A Victim of Rape and the Justice System in ‘She Said No’

TV or not TV. . . .

FATE: Imagine, if you can, a rape victim becoming the defendant in her case.

Fictionalized from events that provided the idea, it’s a potential NBC eye-popper with a strong cast of Judd Hirsch, Veronica Hamel and Lee Grant.

The two-hour film, tentatively titled “She Said No” and targeted for fall, has been shooting in Los Angeles locations.

“It’s about how people can use the system for their own ends,” says writer and co-executive producer Michael O’Hara.

In the film, he says, Hirsch (“Dear John,” “Taxi,” “Ordinary People”) plays “totally against type” as the heavy.

Hirsch portrays a prominent attorney who meets an advertising executive (Hamel) at a French class, takes her out and then to his office.

“He rapes her. She files criminal charges,” says O’Hara. “He’s outraged. He convinces himself he didn’t rape her.”

The trial, in which Grant portrays the prosecutor, ends in a hung jury.

“And then, the attorney (Hirsch) sues for libel, thus making the ad exec (Hamel) the defendant,” says O’Hara.

“In effect, he becomes the prosecutor.”

Strong stuff.

REVIVAL: Great idea for NBC to rerun the Sam Elliott-Cybill Shepherd modern-day Western soap opera, “The Yellow Rose,” starting July 6. It had something--and never should have been canceled so fast after its 1983-84 debut season. There’ll be 10 repeat episodes Friday nights at 9.

MEETING OF THE MINDS: Dan Rather visits Arsenio Hall’s show Wednesday. On Thursday, Rather addresses a California Town Hall luncheon, and Friday morning he does his stuff at CBS’ annual affiliates meeting at the Century Plaza.

POWER ALLEY: If the young Fox network had stronger affiliate stations, “The Simpsons” and “Married . . . With Children” wouldn’t have finished No. 3 and 4 in last week’s ratings--they would have been TV’s top two shows.

CRYSTAL BALL: CBS research chief David Poltrack thinks “The Simpsons” could take “as many as four rating points” away from NBC’s “The Cosby Show” when they lock horns this fall. That’s nearly 3.7 million TV homes. If past patterns hold up and Fox does as well as it usually does during summer, “The Simpsons” could be a runaway express by fall.

WAKE-UP CALL: With NBC plagued by the ongoing reports since Deborah Norville replaced Jane Pauley on the “Today” show, “some 600,000 viewers--a stunning 15%” of the program’s audience--have tuned out, reports New York magazine.

BODY COUNT: “Are you dead?” David Letterman asked Kyle MacLachlan, who plays FBI agent Dale Cooper on “Twin Peaks.” MacLachlan, who was plugged at close range in the season finale, reminded Letterman that he has a five-year contract.

LIFER: It’s his 30th year in TV, all in Los Angeles, so KTLA Channel 5 gave anchor Hal Fishman an on-air salute at the end of his 10 p.m. newscast last Wednesday. It was also a clear promo that elbowed the less-stable competition. Fishman, by the way, taught political science before he got into the TV dodge.

HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE TV: There on the Nostalgia Channel was “Banjo on My Knee” (1936), and I wondered how I’d ever lived without cable. I mean, who knew? “Banjo on My Knee”? Joel McCrea, Walter Brennan, Barbara Stanwyck singing and dancing, Tony Martin when he was still billed as Anthony Martin--and Buddy Ebsen, one of the most graceful hoofers who ever lived. I don’t remember exactly what it was about, but it was great.

MAJOR LEAGUES: CBS has changed the title of “The Green Machine,” its new fall series about a team of environmental protectors. It’s now called “E.A.R.T.H. Force.” The abbreviation stands for Environmental Advance Rescue and Tactical Headquarters. This title change was given considerable thought by important people.

BULLETIN BOARD: Should be worthwhile to tape or tune in “60 Minutes” producer Don Hewitt’s two-part interview on “Later with Bob Costas” the nights of July 9 and 10. There’ll be recollections of Ed Murrow and also of the Nixon-Kennedy debate showdown for the presidency in 1960.

BLUEPRINT: Clever progression by NBC in its six-comedy Saturday lineup this fall. Starts with “Parenthood,” about a young family. Then comes “Working It Out,” about middle-aged, divorced singles. Then “The Golden Girls”--older women. Then “Empty Nest”--widower with two grown daughters. Then the final package--”Carol & Company,” with its older-skewing theatrical sketches, followed by “American Dreamer,” also a bit stagey with its occasional “Our Town” narrative technique.

BOOKSHELF: Edie Adams’ book, “Sing a Pretty Song,” written with Robert Windeler and due out next month, will be snapped up by those interested not only in her marriage to Ernie Kovacs but also in this remarkable, talented woman herself. When the free-wheeling Kovacs died in a 1962 car accident, he left her deeply in debt, and she quietly worked her way out of the hole, earning Hollywood’s admiration in the process.

BEING THERE: Bob Hope’s new book “Don’t Shoot, It’s Only Me,” written with Mel Shavelson, recalls “the granddaddy of all the idiot jokes,” used in a routine with madman comedian Jerry Colonna. Hope: “Professor, did you plant the bomb in the embassy, like I told you?” Colonna: “Embassy? Great Scott, I thought you said NBC !”

Say good night, Gracie. . . .