of a spokeswoman, a young prosecutor who can't catch a break, a detective known as "Mr. Homicide," a Boston Herald reporter who works the night shift, a health inspector bedeviled by rats, a victims' advocate who wishes her clients would wise up and a chef who gives new meaning to the phrase "Type A."

"Boston 24/7" might have been even better if it spent less time on the familiar subject of crime and more in such intriguing places as City Hall. Still, its six hours seem to go by much faster than "The Hamptons'" four.

BOSTON When: 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and June 11-12 Where: ABC

SHORT TAKES

-- Adoption is a natural subject for a real-life drama series, and "Adoption" (7 tonight, Hallmark Channel) is as straightforward as its name. Each hourlong episode features two families making their way through the maze of adopting a child.

The premiere focuses first on a couple who go to Romania to meet the little girl they hope to bring home to the United States, then on a single pregnant woman in her 20s looking for a family to adopt her baby. Both stories are full of heartfelt sentiment most fictional series couldn't match.

-- What with that nasty plunge off the cliff and those unfortunate eye-gougings, "King Lear" isn't the easiest of Shakespeare's plays to stage. It has, however, lent itself to some interesting adaptations, from "Cinderella" (with the emphasis off Dad and on the youngest daughter) to "A Thousand Acres."

Count "King of Texas" (7 tonight, TNT) as another. Patrick Stewart plays John Lear, an aging 19th century cattle baron; Marcia Gay Harden and Lauren Holly are his scheming, death-dealing older daughters; and Julie Cox is his virtuous, mistreated youngest.

You wouldn't think an ancient tragedy could survive the move from stormy England to scorching Texas, but this powerful adaptation preserves the play's spirit and even a hint of its poetry -- and, yes, in a climactic moment, eyeballs do roll. The fine cast also includes Roy Scheider, Patrick Bergin, David Alan Grier, Steven Bauer and Matt Letscher.

-- Like "Clockers," Spike Lee's underrated 1995 movie about the drug trade in a blighted housing project, "The Wire" (9 tonight, repeated 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, 8 p.m. Wednesday, 9 p.m. Friday and 10 p.m. Saturday, HBO) is told from alternating points of view: through the eyes of the young pushers who hold their Baltimore project in thrall, and of the cops doggedly trying to bust them.

This 13-week series, which will fill the gap between the season finale of "Six Feet Under" and the Sept. 15 season premiere of "The Sopranos," takes several episodes to introduce all its characters and map out their complicated relationships. But if you were a fan of "Homicide," "Oz" and other dramas that mixed murder, philosophical musings and black humor, don't be surprised if you get hooked.

-- How are you going to prove to your family how smart you are now that "Millionaire" is going bust? Try a pair of new half-hours on cable's Game Show Network, "Friend or Foe?" (9:30 p.m. Monday through Friday) and "Russian Roulette" (10 p.m. every night, premiering Monday).

Both are fast-moving quiz shows with a maximum of play time and a minimum of gimmicks; neither takes itself too seriously. The first is hosted by ex-MTV veejay Kennedy, who perfected the mean-girl persona before anyone ever heard of Anne Robinson; the second has smiley guy Mark L. Walberg.

-- Roll all three Powerpuff Girls into one and they'd be the teen heroine of "Kim Possible" (5:30 p.m. Friday, Disney Channel), a punchy new cartoon series about a girl who, like, totally saves the world from evil but still has to do her homework.

The jokes are fast and funny, and some of the guest voices -- including Ricardo Montalban and Nestor Carbonell as villains Senor Senior Sr. and Senor Senior Jr. -- are a hoot. With Kim dithering over boys and running around in her midriff-baring cheerleading uniform, though, she's more like Britney Spears on steroids than Xena Warrior Princess with a cell phone.

-- The heyday of Italian film, from the neo-realist '40s to the anything-goes '60s, is the subject of "Il Mio Viaggio in Italia (My Voyage to Italy)" (7 p.m. Friday, TCM), Martin Scorsese's lavish love letter to the movies that shaped his directorial vision.

Daunted by the monster 4 1/4-hour running time and the uneven visual quality of the clips, I watched this one in several sittings. To my surprise, I became caught up in it, thanks to Scorsese's keen observation and overflowing passion for the works of Vittorio De Sica, Roberto Rossellini, Federico Fellini and other giants.

The documentary kicks off TCM's monthlong festival of 20 Italian films, including "The Bicycle Thief" this week (11:15 p.m. Friday); "Open City," "Paisan" and "Stromboli" June 14; "Ossessione" and "Senso" June 21; and "8 1/2" and "La Strada" June 28.

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