THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 25, 1996 TAG: 9605230058
SECTION: TELEVISION WEEK PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY BONKO, TELEVISION COLUMNIST
LENGTH: 90 lines
WITH THE LONG holiday weekend upon us, television responds with the four M's - Memorial Day concert, marathons, MTV and machismo.
On Monday at 10 p.m., ABC airs ``The American Film Institute Salute to Clint Eastwood,'' hosted by Rene Russo and Jim Carrey, who darn near steals the show away from 'ol macho Clint, who in his 43rd year in film won the AFI life achievement award.
The National Symphony Orchestra and guests, including Kenny Rogers, CeCe Winans, Michael Feinstein, Christine Baranski and Burt Reynolds, mark the holiday Sunday at 8 p.m. on PBS with ``The 1996 National Memorial Day Concert'' from the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
The 90-minute live telecast features a salute to the contribution of women on the homefront during World War II. Baranksi says hello to Rosie the Riveter. Ossie Davis hosts. Rousing music and fireworks.
Figuring that couch potatoes will have more time on their hands than usual during the long holiday weekend, The Family Channel has scheduled two marathons. It will be non-stop Three Stooges on Monday from 3 to 7 p.m. starting with a 1940 short, ``Boobs in Arms,'' and concluding with ``Three Hams on Rye'' from 1950. On Saturday from 7 p.m. until 1 a.m., FAM reels off a six-hour Elvis Presley marathon starting with ``Elvis: The Great Performances'' followed by Elvis in two flicks, ``Follow That Dream'' and ``Kid Galahad.''
The Learning Channel aims to get viewers out of the La-Z-Boys with ``TLC's Home Project Day,'' a parade of how-to programming that runs from noon until 7 p.m. on Monday. It's TV telling you how to establish a new lawn, build a patio, put in a concrete driveway and more . . . all before you go back to work Tuesday.
``The Aquaphobia Marathon'' takes place Monday on The Sci-Fi Channel as the cable channel submerges viewers with movies that include ``Jaws 3,'' ``It Came From Beneath the Sea,'' and - pretty darn impressive in the special effects department - ``The Abyss,'' starting at 9 a.m.
From 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday, The Cartoon Network has scheduled ``Mr. Spin's Cartoon Theater'' with four Dr. Seuss specials. Hello, Hoober-Bloob.
Also upcoming in the TV week ahead - starting at 2 p.m. on Tuesday - is American Movie Classics' salute to Marlon Brando. There will be four vintage Brando films (``The Men,'' ``One-Eyed Jacks,'' ``Guys and Dolls'' and ``A Streetcar Named Desire'') and a special at 8 p.m., ``Marlon Brando: The Wild One.''
The M in Memorial Day weekend also stands for MTV Beach House. On Monday, MTV opens its all-new beach house in Malibu with a full day of live programming.
In accepting the AFI life achievement award, former steelworker and lumberjack Eastwood said it often takes luck - lightning striking, is how he put it - for an actor to become successful in films. He got lucky when Sergio Leone cast him in ``A Fistful of Dollars'' in 1964. And he got lucky again when Frank Sinatra backed out of ``Dirty Harry'' in 1971 and Eastwood was cast in the picture that made his day and made his career.
With Eastwood being honored by the AFI, local United Paramount affiliate WGNT has lined up the Clint Eastwood Weekend on Channel 27 with two films on Saturday (``Pale Rider'' at 4 p.m. and ``The Dead Pool'' at 8) and two more on Sunday (``Sudden Impact'' at 2 p.m. and ``Pink Cadillac'' at 4).
Also in the week ahead:
A&E puts on a program, ``Icebreaker to the North Pole,'' that will be of special interest to Coast Guard folk hereabouts. At 8 p.m. Sunday, A&E follows two icebreakers on a round trip voyage from Nome, Ala. to the North Pole. . . finished the season on ``Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'' by giving birth in the wilderness, wil be interviewed by Phyllis George at 8 p.m. Tuesday on The Nashville Network. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
``The 1996 National Memorial Day Concert'' honors America's armed
forces at 8 p.m. Sunday on PBS.
Photos
GALA FILM INC.
``Icebreaker to the North Pole,'' airing at 8 p.m. Sunday on A&E,
should be of special interest to Coast Guard folk hereabouts. A&E
follows two icebreakers on a round trip voyage from Nome, Ala. to
the North Pole.
PETER GOLDBERG
The congressional race between Patrick Kennedy, left, and Kevin
Vigilante is documented in ``Taking on the Kennedys'' at 10 Tuesday
night on PBS.
TBS
Alex Trebek hosts the ``National Geography Bee,'' a geography
competition featuring 10 finalists vying for a $25,000 college
scholarship. The show premieres Wednesday night at 8 on TBS. by CNB