Corpus Christi Caller-Times TV/Radio by Elaine Liner, media critic

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Elaine Liner is Caller-Times' media critic. Her columns are published Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. She has been known to occasionally gossip with her readers in the Elaine Liner Forum. Elaine can be reached at linere@caller.com

Sunday, November 21, 1999

"Sarah, Plain & Tall: Winter's End"

Glenn Close, Christopher Walken reprise roles created 10 years ago

Television makes farmfolk seem so earnest and unflinchingly heroic. "Sarah, Plain & Tall: Winter's End" (8 tonight on CBS) arrives as the third in a series of movies about farm wife Sarah Witting (Glenn Close) and her life in Kansas in the WW I era. Every line is uttered with grim stoicism. Sarah throws her shoulders back in steely resignation and says things like, "In Maine a good fish chowder can always cut through the cold of a winter night."
   This time around, it's plenty cold on the farm where Sarah arrived as a young mail-order bride. It's the harsh winter of 1918 and Sarah is worried about the deadly flu epidemic killing thousands of Americans. Her daughter has left home to nurse the sick and dying. Sarah's husband Jacob (Chris Walken) is worried about the reappearance of his father (Jack Palance), whom he thought long dead. Then Jacob breaks his leg just as the family has to face a vicious late-winter storm threatening their farmland.
   Nearly 10 years after making her first "Sarah, Plain and Tall" movie for television, Glenn Close found it "fascinating" to revisit the character for a third time.
   "All of us are almost 10 years older than when we did the original (in 1991). I don't think this has ever been done before on television, to have the original company reunite three times and recreate their characters. The audience will see us aging truthfully," said Close.
   Based on books for young readers by Patty MacLachlan, the "Sarah" movies have been some of the most-watched "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentations of the 1990s. The first two, "Sarah, Plain and Tall" and "Skylark" are now available on home video.
   Close thinks the simplicity of the "Sarah" stories strikes a chord with viewers.
   "The characters are very strong and truthful," said the actress. "I think of all the kids - usually in third or fourth grade - who study 'Sarah, Plain and Tall' and have come to love these characters so much. Patty (the author) and I continue to get thousands of letters a year from classrooms of kids. Her work has become a classic, a piece that can be handed down from generation to generation, helping to instill family values that are basic and important: honesty, loyalty, a willingness to forgive."
   Like the old "Waltons" episodes, "Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End" ends on a heartwarming note. All's well on the farm. Spring's coming. Nobody's dead. Everybody hugs. It's not groundbreaking, edgy television - but it's well written, nicely acted and wholesome enough for the whole family to watch together. For Sunday night viewing, you can't ask for much better than that.
   Also this week
   "Everest," 6 p.m. Sunday, TNT. A team of climbers took on Mount Everest in 1996, and you get to see it all via this 1998 film. Repeats at 9:30 p.m.
   "Gift of Love: The Daniel Huffman Story," 7 p.m. Sunday, Showtime. A high school football player faces a life-altering decision when his beloved grandmother requires a kidney transplant. Based on a true story, the new made-for-cable film stars Elden Henson, Debbie Reynolds, Allegra Denton and Ed Marinaro. The real Daniel Huffman appears as an extra.
   "The Wizard of Oz," 7 p.m. Sunday, TBS. You're outta the woods, you're outta the dark, you're into the light. Again. Dorothy, Toto and pals try to find the broom of the Wicked Witch. Click, click. She's back in Kansas. Just the greatest movie musical of all time.
   "Judging Amy," 9 p.m. Tuesday, CBS. Thanksgiving finds the Gray family in turmoil as Amy (Amy Brenneman) tries to balance preparing the meal, her professional life and the problems as Gillian (Jessica Tuck) and Peter (Marcus Giamatti) consider another in-vitro procedure.
   "Parades," 8 a.m. Thursday, various networks. Macy's parade in New York on NBC, and a parade of parades on CBS. Between breakfast and noon, there's no good reason for a moment to go by without a giant balloon, a waving celeb or a marching band.
   "It's a Wonderful Life," 11 a.m. Thursday, NBC. "No man is a failure who has friends," according to angel-in-training Clarence. The classic 1946 film stars James Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore. Director Frank Capra's cut is shown in black and white, the only way it should ever be shown.
   "Shania Twain: Come on Over," 7 p.m. Thursday, CBS. Twain's musical evening was taped before a live audience at Dallas' Texas Stadium.
   "Ricky Martin: One Night Only," 7 p.m. Friday, the CBS. The beloved one shakes his bonbon in a special taped in Liberty State Park in New Jersey - the cameras face the New York City skyline. Special guests: Carlos Santana and Jose Feliciano.

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