It’s Violence as Usual in TV Movieland

TV or not TV . . .

BACK TO BUSINESS: The Los Angeles riots had barely begun to simmer down when TV quickly returned to form with violent and/or action-oriented programming.

Examples: On Saturday night, KCOP Channel 13 showed two Westerns--Clint Eastwood’s “The Outlaw Josey Wales” and John Wayne’s “Chisum.” KTTV Channel 11 broadcast the reality series “Cops.” And CBS aired the often-menacing 1989 version of “Batman.”

TV’s many reality series, which are edgy and often deal with sensation and violence, are particularly uncomfortable viewing here at the moment.

MOMENT IN TIME: Who will ever forget those shots of a deserted Hollywood Boulevard with buildings going up in flames?

MISSING LINK: Do you think the frustrations in South-Central L.A. will finally spur network TV to put on weekly drama series about different levels of black family life--instead of just comedies? And what about realistic drama series about Latinos, Asians and American Indians?

In the entire history of TV, you can just about count on the fingers of one hand the number of weekly dramas about blacks.

MAN IN THE MIDDLE: The most eloquent comment on the disaster came from Rodney G. King in his TV plea for a halt to violence: “Can we all get along? . . . We’re all stuck here for a while.”

TILT: Local TV coverage of the riots, which focused on minorities, was anchored predominantly by whites. That’s certainly not to say that whites are incapable of the task. And many minority newspeople were involved on TV. It’s just that it was glaringly noticeable how the stations’ anchor lineups fail to reflect the new diversity of Los Angeles.

FACTS OF LIFE: Does TV inflame dangerous situations? Inevitably, yes, if the mania of focusing on the most dramatic footage is the top priority. And it usually is, given the picture-oriented nature of the medium.

You could argue that it’s another case of blaming the messenger for the message. But you have to wonder how many times a station has to return to the same burning building, when nothing further has developed, in order to make its point.

It’s also the nature of TV that whatever it airs at a given moment becomes a station’s entire Page One because it fills the entire screen--whether it is a relatively minor event or a truly major one.

EYE OF THE STORM: It’s not easy for TV to find the right transition programs to lead viewers out of disaster coverage, but surely there should be an emphasis not only on quiet analysis but also on gentler shows for at least several hours.

We keep remembering an unforgettable show during ABC’s transition out of the four days surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy--a lovely children’s program, “The Cowboy and the Tiger,” with Jack Gilford.

INTERVIEW: Bill Cosby and KNBC-TV Channel 4 reporter Kent Shocknek agree that they had differences during an interview with the comedian that was supposed to air right before the finale of “The Cosby Show” during the riots last Thursday.

Shocknek says the performer wanted to focus on wider social issues when asked to make a statement about the mayhem then engulfing the city. Cosby says the reporter “kept focusing on whether it’s wrong to loot”--and the problem, adds the entertainer, goes deeper.

In any case, what looked like technical difficulties arose as the exchange was scheduled to begin; the screen went dark briefly and the interview failed to materialize on the air.

FIT TO BE TIED: KNBC anchor Keith Morrison was so carried away by Mayor Tom Bradley’s blunt displeasure with the Rodney King verdicts that he said he hadn’t seen Bradley so angry “in many a long time.”

MIXED MESSAGES: Arsenio Hall said all the right things when interviewed on KCOP about the riots Thursday night, but it was tacky when an anchor then plugged his series, which just happens to be on the same station.

TALK SHOW: Henry Kissinger, who was the subject of a controversial segment of CBS’ “60 Minutes” in which he did not participate, is a guest Wednesday on CNN’s “Larry King Live.”

SHOW OF SHOWS: Sid Caesar sits for a two-part interview on NBC’s “Later With Bob Costas” Monday and next Tuesday nights.

IN YOUR FACE: Dick Cavett plays “a male chauvinist, obnoxious radio personality” in several appearances on the ABC daytime soaper “One Life to Live,” starting Monday. Actually, only his voice will be heard at first, but he’ll eventually show up in the flesh.

NEW AGE TV: Here’s a switch: The HBO drama “Age Old Friends,” which is set in a retirement home and won Hume Cronyn an acting Emmy, will be rerun on network rival CBS on June 19. It’s an example of TV’s new, unlikely cooperation among competitors to ensure financial survival.

BULLETIN BOARD: The deadline for prime-time Emmy nominations is Friday at 6 p.m. The awards show will be broadcast again on little old Fox TV (sigh) on Aug. 30.

TOGETHER AGAIN: Jay Leno, the new “Tonight Show” host as of May 25, is scheduled to visit “Late Night With David Letterman” on Thursday. That should be worth taping.

IMAGINATION: Bob Newhart’s first series was called “The Bob Newhart Show.” His second was called “Newhart.” His third, set for CBS next season, is called “Bob.” He can’t have any more series because he doesn’t have any more names. In “Bob,” he plays a comic-book artist.

NATURAL WONDER: Can you believe that “Murder, She Wrote” ranked No. 5 in the ratings released last week? It beat “Cheers” and “Murphy Brown.”

BEING THERE: “Prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all its own--for the children, and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is that these things cannot be confined to the Twilight Zone.”--Rod Serling in “The Twilight Zone.”

Say good night, Gracie . . .