Asner Likes ‘Hearts’ Role of ‘Visiting Star’

TV or not TV. . . .

THE ENTERTAINER: Two decades ago, Ed Asner was cavorting in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

Now, the resilient performer has been corralled by producer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason to join the cast of another freewheeling sitcom, her new CBS series “Hearts Afire.”

“Linda chased me,” says Asner, a seven-time Emmy winner (three for the Moore series, two for “Lou Grant,” one for “Rich Man, Poor Man” and another for “Roots”).

In “Hearts Afire,” Asner plays the ex-con father of co-star Markie Post, an aide to a conservative Southern senator.

“It’s a good deal,” Asner says of his new job. “I can stick around. And if a movie came up, I could give short notice. I’m a temporary visiting star.”

He’d still like to have his own series again. And comedy is on his mind: “I think I’m pretty good at it.”

A prolific performer, Asner’s last TV series was “The Trials of Rosie O’Neill,” in which he portrayed a hard-nosed, conservative ex-cop who played counterpoint to a liberal public defender enacted by Sharon Gless.

In the 1980s, Asner had a short-lived comedy series, “Off the Rack,” as the co-owner of a garment factory. But “Hearts Afire” seems more in tune with the fast-paced, stylish comedy of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

However, says Asner, “It’s a more panic schedule here (on “Hearts Afire”) because it’s three days instead of five from the time we get the script to the time we perform it. But it feels good. The cast is wonderful.”

John Ritter and Post co-star as colleagues who get romantically involved.

NIGHT PEOPLE: Fans of talk-show host Charlie Rose will have a lot easier time finding him when he begins his nightly PBS series Jan. 4 than they did during his run on cable’s Learning Channel during the last year.

The onetime host of CBS’ “Night-watch” simply wasn’t available to as many viewers on the Learning Channel.

A spokeswoman for KCET-TV Channel 28 says she expects the station to carry Rose’s upcoming, one-hour nightly PBS series from New York.

And how will he fit into the heavily populated, late-night scene of Jay Leno, Arsenio Hall and the others?

“Most of the people in late-night--Arsenio, Jay, Whoopi Goldberg, David Letterman and Chevy Chase starting next year--are entertainers,” says Rose. “So there’s a common denominator among them. I come from a different background: journalism and specifically interviewing.”

Rose’s new PBS series, already a fixture in New York for a year, “has a direct link” to “Nightwatch,” he says. “Don Hewitt (executive producer of “60 Minutes”) told me recently there’s nothing more interesting than two talking heads if they have something to say about a subject you’re interested in.”

BIG BEN: “When you’re up against ’60 Minutes,’ it’s not a great thing,” says Fox’s bright new sketch-comedy star, Ben Stiller, whose half-hour series goes up against the huge CBS hit each Sunday. “I’d rather be on a little later.”

“The Ben Stiller Show” isn’t pulling good weekly ratings, but its inventiveness has attracted attention. Stiller, who says he was spotted by Fox on MTV, adds that it took two years to develop the series, which features short comedy films.

“I didn’t understand the development process,” he says. “At one point, the show was a sitcom with films in it. It just didn’t feel right. I don’t think what I do reads as well on the page as when you put it on the air.”

Whatever method there is to the madness, it’s worth supporting.

TWO ON THE TOWN: There we were Saturday evening, switching between the Atlanta-Pittsburgh baseball playoff on CBS and the UCLA-Stanford football game on ESPN, when we flipped over to C-SPAN and immediately got hooked.

In an absolutely riveting performance, husband-and-wife Ted Turner and Jane Fonda were making an appearance at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, offering their views and taking questions on environmental issues and other subjects. It was the kind of electric, intimate, funny and intelligent TV you just don’t see very often.

Best entertainment we saw on TV all weekend, except maybe for Ross Perot in Sunday’s presidential debate.

IN THE MOOD: Jay Leno seems more relaxed and loose since trying to make amends for the hard-nosed “Tonight” tactics in the late-night booking wars. His ratings aren’t bad either. But there are continuing rumors that David Letterman has a good shot at taking over “Tonight” by next year. As Leno keeps saying, welcome to show biz.

ANOTHER VIEW: “Rhythm & Blues,” the new NBC sitcom about a black radio station that mistakenly hires a white disc jockey, has been accused of racism, perpetuating stereotypes and continuing the buffoonlike portrayals of blacks in TV comedy. As might be expected, the actress who plays the owner of the station, Anna Maria Horsford, disagrees.

Horsford, a former star of the “Amen” series, says of her character’s original reluctance to hire the DJ: “Most of these stations are community-based with concerns of the neighborhood. So when I say, ‘No, no, this will not do’ when I see him, it’s because he doesn’t have the same history of the community that my station is serving. We have to get to know each other, and I think that’s what the show is doing.”

Many critics of the series will still object. Horsford says she’s surprised at the controversy. And the debate goes on.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Yes, that’s Bob Hope’s voice on “The Simpsons” Thursday, introducing Lisa at a USO show. She takes top spot in a beauty contest when the winner is struck by lightning.

FAMILY VALUES: Pity that cable’s Family Channel is just rerunning its “New Original Amateur Hour” instead of airing fresh shows. Producer Albert Fisher says, however, that he and host Willard Scott are free to take new programs of the series elsewhere if anyone’s interested. Tough sell in the age of “Studs.”

BULLETIN BOARD: In just over a decade, CNN has widened its scope to more than 350 broadcast affiliates from coast-to-coast.

BEING THERE: “If you don’t mind, 99, I’d like to handle this myself.”--Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) to Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon) in “Get Smart.”

Say good night, Gracie. . . .