ALL TALKING BUT NO-ONE LISTENING

Press, 9 December 1976, Page 19

ALL TALKING BUT NO-ONE LISTENING

KEN COATES Why is it that so many American programmes seem to be geared at fever pitch so that the people in them, always ‘ talking loudly and seldom listening. are forced to crack two quips every 15 seconds to the tune of canned laughter? The new so-called comedy series on TV2, “Fay,” starring Lee Grant, raised this question w-hen it presented the 43-vear-old divorcee beg nning 'her life anew. She was no ordinary person, was Fay. After the trauma of separating from a man who had apparently dominated her life for more than 20 years, she was not quietly' trying to forget the familiar pateven recommend a long voice, the humiliations and the rest. Fay did not bat an eyelid when the former husband. Jack, appeared to complicate her life vet again. They went through

some chit-chat about some of Jack’s affairs which only served to make the man appear a complete goof. Later, alter apparently hearing that Fay was to marry again, the clunk turned up with flowers — only so he could go through the routine of thinking the groom was to be a Negro. Scenes in the legal office where Fay worked came out like some dialogue in a psychiatrist’s waiting room, while her daughter and son-in-law were as about as convincing as two kids tn a high school play. The biggest imposition was watching the final scene in w’hich lanternjawed sweetheart Bill, or was it Joe, turned up to propose — and, of course, quip. “At my age I don’t recommend long engagements: at my age I don’t don’t even recommend a long nap.” And for a parting shot: “You’re a very special lady — I’ll keep in touch.” Lee Grant is an actress who has been around for a long time, and she has a long list of films to her credit. This show did not provide scope for her acting talents and seemed dominated by scriptwriters determined to turn-on fun-loving middleclass American viewers. * As the series did not last long in the Slates they were apparently un-

successful, and it is not hard to see why. One viewer with a cynical view of the programme suggested that it has something to say about guilt feelings. He maintained that it was as brash, loud and laugh-rid-den as it was because deep-down there was a feeling that people should not live in such a way, and all the quips and cracks were so much unconscious camouflage. Who knows. Stratford Johns was not quite as convincing as usual when he appeared out of his natural environment. He played Barlow getting to the bottom of an Italian-based racket in Etruscan artefacts. But Lois Baxter, who played Miss Barlow, not only looked astonishingly like her dad, but also portrayed just the right amount of insubordination to the Barlow bark. One of the most interesting items to appear on TV2’s “News at Ten” was a contribution from Christchurch. Frank Perry, who was formerly in Dunedin, presented a lucid and well-balanced piece on a new accounting method which, if adopted, must have a far-reaching effect on pricing structure and tax structure. With TV2’s plans to scrap “News at Ten,” it looks as though viewers will not in future see such items, which need time to present in a comprehensible fashion.