Thursday, February 23, 1034
Daily Mebroskan
PC33 1 1
Ken still No. 1 in Barbie Js vlasiic heart
Pie seme: Barbie's opulent 25-rbom vinyl-coated
cardboard mansion.
It is a big day in the life of America's favorite doil;
she i3 25 years old today. The whole entourage of
Barbie's pals is there, hangin' out and smiling those
big, empty smiles: Ken, former beach hunk turned
househusband, stands in the kitchen in his "My wife
is a doll" apron putting the last few candles on the
birthday cake; P.J. sits in the living room making
f
!
Pat Clark
V
chattygiggles with the ubiquitous Skipper. P.J. is
wearing clothes she has borrowed from Barbie for
this August occasion; it gives P.J. no small degree of
pleasure to discover that she still has the same fig
ure as the nationally beloved Barbie.
Skipper, for her part, is at the party under minor
but nevertheless heartfelt protest. "I really should
be at basketball practice," Skipper says quietly to
P.J., not so much because she really wants or even
needs to be at basketball practice, but to inform P.J.
that, unlike the rest of the Barbie entourage, she,
Skipper, has done more with her life than bask in the
reflected glory of Barbie's 25 years as America's
sweetheart.
The crew is assembled, but where is Barbie? Ken,
finally lighting that always-tricky last candle on the
cake, mulled the possibilities over in his mind.
, She's been acting a little tense lately, he thought.
Not like that Malibu Barbie he took to the senior
prom those was it 10? 15? years ago. Maybe she
was taking a relaxing drive in their big orange plas
tic dune buggy. He raced to the kitchen window and
looked out, only to see the dune buggy safe and
unattended.
Outer space Barbie is right out of the question,
Ken reasons. She hasn't been able to even look at her
NASA gear ever since Sally Ride got on the cover of
Newsweek. Nevertheless, he thought he could almost
see her up there; not up in outer space, of course,
but up there standing on the edge of the balcony as
though she intended to throw herself off . . .
As though he were carried there instantaneously
by the hand of an omniscient spectator, Ken appear
ed in the upstairs bedroom through which he could
see Barbie standing on the edge of the balcony.
"Don't try to stop me!" she wailed, the painted
smile still on her face.
"Don't be a fool!" Ken screamed. "You have every
thing to live for."
"Yes, I do have everything," Barbie said, turning to
face Ken. "I am famous, I have a black vinyl house
with big iron snaps instead of a door, I have all the
possessions I could want, and more every year that I
don't even ask for, I have eternal youth I don't
f TV 71 SJ 71 V" (ffr f jn r 7 A nr si rrVi
By Janet Stef&nski
The new television series, Night Court, focuses
on important issues (without being obvious), and
blends humor in tactfully.
A typical Wednesday night offering, to cite one
example, centered around people's physical "defi
ciencies." This particular episode attempted to
V '
" Television
i - -J Review
make its audience aware of the handicapped per
son's view. It tried to show that too many times
we concentrate on what handicapped people
cannot do rather than of what they are capable.
"I used to help people, but they don't ask me too
much anymore," said a blind convict.
This episode also tried to make viewers aware
that no one is perfect either we are too tall, too
short, overweight or have some type of fault. But
after all, who is to say what is perfect? This is
what the writers ask, but do not preach.
The main character, Judge Harold (Harry) T.
Stone, is not the stereotyped stuffy man of the
court. This guy is a joker, plain and simple. He
makes fun of everything and everybody, but not in
a cruel way.
Harry does have a goal: to settle cases fairly
with the least possible amount of red tape. He
brings people together whether they are a fight
ing married couple or the court guard, Bill, and
the blind convict who was released under "too
tall" Bull's care. Harry (not usually referred to as
Judge Stone) uses his own methods sending
opposing sides out for a cup of coffee to talk over
things.
Harry's ways can be unrealistic, but this is not a
bad fantasy for a bureaucratic society. However
the character of the judge tends to wear an
imaginary halo which can be a bit too much.
This comedy utiizes one liners more effectively
than those "here today, gone tomorrow" pilots.
The eridings lean towards being corny, but nice
endings are not all bad.
Viewers can enjoy the stabs taken at cutesy
sayings which pop up daily in our society:
"If you smile at someone, they're apt to smile
right back at you," Harry says.
