Weekend TV : ‘West 57th’ Surveys Pre-Election El Salvador; ’60 Minutes’ Looks at Vietnamese Veterans

CBS’ prime-time news magazines go overseas this weekend to provide provocative insight into two war-ravaged lands.

Tonight at 10 p.m. (2)(8), “West 57th” focuses on El Salvador on the eve of that country’s presidential election. The right-wing Arena party, long associated with the infamous death squads, is expected to win the election just as leftist guerrillas are stepping up their efforts to topple the government. The program also includes an interview with Vice President Dan Quayle, who asserts that despite the Arena party’s ties to military terror, the United States will not waver in its longtime financial and military support of the government.

“60 Minutes” travels Sunday to Vietnam at 7 p.m. (2)(8) and interviews North Vietnamese veterans of the war with the United States, whose stories, correspondent Morley Safer says, “hauntingly parallel” those of our own Vietnam veterans. “60 Minutes” also includes a report on an effective but controversial Los Angeles Police Department special investigation unit.

For entertainment, meanwhile, Judy Garland and the gang make their annual appearance in “The Wizard of Oz,” Sunday at 8 p.m. (2)(8), and Oprah Winfrey stars at 9 p.m. in the first installment of the two-part drama, “The Women of Brewster Place” (3)(7)(10)(42).