‘Six Days of Justice’ has compelling social message

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34130, 17 April 1976, Page 5

‘Six Days of Justice’ has compelling social message

( By

KEN COATES)

The TVI drama series,! ‘"Six Days of Justice,” hich sets out to present the day-to-day work of the courts, was rich in human problems stemming from social ills in Thursday night’s! episode. The circumstances of the! case, in which three boys' faced charges arising out ofj " tight while watching a football match, were in-i cidental. The programme rested more on the attitudes and' pleas of the relatives who! appeared in court with the boys, as well as on the effects of home circum-l stances. The slightly more informal) atmosphere of the juvenile court, in which the bemedalled grandfather was allowed to “appear’’ for his errant grandson, provided plenty of scope for this programme’s delightful way of reflecting human responses. There was, for example, the well-spoken but inexperienced young lawyer, appearing for one of “the boys, who was caught out early in cross-examination talking about a packed terrace at the game. Then there was the West! Indian father, ever so anxious to appear the responsible parent, irrespective of whether his son was guilty or not. One of the best perform-

! ances was from the ladyi I who presided on the Bench, I called ‘’Your Ladyship” byi the grandfather. She man-!; aged to convey just the!' right degree of authority, tempered with firm understanding. I Such a programme cannot, :of course, explore the lives of those who appear in court, and ir a sense it was) superficial and predictable.) There was the uneasy feel-) ■ ing conveyed at times that' jail would not be quite as ) straightforward as the social] workers suggested. I Nevertheless, the backaground of each boy; I presented an opportunity for the programme to make) valid points about social) ) pressures. One boy’s incredibly in- ! articulate and vacant middleclass father worked long j hours away from home, and ’ his mother led a very busy . social life.. Another boy, whose father had walked out, found school dull and boring, but felt the responsibility as eldest tor earning money to help keep the family going. , A move into a high-rise block of flats had also ) brought problems because . the environment offered nothing for teen-agers to do. Superb film It would be interesting to ’ see the result of a New Zealand programme which hadj ■ the same base.

I It was Sally Struthers’s I ] night on “All in the Fam-| lily,” as she played the ex-1 Ipectant Gloria nine days! overdue. Sally has one of the most expressive faces of any actress on television, and those rows with her husband, Mike, were convincing all right, as any parlents will testify. I This particular episode |was memorable for the way in which Edith almost I stepped out of character when she asserted herself to) (stop a squabble. The supj porting actors were so good in this episode that we | did not even miss Archie himself. * * # , Wednesday night’s viewing was notable for the 8.8. C. interview with the Prime Minister, Mr Muldoon. Shown on both channels, the interview did not present anything new for New Zealand viewers in ' terms of information from 1 the Prime Minister, but it did underline the strength ' and quality of the inter--1 viewer. “Come now, Mr Muldoon, both you and I know what iis meant by the ultimate i weapon,” said the inter- , viewer with a cutting edge to his voice, after the Prime Minister had hedged around his now-famous Vietnam war statement.

There would obviously be no put-down by Mr Muldoon in this situation. He went on to answer the question. All of which points to the value of a high degree of professionalism in television interviewing, and the gaps there are in this country. Max Cryer made a reason-! able job of the Jewish Passover ceremony and its significance at this time of the year. Not nearly as effective was the Christian section of the programme with Graeme May and Colin Scrimegeour. Fortunately, this time smiling Max did not obtrude overly. sS< »i« * If all home-produced programmes were presented as competently as sports programmes, there would not be too much wrong with New Zealand television. “Sportsnight” from TVI gave a thorough round-up of the Olympic selection row, even including a discussion with Charles Martin of “the system.” It would have been nicely rounded out had the selectors been willing to appear, but that was not the fault of the producer or TVI.

The film of the Grand National in Britain was superb.

TODAY RADIO NEW ZEALAND NATIONAL PROGRAMME (Network 1) [lncluding 3YA Christchurch (690 kHz); 2YA Wellington (570 kHz); 4YA Dunedin (780 kHz); 3YZ Greymouth (920 kHz); and 2YX Nelson (1150 kHz).] 12.0: Midday Report. 12.37: After Noon. 1.30: Date Line London. Sports Commentaries. 2.0: So What’s New. 2.30: The West That Never Was. 3.0: Early Hancock. 4.7: Nancy Harrie at the Piano. 5.0: Music Roundabout from Britain. 6.0: Evening Report. 6.25: Local News. 16.45: Sportscall. 7.0: Local Programmes. 7.30: Too Dead to Talk, a 13-part crime serial. 8.0: YAs: From Days of Yore, Regional Stations. 9.0: Those Were the Days. 9.30: I’m Sorry, I’ll Read That Again. 10.30: The Blue Water Boys. 11.0: Sounds Great. 12.0: Midnight Report. 12.15: All Night Programme. CONCERT PROGRAMME 3YC, CHRISTCHURCH (Network 2) (960 kHz) 12.0: Katchen and Entremont play Chopin. (Close down at 12.30.) 2.45: Sports Commentary. 5.0: Early Evening Concert: Ravel: La Valse; Verdi: Arias from Joan of Arc and II Trovatore. 5.30: Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music: 1976 Piano Syllabus. 6.0: Dinner Music. 7.0: Berlioz: Le Corsaire. Op. 21. 7.8: In the Studio. 7.30: Arias by Wagner and Verdi. 8.0: Elgar: Cello Concerto. 8.30: Bach: St Matthew Passion. 8.56: From the Festivals: Schwetzingen 1975 — Stravinsky: Concerto in D; Strauss: Horn Concerto,