TV REVIEWS : Plea for Organic Farming in ‘A Town’s Revenge’

“A Town’s Revenge” combines a history lesson in McCarthyism with an argument for organic farming. It’s an ambitious if unlikely attempt to illustrate the importance of standing up for one’s belief.

The “ABC Afterschool Special,” written by Bruce Harmon, directed by Helen Whitney and airing at 3 p.m. today on Channels 7, 3, 10 and 42, focuses on a rural town in turmoil. Teen-aged Eric (Keith Coogan) is antagonizing local farmers with his desire to experiment with natural ways to keep crops free of bugs. The farmers, fearing financial losses, prefer their tried and true pesticides.

They’re further antagonized when Eric’s elderly great aunt, Cecile (Elizabeth Franz), returns to town after 35 years to take over her deceased brother’s farm and gives Eric a chance to put his experiment into action.

Cecile has a double strike against her. She had been driven out of town after being targeted by the FBI as a Communist sympathizer during the McCarthy era. The town has neither forgiven nor forgotten her.

As is often the case in television’s short dramas aimed at teens, the characters here are one dimensional. The farmers are bully boys, Eric is wise beyond his years, Cecile is a noble martyr and Eric’s frightened father needs a lesson in bravery.

Still, there are effective moments. When Cecile tells Eric who Sen. Joe McCarthy was, the words have an “I was there” passion that almost transcend the proselytizing.