Television Reviews : Thumbs Down on ‘Straight Up’

“Straight Up,” KCET’s new drug-abuse prevention series aimed at pre-teens, proves again that the road to lousy TV is often paved with good intentions (tonight and the next two Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 28).

Starring Louis Gossett Jr., this junior morality play uses reality and fantasy sequences to tell the story of pre-teen Ben (Chad Allen of “Our House”) and his struggle to remain drug free. In Part 1, Ben learns the facts about drugs, in Part 2 he learns about the inherent trickery used in alcohol and cigarette ads and in Part 3 he acquires the confidence to say “no” to drugs once and for all.

In Part 1, Ben’s pushy peers try to seduce him with the storehouse of marijuana, beer, Scotch and cigarettes they have in their backpacks. Ben wavers but Gossett as Cosmo appears and takes Ben for a bumpy musical ride on the “Fate Elevator.” It deposits Ben in the “Dungeon of Ignorance,” where he meets Booze, a wobbly, word-slurring wino (played by Tuck Milligan), and Pot, a brain-wrecked hippsterette with spiked hair (played by Merrya Small).

With sinister Mr. Heroin and speed-tongued Miss Cocaine lurking in the shadows, Booze and Pot try to sell Ben on the mythic joys of drugs.

Ben survives the temptations and returns to reality, where the gang is now nauseous, hungover and coughing from their drug binge. Ben’s message--that your body is like a spaceship and pot and booze are aliens whose harmful chemical makeups can cause serious damage--is backed up by a cartoon sequence, but the gang doesn’t buy it.

Unfortunately, neither will most of the pre-teens watching--if they do watch the mix of good-for-you didacticism, clunky acting, bad cabaret and two-bit special effects for more than 10 minutes.

“Straight Up” (tapes of which will be distributed with teaching guides by KCET to schools nationwide) contains a great deal of responsible, sensible information.

But the persuasive value of the program, written and produced by Denise Boiteau and David Stansfield, may be seriously undermined by a black-and-white approach to alcohol and drugs that doesn’t recognize that it’s possible for responsible adult drug/alcohol users to exist.