TV REVIEW : ALZHEIMER’S: WATCHING THE DECAY

Bob and Susanne Millard (Len Cariou and Shirley Jones) are an ideal, 50ish couple--attractive, well-to-do and blissfully happy.

Then Bob forgets to write a business check. Then he can’t remember the way home from the ice cream store and has to be led back by his small granddaughter. Then he gets lost on a camping trip and has to be rescued. Then. . . .

There are few things sadder and more unsettling than watching dementia--in this case the progressive mental decay of an Alzheimer’s victim and the crushing impact on his wife. Hence, “There Were Times, Dear” (airing tonight at 9 p.m. on Channel 24 and at 10 on Channel 50, and on Thursday at 10 p.m. on Channel 28) carries a built-in emotional wallop. How could it not, given its topic: the mind death of a formerly robust man and the burdens placed on his wife by the incurable illness, as he ultimately becomes infantile and totally dependent?

The low-budget PBS hour is a valuable educational tool, which was the primary intent of co-producers Nancy Malone and Linda Hope in making it. Good for them. Families of Alzheimer’s victims can learn from Susanne’s experience, and presumably will learn still more from a half-hour panel discussion on Alzheimer’s at 2 p.m. Sunday following a repeat showing of the program at 1 p.m. on Channel 28.

“There Were Times, Dear” fails as drama, however--its occasional compelling moments largely strung out in a presentation that is otherwise flat and almost clinical despite the obvious distress of its characters. Directed by Malone and written by Harry Cauley, the story is also slowed by the standard TV traffic bumps, such as having a doctor explain to Susanne what she is doing for Bob so that viewers will also know. Meanwhile, Cariou’s convincing performance is not matched by Jones’.

Malone and Hope brought “There Were Times, Dear” to PBS after it was rejected by CBS, which later aired a vastly superior Alzheimer’s story, “Do You Remember Love?” starring Joanne Woodward and Richard Kiley. A tough subject to watch, and tough to execute.