Original ‘Infotainment’ on ‘Real People’

TV or not TV. . . .

REEL LIFE: “Real People” changed the face of TV in its five years on NBC.

To many, the 1979-1984 series helped father the “infotainment” trend that spread to magazine shows and even news broadcasts--first local and now, it often appears, on the major networks as well.

How logical, then, that tonight’s NBC special, “Real People Reunion,” with former hosts Sarah Purcell and Fred Willard, is airing at the height of TV’s explosion of reality shows.

But “Real People” producer George Schlatter thinks there’s a world of difference between his series and the current, nastier, tabloid-style shows.

“We were, and are, a celebration of the little guy,” says Schlatter. “We acknowledged their achievements, enjoyed their eccentricities and attempted to raise the self-esteem of individuals who were not always winners.”

And today?

“It’s bad enough that we have crimes on the 6 o’clock news,” says the outspoken Schlatter, “but now we re-create them. The preoccupation with murder, molestation, rape, women in jeopardy--that side of our life--is becoming really repugnant.”

But is there a connection between “Real People” and reality shows?

“That would be like blaming Henry Ford for automobile accidents,” he says. “Yeah, he did the cars, but he said be careful how you drive them.

“There’s a connection, yes. You can blame me for ‘A Current Affair’ if you really want to reach. You can, but I didn’t say to use it that way. I said that people are interesting and you can do that to very positive effect.”

The worst of the new-style reality shows, says Schlatter, “victimize people. We said, ‘Hey, he’s having a good time.’ Yeah, we did wackos and eccentrics, and I love them because I am one. We celebrate the people who are a little bit different.”

Along with its popular success, “Real People” also got critical heat from those who thought it was often trivial and used entertainers in reporting roles in which they sometimes got emotionally involved with the story subjects on camera.

Schlatter, who had another hugely influential hit with “Laugh-In,” responds that the line between news and entertainment “was blurred when Walter Cronkite did ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show.’ Mike Wallace hosted a quiz show.”

Wallace’s quiz show experience--he was emcee or panelist of about half a dozen such programs--was in an earlier incarnation, during which he also narrated such radio shows as “The Lone Ranger” and acted in the daytime serials “Ma Perkins” and “The Guiding Light.”

FORMAT: CBS’ “Brooklyn Bridge” is really a one-hour series screaming to get out of its half-hour length. The hour premiere was one of the best TV pilots ever made, a one-act play that could stand on its own. Friday’s second outing was fine, but there’s just too much richness and opportunity to be compressed into the shorter form.

One thing for sure, though: Marion Ross as grandma Sophie Berger is a shoo-in for Emmy recognition. She’s simply wonderful in a cast that’s too good to be true.

SIGN OF THE TIMES: “Real Life With Jane Pauley,” which did well with Oprah Winfrey as a guest, has another hard-hitting show Nov. 1--a program-length interview with Candice Bergen of “Murphy Brown.”

Surprising that Bergen’s network, CBS, would allow NBC’s Pauley show to boost itself by piggybacking on the “Murphy Brown” success.

WAKE-UP CALL: Nice to see Katie Couric back on “Today” after her maternity leave--she does make a difference. But that didn’t halt the ratings dominance of “Good Morning America,” which now has been No. 1 for 90 consecutive weeks.

SLEEPER: With all the interest in communism’s collapse, you’ll be thrilled to know that KNBC Channel 4 has scheduled the intriguing new talk-show series with Soviet commentator Vladimir Pozner and Phil Donahue for 1:30 a.m. on Sundays starting Oct. 20. A grand public service. If you happen to wake up for it, the show’s called “Pozner & Donahue.”

DATE BOOK: Surely you’re not going to miss Johnny Carson’s special marking his 29th and final anniversary on “The Tonight Show” Thursday at 9:30 p.m.?

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT: Marla Maples, Donald Trump’s old buddy, plays herself on “Designing Women” Oct. 14. Yeah, that’ll really thrill them in Peoria.

CLASS ACT: Arts & Entertainment is really a superb channel. And shrewd. It landed Walter Cronkite to host the four-part “Dinosaur!”--and got the highest ratings of any series in its history. (You can catch reruns at 6 and 10 tonight.) And A&E;’s acquisition of those “Late Night With David Letterman” reruns, which start this week at 4 p.m. daily, was a brilliant maneuver in cable’s drive for parity with the networks.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Writer Larry Gelbart in Emmy magazine: “A good many of today’s studio decision makers began their executive careers in television, some of them while still attending day school.”

SUGGESTION BOX: All right, when is Hollywood going to start premiering big-budget movies on a regular basis on pay-per-view TV and make back all the cost--and more--in one night?

ALL SHOOK UP: KCET Channel 28 devotes its entire prime-time lineup to earthquake studies Oct. 17, the second anniversary of the big one in Northern California.

BEING THERE: “We make money the old-fashioned way--we borrow it.”--Stockbroker in “Barney Miller.”

Say good night, Gracie. . . .