‘Maria’s Story’: The Saga Continues : Documentary: A pro-FMLN film that gives a human face to the guerrillas in El Salvador can’t find an outlet on TV.

Ah, the plight of independent filmmakers aiming for TV.

Take Pamela Cohen, 31, and Monona Wali, 35. The last time we checked in on them was about 16 months ago, when they were scratching for funds to complete production on their documentary giving a human face to the guerrilla campaign against the U.S.-supported right-wing government in El Salvador.

The “face” is Maria Serrano, now 41, a peasant wife, mother and grandmother--and oh yes, a guerrilla leader in the left-wing Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). That Maria seems almost cheerful at times seems amazing given that one of her daughters was killed by government soldiers and she herself barely survived a helicopter attack by government forces.

Cohen and Wali devoted months--and 68 hours of raw footage--to chronicling Maria’s daily routine as a rebel in the field two years ago, only to return to the United States and be unable to finish their film for lack of money. It didn’t look promising for the filmmakers (and San Francisco-based co-producer Catherine M. Ryan, who was not with them in El Salvador).

When we spoke in July of 1989, Cohen and Wali had a pilot, a dream and lots of unused footage and red ink to show for their efforts.

The struggle was long, but months and months of laborious fund-raising finally paid off (including a $10,000 gift from Paul Newman), and “Maria’s Story” is now a 53-minute finished product, despite the Los Angeles filmmakers still being $20,000 in debt.

Next comes possibly the hardest stage in the struggle: Getting “Maria’s Story” on U.S. television.

“When people see something about El Salvador,” Wali said recently, “we want them to think of Maria.”

“Maria’s Story” has already aired on England’s gutsy Channel Four. It has also had theatrical screenings in Santa Barbara and Mill Valley, Calif., and, following a Nov. 29 benefit screening in Los Angeles, starts a week’s run at the Laemmle Monica 4-Plex Dec. 7-13. Other limited theatrical openings are planned.

But for widest impact, TV is the way to go.

“Lifetime (cable) got interested twice,” Cohen said. “The first time they said it was too foreign for their audience. The second time they felt it was too political.” The filmmakers say that they were told by “Frontline,” the premier documentary series on PBS, that it had run numerous programs on El Salvador and wasn’t interested.

Cohen and Wali are now waiting to hear from “POV,” the PBS series designed for documentaries with points of view. And “Maria’s Story” definitely has a point of view--one strongly pro-FMLN.

Politics aside, “Maria’s Story” looks insightfully into the guerrilla mind and the process by which events can radicalize such ordinary citizens as Maria. “This is a woman’s experience in El Salvador and what leads her as a housewife and mother to eventually take up a gun and join the guerrillas,” Wali said. “It’s a point of view that’s been heavily censored in her country and in our country. The only things you really see (on the networks) are these bands of guerrillas fighting in the hills. You don’t really know who they are.”

“Maria’s Story” is not balanced. “We could have made a documentary with a half hour on Maria and a half hour on the wife of (Salvadoran President) Alfredo Cristiani, but that’s not what we chose to do,” Cohen said.

“Does anyone ask if the ‘Diary of Anne Frank’ is balanced?” Wali added. “It’s an account of her experience in World War II.”

It’s a sad state indeed that PBS is now the only network offering regularly scheduled documentaries. If Cohen and Wali are rejected by “POV,” they may seek to distribute their film to individual stations across the nation. In any event, “Maria’s Story” won’t be quickly dated.

The filmmakers got a letter from Maria in August. Cohen: “She said, ‘This thing isn’t over yet. I’m getting older every day, but I’m more enthusiastic.’ ”

Can there be a couple--anywhere--more boring than Roseanne Barr and Tom Arnold? Really . Five minutes listening to these kids and your lids are lead.

Now America’s cooing cuties are back on the talk circuit, goo-goo eyeing each other and spewing celebrity chitchat. Even worse, instead of bad-mouthing the multitudes as they did in the days when they hated the world, they’re now talking about themselves.

This is the damage-control tour, the new-look, new-sound, calculatingly genteel, tastefully coiffed, powdered-and-pancaked, dressed-to-the-nines, please-love-me-again Roseanne, trying to make amends for murdering the national anthem in San Diego.

And with her most of the time is the happy hubby himself.

The anthem backlash was sinking in. So the good-will campaign: Roseanne on “Arsenio.” Roseanne in The Los Angeles Times. Roseanne and Tom on “A.M. Los Angeles.” Roseanne and Tom on “Donahue.” And coming this week, Roseanne and Tom on “Into the Night Starring Rick Dees.” All of this in addition to Roseanne and Tom on . . . “Roseanne.”

All right, they win. Uncle!

Please, not another word about Roseanne’s childhood, about her homemakerhood, about her miseryhood and happyhood. Keep those heartaches and headaches secret. Stow the scoop about the feuds, about the war with the National Enquirer, about the troubles on her show, about the plans to flee Los Angeles. And just stow Tom, period.

How about giving the loving couple the anonymity they deserve? Kids, you’re beautiful. Love ya. But go on, get outta here. Do the series and make your millions. Then be real patriots and shut up.

Mr. Peaks Speaks: Following Saturday’s rather static episode of ABC’s “Twin Peaks”--which Mr. Peaks believes was one of the dullest and least arresting of the series--Leland Palmer continues to look solid as the murderer of Laura.

The next episode is supposed to conclude this phase of the saga, which has seen Leland--apparently as his alter ego, Bob--also waste Laura’s look-alike cousin, Madeleine.

I say “apparently” because a nagging question remains: If Leland is indeed a split personality type who sees himself in mirrors as the long-haired Bob, then how is it possible that others, including agent Cooper, Madeleine and Ronette, have seen Bob in visions, and why does a sketch of Bob’s face exist?

Moreover, is it possible that Bob is not exclusive to Leland, that he’s a demon that inhabits more than one body? Remember what Mike the one-armed man said: “Bob requires a human host.” So maybe he moves around?

These are very disturbing questions. Naturally, Mr. Peaks knows the answers and is just testing his devoted Peakies. Mr. Peaks didn’t read Laura’s diary--skipping over the lackluster entries to get to the sexy parts--for nothing.