TV Reviews : Renamed ‘Alive TV’ Still Off Center

The PBS umbrella series “Alive From Off Center” has now been less imaginatively but less confusingly retitled “Alive TV” but--it brings happiness to report--shows no signs of being any more centrist than under the old moniker. The series bows under its new name tonight (beginning at 11 on KCET Channel 28) with two new half-hour episodes, the first of which is a gonzo art-head must.

“Punch & Judy Get Divorced” is a live-action, grown-up version of the perennial puppet show that somehow manages to seem like a maniacally contrived combination of Shakespearean farce, Comedy Store stand-up and, yes, performance art. For reference points on this whirlwind of a sexual satire, think “Prospero’s Books” performed by Richard Lewis and Shari Lewis. Or maybe “Scenes From a Marriage” thoughtfully rethunk by Larry, Curly and Moe.

Each character in this psycho-comedy is split into two doppelgangers--from the title bickerers on down to the child, mistress, dog and tempting devil--which allows everyone to debate him or herself as well as each other. “Punch & Judy” was conceived and written by Obie Award winner David Gordon, and scored by Hal Willner with Carl Stalling music from the Warners cartoon library. See it with someone you love and want to hit over the head with a felt hammer.

The next episode, “MTV: The Reagan Years” (at 11:30 p.m.), is equally watchable, though not so easily defensible. It’s basically a split-second best-of-MTV compendium, sans any real commentary, and the obvious question being begged is: Why is PBS using its endowments to air a promotional half-hour, albeit a highly entertaining one, for a for-profit cable network?

The obvious answer (though it may not be a good enough one) is that MTV’s self-produced promo spots are actually some of the headiest, giddiest avant-garde art pieces going right now, and “Alive TV” is the only gallery where they’re likely to be exhibited in one spot. MTV may be the one web where the commercials are better than the program content, and this marks a rare chance to see (and tape) them without all those pesky rock videos getting in the way.