THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 23, 1995 TAG: 9512210055
SECTION: TELEVISION WEEK PAGE: 1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Long : 121 lines
PEACE ON EARTH is still elusive this holiday season, but at least the guns are quiet in the sector of Bosnia where U.S. troops in body armor, ponchos and cold-weather boots mobilize to keep peace where war has waged for 43 months.
If you've been wondering why 20,000 American troops are in that bleak setting, and how they came to be there, you'll find the answers and more in ``Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation,'' a five-part series beginning on The Discovery Channel Tuesday at 10 p.m.
``It depicts the anatomy of war,'' said Christiane Amanpour of CNN, who narrates the documentary two years in the making. She's been ankle-deep in the mud and blood over there for many months.
These five hours take a commitment by the viewer - something like sitting through a long history lesson with a boring teacher. Be prepared to hear endless on-screen translations. By the third hour, your head will be swimming with the hard-to-remember names of the principals in the war that shattered a country once ruled with an iron hand by Tito.
There is Milosevic, Izetbegovic, Karadzic, Kucan and Mladic, the Serb general who is seen on camera in the hills above Sarajevo giving the order, ``Shoot until I tell you to stop. Aim for the Muslim neighborhoods.''
Tape it. Watch a little now, a little later. You owe it to yourself to learn about this nasty little war. U.S. lives and tax dollars are at stake.
This ``Discovery Journal Special'' puts its cameras close up into the faces of the men and women who have made the decisions that brought the world's focus to the Balkans. You see their eyes. You really get to know them.
In Episode No. 5, you'll hear a representative of the European nations in 1993 tell the warring parties not to dream about the U.S. and other western powers coming in to clean up the mess. ``Don't live under the dream that the west will sort out your problems,'' he says.
Lord Owen was wrong. The west has, indeed, come to the rescue.
The producers emphasize how much the war has touched the six provinces by first showing wonderfully placid travel pieces once used to promote tourism in Yugoslavia. For every shot of ``lush forests and sparkling waters'' there are many pictures of the dead and dying.
With the Norfolk-based supercarrier America operating not far from where U.S. forces are on the ground in Bosnia, WVEC this weekend brings the sailors and Marines closer to home with ``Navy Christmas'' to air Sunday at 7 p.m. and again on Christmas Day at 9 a.m. Joe Flanagan and Cynthia Lima do the reporting for Channel 13.
Television has been building up to the Christmas weekend with programming that began last month. So, why stop now as Santa and Rudolph are cranking up for their Christmas Eve sleigh ride to a roof near you? On Christmas, the A&E cable channel begins its holiday celebration with ``Carols from Kings: A Celebration of Christmas'' at 8 a.m., and continues throughout the day.
On Sunday at 9 p.m., The Disney Channel salutes that ``White Christmas'' guy, Bing Crosby, in ``A Bing Crosby Christmas: Like the Ones We Used to Know.'' American Movie Classics on Christmas Day is a festival of Crosby films, including ``Holiday Inn.'' On Sunday at 4 p.m., WGNT airs the classic film about the man who came to regret the day he said, ``Bah, humbug.'' Alistair Sim stars in ``Scrooge'' at 4 p.m.
Also on Monday, WHRO begins its day-long holiday celebration with ``Caroling, Caroling.'' On Sunday at 9 p.m., and again on Monday at noon, Mel Torme marks the 50th anniversary of the birth of ``The Christmas Song'' by appearing in ``Cincinnati Pops Holiday with Erich Kunzel and Mel Torme.'' The holiday music on Channel 15 rolls on Christmas Day right up to ``The Atlanta Symphony Gospel Christmas'' at 9:30 p.m.
On The Cartoon Network starting at 6 a.m. on Christmas Day, Yogi Bear, the Smurfs, Jetsons, Dr. Seuss, Paddington Bear and their friends in Toon Town keep ho-ho-hoing until midnight. Even the Space Ghost gets into the Christmas thing.
The A&E ``Biography'' series marks the holiday Monday at 8 p.m. with ``Charles Schulz: A Charlie Brown Life.'' Meet the barber's son who created the Charlie Brown empire in 1958. His bosses named his strip ``Peanuts,'' which Schulz despises to this day. The Disney folks, who also know a thing or two about cartooning, trot out their signature characters plus Joan Lunden and Regis Philbin for ``Walt Disney World Very Merry Christmas Parade'' on ABC Monday at 10 a.m. Regis without Kathie Lee? Indeed.
And to make it official that Christmas has arrived, the Sci-Fi Channel on Saturday at 3 p.m. brings back ``Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.'' If that isn't uplifting enough for you, catch ``The Sweathogs Christmas Special'' on Nick at Nite Monday at 11 p.m. Before that, starting at 8:30, Nick at Nite runs more of the 25 most-requested episodes of its classic sitcoms. And come Friday, from 11 p.m. until 6 a.m., Nick at Nite puts on a ``Dragnet'' marathon to say adieu to the grand old cop show ending its five-year run on that channel.
It's not Christmas all over the dial in the week to come.
Tammy Faye Bakker Messner returns to TV wearing as much mascara as ever in a new daytime talk show, ``The Jim J. and Tammy Faye Show'' on WAVY at 9 a.m. starting Tuesday. It replaces ``Carnie,'' which is history. This Jim's last name is Bullock.
TBS on Tuesday at 8:05 p.m. carries viewers to a China about to emerge as a world economic power in ``China: The Wild East.'' In China, they've discovered how to live like capitalists under communism. Disco is very big in China. . . What better subject than angels for Christmas Day? The Learning Channel covers just about everything to wanted to know about the messengers from heaven in ``Angel Stories Part II'' at 10 p.m. and midnight. . . Also in the A&E Biography series next week comes ``Stan Lee: The Comix Man.'' A&E says this is the first documentary about the man who gave us Spiderman, the Incredible Hulk, the Fantastic Four and The X-Men. Charlie Brown and Spiderman in the same week on A&E. Cool. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Celetrate the "Walt Disney World Very Merry Christmas Parade" with
Regis Philbin and Joan Lunden. The parade airs at noon Christmas Day
on ABC.
Photo
Dancing gingerbread and musical trees are part of the spectacle in
``Walt Disney World Very Merry Christmas Parade'' at noon on
Christmas Day.
by CNB