TV REVIEW : ‘Teens Talk AIDS’: No-Frills Approach

“Teens Talk AIDS,” tonight at 9:30 on KCET Channel 28, is a no-frills, deceptively casual half-hour of living room discussion by six young New Yorkers who share their knowledge of the disease--or lack thereof.

Hosted by Jason Warwin, the frank conversation covers condom use, how HIV is contracted, the difference between HIV and AIDS. Black-and-white filmed segments illustrate one teen’s first-time condom purchase and another’s visit to the health clinic for AIDS testing.

The same ground has been covered before, but if the number of teens contracting AIDS is doubling every 14 months, as is stated here, it can’t be covered too often.

The most effective moment is the profound silence that falls when, midway through the chat, which has been relaxed and obviously abstract to three of the teens, one boy matter-of-factly says that he has AIDS. Then, one of the girls compounds the shock by saying, “I understand how you feel, because I’m HIV-positive.”

The conversation and the information suddenly takes on a personal resonance for the other three, who have up to that time so obviously perceived their companions to be the same as they are--savvy young people who can talk about AIDS, but consider it to be something that really happens only to a nebulous “them.”

The ordinary setting and the fact that the two infected teens look and talk like anyone else, drives the message home.