TV Reviews : ‘Timeline’ Revives Newscast Approach to History

“You Are There”--again.

Old enough to remember “You Are There”? The ‘50s CBS series re-enacted historical events as if television news was around in, say, 1492. Walter Cronkite served as anchorman.

That’s too good an idea to leave on the shelves for long, and Maryland Public Television has taken it down and made it into “Timeline,” a six-part series. The first two half-hour episodes air tonight back-to-back on Channel 28 (8-9 p.m.)--one on the Crusades (told from the vantage point of Oct. 2, 1187), the second on the Black Plague (from March 27, 1361).

Anchored by former ABC newscaster Stephen Bell, “Timeline” doesn’t really take proper advantage of its format. It is acted well and produced even better, with an eye for accurate detail. But maybe it is too well produced: The careful lighting, static camera and smooth, pre-planned editing are more in the style of a TV movie than a newscast. Especially a newscast whose correspondents are supposedly reporting from a chaotic battleground. The whole effect simply isn’t very convincing.

That doesn’t mean that “Timeline” doesn’t become involving. Ten minutes into the opening episode, you may not be suspending belief the way a more thoughtfully crafted show would have had you doing, but you probably will have become emersed in the rather incredible events of the day--especially if, like most of us, you haven’t boned up on your medieval history lately.

Even though it lacks a grittiness and spontaneity that might have made it much more fascinating, “Timeline” accomplishes its main goal. It makes history real enough that it’s almost disturbing as the latest things Brokaw, Jennings and Rather have to show us.

Almost.