From giraffe to warthog

Press, 31 August 1984, Page 13

From giraffe to warthog

Review

Ken Strongman

Two of the series which are part of TVNZ’s recent purchases from abroad prompt, once again, transatlantic comparisons. On Thursdays “The Old Men at the Zoo” is a typical Beeb Eng Lit programme. Angus Wilson, from whose book it is adapted, is not always easy to understand; in fact, for one reader I know well, at times he is almost impenetrably difficult. But, in this, he has been made intelligible. It is set in Regent’s Park Zoo, some time in the near future. A new (male) secretary has been appointed and has to contend with a group of old curators, each of whom is fanatically idiosyncratic. The first part of the plot centred on one of the more surprising recent events on television. A giraffe stood on a keeper’s genitals, which is conceivably one of the less pleasant ways to have one’s towel thrown in.

The setting of the zoo is

delightful and the range of animals seems to have given the cameramen unbridled licence. There are shots up, round and through more bestial orifices than are dreampt of in the more abstruse philosophies. Meanwhile, in the background, the Arabs have the bomb and seem likely to drop it, but the zoo director is more concerned about his upcoming radio lecture.

“The Old Men...” is a sort of genteel, effete, black humour feeling as though it has been contrived by a talented but unwordly team of port-pickled writers. The cast is impressive, even going as far as Robert Morley, looking almost indistin-

guishable from a bloodhound who has spent a lifetime sniffing at cholesterol. As Lord Godmanchester, he owns half of Wales and a Rolls-Royce with registration AIGOD. The contrast with Friday’s “Automan” could not be more complete. This is the warthog’s armpit of American television. It is utterly, thoroughly stupid; the adventures of a computer expert who makes a hologram come to life thus creating a force for good. The combination of computers, police, crime and America has all the charm of saccharin, horsehair and old sports socks gummed up with vaseline.

TVNZ really shouldn’t waste its devalued dollars on this sort of thing. “Automan” is the sort of programme that makes comic books appear to be rich intellectual feasts in which characters have depth and plots have dramatic flair. It was different in the begin-

ning, in the days of Superman and Captain Marvel when there was something new and daring about things American. These were fantasy heroes who would never use their X-ray eyes to peep through improper walls. Now, in their television progeny, nothing of this remains other than a materialistic decadence as melodramatic extremes are whirled about by the spin-offs of modern technology.

“The Old Men...’’ has the feel of being put together by amateurs who have toyed with their talents so far as to make them professional. “Automan” seems to have been written by a team of writers so professional that they have become robotically unthinkable. The annoying thing is that it does not have to be like this. Television on both sides of the Atlantic could perhaps learn from the other. Perhaps. Anyway, on the last few Wednesdays

there has been a fine example of the British influence on something American; it has created a sort of mid-Atlantic television island. “Marlowe” could not be more American in origin and yet has been made with true British concern so that the television portrayal does little to detract from one of the great characters of fiction. I suspect this is because it was not just made in pursuit of money, but also because the makers hold the writing of Raymond Chandler in some affection. It seems to have been produced with almost loving attention to what Chandler and his character stood for. American television makers should learn from this. Finally, although it might sound like heresy, some of the more precious aspects of British television could benefit from a bit of the brash American computer age — not often though.