TV MOVIE REVIEW : ‘Glory Days’ Finds Conrad in Dream World

“Glory Days,” airing at 9 p.m. Sunday on CBS (Channels 2 and 8), is a daydream that tries to be a movie--and fails.

The underlying fantasy has universal appeal. After reveling in the huge football success of his talented high school senior son, 53-year-old retiree Mike Moran (Robert Conrad) achieves his own ambition by becoming a star quarterback in the small college ranks.

You immediately admire the grit and courage of Moran for resuming the grueling game that 35 years earlier had earned him a college scholarship that he did not use. But his obsession has a selfish side. Although his body takes a pounding, it’s his son (Shane Conrad), daughter (Stacy Edwards) and wife (Jennifer O’Neil) who temporarily suffer most from his collegiate football career.

The performances in this two-hour drama are rather perfunctory. Yet the fit, athletic Conrad, who also directs “Glory Days” besides sharing top jock billing with his real son, Shane, has the most trouble where you least expect him to have trouble--on the playing field. For someone who is supposed to be a star passer, he can’t throw a lick.

Even less credible is the Timothy Stack/Larry Williams/David J. Kinghorn script, which offers no explanation for the vigorous Moran retiring from his flourishing business at a relatively young age, then has him entering college on a whim without the usual admission process and excelling at college football after not playing competitively for so many years. The plausibility level is low.

“Glory Days”--a story for those who believe in four-point field goals.