Television Review : ‘Original Sin’ Is a ‘Godfather’ Clone

NBC hauls out the big guns tonight with Charlton Heston as an old world crime lord in a “Godfather” clone called “Original Sin,” airing at 9 p.m. on Channels 4, 36 and 39.

Nobody is safe in this one, not even the viewer. Ann Jillian plays Sharon Richards, whose idyllic suburban life is disrupted when her small son is kidnaped. Husband John (Robert Desiderio) is acting a little oddly; could he have an idea who’s responsible?

It turns out John isn’t the orphan Sharon thought--his dad is an aging king of crime called Louis Mancini (Heston) and he just might be involved, directly or indirectly, in the kidnaping.

It’s been 10 years since he’s been there, but John decides he can, after all, go home again--to get his son back. Naturally he won’t get involved in the family business.

Writer Philip F. Messina and director Ron Satlof don’t believe in letting a psychological motivation pass us by, nor do they miss a cliche, from loving shots of guns being loaded for action, squealing car chases and slo-mo bloody violence to climactic music before each commercial break.

Jillian, in her role as spunky, concerned Mom, is strong, and her emotions ring true, but no one else comes close. Instead, intent is telegraphed with significant looks and stock dialogue. In the end, it may be sheer inertia and a faulty remote control that keeps viewers from seeing what the other networks have going in this week’s “sweeps-stakes” race.