"Sounds ... stupid " replies Bull.
Night Court too often has unrealistic subplots:
No court of law would take the time of day to
discuss the court guard's personal problems in
the middle of hearing a case.
Not every episode is outstanding, but Night
Court is a refreshing break from typical network
fare. It can be seen Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. on
NBC affiliate Channel 3.
Mystery film . . .
Continued from Page 9
And now for the inevitable and neces
sary synopsis: Mr. Herbert, who prizes
his house, garden, horse and wife in
that order, leaves on a business trip;
his wife hires a draughtsman to make
12 drawings of his house and gardens
during his absence ostensibly to
recapture his affections through pleas
ing him, but more likely to obtain the
young man's body along with his servi
ces. The contract, which includes eight
pounds for each drawing, room and
board, and Mrs. Herbert's person, is
soon supplemented with another which
requires the draughtsman, Mr. Neville,
to have sex with her daughter.
Mr. Talmann, the son-in-law, who
wears a cuckold's horns in his wig, res
ents the intrusion and points to physi
cal evidence of infidelity in the finished
drawings a ladder left under her
window, his wife's dog at the closed
door of a trysting place. The drawings
are soon analyzed for other evidence
as well; for the body of Mr. Herbert has
been fished from the moat surround
ing his house, and there are plenty of
suspects for the murder.
The progress of Mr. Neville's art is
extremely interesting. He seeks to cap
ture the purely static quality of things
"his attitude to nature is strictly
material," the daughter observes. The
conditions under which Mr. Neville
works are quite ri:;:d; the family and
the staff must fellow his rules exactly.
"Such animals as are grazing in the
fields may continue to do so," he gen
erously amends one of his edicts.
Inevitably, life intrudes into his grid
and viewers may share his irritation
when a servant or the obnoxious Mr.
Talmann steps in front of his ebony
frame with its taut threads. In response,
Mr. Neville simply draws them in, Tal
mann's profile piggishly dominating
the foreground of a vista with the
house in the distance.
What Mr. Neville sees, he draws an
unexpected things turn up. Boots, a
coat, other articles materialize to give
the household suspicion of the patri
arch's murder and there is a splen
did scene in which Mrs. Talmann dodges
in and out a topiary maze, like the
woman of desire in Lost YearatMarien
bad, shedding her clothes, which Mr.
Talmann dutifully draws in.
The film itself may be seen as a refu
tation of Mr. Neville's belief in strict
representation, his hold on the solid
world. The final judgment of Mr. Nev
ille is not logical, not rational, but
primitive and ritualistic. The men of
the house gather in black suits and
masks and white wigs, render judg
ment on their artistic scapegoat, put
out his eyes and club him to death, the
white-faced, red-lipped non-character
twins adding a terrifying surrealistic
quality to the scene. Then his bloodied,
nearly submerged body is shown in the
moat, incredible in its alabaster beauty,
while his drawings burn and the pla
ce's naughty sprite eats the pineapple
of hospitality laid out for the draughtsman.
NEED SOMETHING
TO DO?
TRY THE
CROSSWORD
PUZZLE
IN THE
L t T n.iv f ,
mean aging gracefully, I mean eternal youth. Look at
us? Doesn't it seem odd to you that you have been 20
years old for 20 years?"
"Millions of people would die to take your place,"
Ken said.
"And I would die to take theirs," Barbie said, turn
ing to jump.
"It won't work!" Ken shouted in desperation. The
shout halted Barbie. "If you jump off, you know as
well as I do the worst that will happen is your legs
will twist, Nurse Barbie will tend to you, PJ. and
Sldpper will come visit you while you recover, and
you'll be right as reign soon enough. You can't kill
' yourself, Barbie. America can kill you, but it won't,
because you represent everything Americans have
ever st rived for, everything they want and know
they cannot possibly have."
Ken could see Barbie's resolve weakening. "It's a
horrible fate, but it's ou r fate. Now come back down
stairs for the party. After all, P.J. and Skipper and I
are the only people who can really sympathize with
you." - ,
Barbie stepped slowly from the balcony and into
Ken's arms. "You sensitive hunk of molded plastic,"
she murmured, "I'm so glad I have you. Do you think
maybe next year, instead of new clothes, we could
get ... a last name?"
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