A CUE FOR PRAISE OF SNOOKER

Press, 17 December 1976, Page 11

A CUE FOR PRAISE OF SNOOKER

By

MARGARET CHAPMAN

th< most exciting thing on television is a snooker match there is ■-either something wrong with me or the pror grammes. ‘ While this is perhaps no! a together fair to the programmes on Wednesday mght it would be true to sac that the regulars ■ served up the mixture as. before and, as this night is nearh all scheduled serio. viewing was a little dull. With the scheduling of races from Avondale earlv in ’he evening TVI did a litttle -huffling which meant that fans of Barney Miller had to forgo half of TV2s ‘Six Thirty Spe- * cial.' As it had been on before it didn’t really mat- . ter. Julie and Dick had another bash at poor old . Cinderella a lady who has had a fair run in Christchurch this festive season. This one. an attempt by Julie to show Dick in 15 ‘‘minutes what an English '.pantomime was all about i-did not do much for the <fair\ store but my children were enchanted with '•the coach and horses. v Dick van Dyke made a -•rather nice Fairy God■jnother who left muttering ’-be/she had a date with a .-frog who thought he was Prince. F

Another show which kept Mum and the kids watching was a bit early for other viewers. Called "Really Rosie” it was a half-hour cartoon featuring a charmer from Brooklyn loosely resembling Barbra. Streisand. The music was written by another lady of music, C aro! King, and it is to be hoped Rosie may surface again. The animation was superior to the usual Hanna-Barbara junk and the story line and characterisation had both appeal and humour. ’Barney Miller” on his final showing will be missed. I haven’t watched every episode of this comedy but those I have have managed to provide at least two good laughs. Abe Vigoda, as Fish, walked away with the show and has probably found stardom just when he was ready to retire — certainly it would not have been as funny without his lines and delivery. ‘ Angels” carried on in its painstaking way. The striving for authenticity is making this series, so earnest that instead of caring about the fates of the various nurses it is a case

of wishing they would hurry up and graduate, find a nice young doctor and leave the hospital.

Certainly anyone watching who thought she had a 1 vocation for nursing i would certainly not be de- i luded by this programme ‘ into thinking it was a l hand holding and doctors. They are hardly ever in sight. “Sportsnight” drifted along with the usual news spot and an irritating interview with a cricket commentator, Alan Richards, in which he firmly refused to look at the camera. Granted he and the interviewer were in different cities; but no-one had told him to look at the camera not the monitor when he spoke, so we were treated to a nice three-quarter view for ; what was quite a long i time. “Pot Black,” with a wily ; game between Eddie I Charlton and Graham. i Miles, rounded the night i off with a little tension. If not nail-biting stuff at least it would have kept you awake — that is if you had made it through to 10.40.