Big heroes and wee wonders

Press, 27 October 1989, Page 11

Big heroes and wee wonders

Ken Strongman

on television

Tuesday evening on One is quite a deep nod in the direction of locally made programmes. Leaving “Sale of the Century” out of consideration — a pox on the ratings, say I — there is sport, science and humour. Nothing about the economy, but the News can be firmly relied on for that, sometimes to the exclusion of all else.

In spite of Richard Hadlee’s lack of appreciation of his talents, Jeremy Coney is back in another series of “A Question of Sport,” the programme for those who suffer withdrawal symptoms on one of the few evenings without a proper sporting encounter. Both he and Julie Townsend have the charming smiles which make for an engaging television manner. But they are also touchers. They keep patting, prodding and tweaking their team mates, not all of whom like it. This week, the new slim-line Susan

Devoy was definitely leaning away from Jeremy by the end. Compered by Peter Williams in his guise as the jocks’ Peter Sinclair, the programme is pleasant and good-humoured. It does have one slightly uncomfortable aspect though. There will come a time when there will be such an ill-chosen group that only Julie and Jeremy will score any points. At times, naming no names, it has come close. It is a hint embarrassing when our sporting heroes turn out to have minds of clay. The programme cannot fail. We already know that sport is even more important to the average New Zealander than the stock market, so there will always be interest in seeing well-known sportspersons in another role; it humanises them. They would be better without those uniforms, though, or perhaps they have to be in uniform to

do anything. Leaving the topically apt humour of “Public Eye” for another occasion, the science comes from “Fast Forward.” This week the television advertisements did not get it off to a good start: “Wee wonders of the plant world.” Next it will be teensy molecules, whopping great big avalanches, lovely little protons, and dirty great black holes.

The introductory graphics are beguiling, as thousands of ball-bearings work their way into a grid of designer scaffold poles, like three dimensional noughts in search of their crosses. In the midst of this is Julie Colquhoun, dressed by whoever it is, as they all are now, knitting her eyebrows to show the seriousness of science and technology. The first item this week featured Peter best-dressed-TV-present er Llewellyn finding his way round the computers

which now run some of the London taxis. It was well done. Then it was back with Julie and New Zealand’s answer to bonsai (cars for men, flowers for women). Manukas in miniature grown to stunted proportions by sneaky hormone treatment and secret M.A.F. techniques of plant management. Secret. Good possibilities for industrial espionage here, watching the angle at which people water their shrubs and which way up they plant their seeds. “Fast Forward” is a good programme, snappily made, with just enough information not to become boring. At the very worst it can be slightly trivial and a little gratuitous. Do we really want to know about a D.N.A. analysis of Joseph Mengele’s supposed bones? Tailpiece. To hear the priest who sounds like a

breakfast cereal, Father Denzil Meuli, in "Holmes,” defending the patriarchy in the name of, transubstantiation, was to understand entirely the feminist cause. Among other things, he said “The newspapers? I don’t read them. I’m too busy doing other more important things.” Condescending, patronising wallydom.