New Generation Gets a Look at Old ‘Smothers Bros.’

A quarter-century after it changed the face of TV, “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” is about to be replayed for a new generation.

Starting Jan. 4, more than 70 shows of the series--known for its opposition to the Vietnam War and canceled by CBS amid controversy--will be rerun on the E! cable network Monday through Friday at 8 p.m.

Along with “Laugh-In,” the Smothers Brothers show was a major force in introducing young, contemporary attitudes to TV, helping pave the way for “Saturday Night Live” and other new-wave series.

“I’m nervous as hell,” said Tom Smothers by phone from his home in Sonoma. “I don’t know whether the shows will hold up. I see them and I still want to edit something or fix something.”

Always a creative force despite his image as the goofy half of the team, Tom minces no words in saying that he and his straight-man brother, Dick, were “fired” in 1969 by CBS.

The reasons for CBS’ action, he says, included the show’s attitudes about Vietnam and civil rights, and the fact that a conservative Administration under Richard Nixon had just assumed office. There had been ongoing conflicts about the show’s material.

In an intriguing move, E! is attempting to present the one-hour series in the context of the times, using “wrap-around segments” of comments about the show featuring many of the stars who appeared in it.

“We’ll be reinstating some stuff that was edited out,” says Smothers, including “11 minutes with Harry Belafonte performing in our studio with backdrop footage of the (1968) riots outside the Democratic convention in Chicago. CBS took it off. They said, ‘You can’t do that.’ ”

“The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” premiered in 1967 (“Laugh-In” was launched in 1968) and ran on CBS for 2 1/2 seasons. It was part of a memorable Sunday lineup: “Lassie,” “Gentle Ben,” “The Ed Sullivan Show,” “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” and “Mission: Impossible.” The brothers were pitted against NBC’s “Bonanza.”

“We’re going to E! because we get a chance to frame the old shows and give them a perspective,” says Smothers. “It’s the first time they’ve been seen since the originals.”

In an era when great comedy teams are virtually extinct, the brothers continue to ply their craft in person.

“We do about 100 to 125 performances a year,” says Smothers. “We work when we want to. We fill up wherever we go. We do Vegas and six to 10 dates with symphony orchestras.”

Oh, by the way, the series with which CBS replaced “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” was “Hee Haw.”

NEWS BIZ: CBS, which already has three successful prime-time news magazines--”60 Minutes,” “48 Hours” and “Street Stories”--is planning a fourth, with Connie Chung as anchor. Chung cut back on her previous prime-time series to try to have a baby with husband Maury Povich. The first correspondents named for the new program are Bernard Goldberg and Edie Magnus.

LAST STAND: The letters keep pouring in from viewers protesting CBS’ yanking of “Brooklyn Bridge.” We’ve also been getting some calls from fans of NBC’s “I’ll Fly Away” asking where to send letters to encourage the network to keep the series on. The address is: NBC, 3000 W. Alameda Ave., Burbank, Calif. 91523.

FOOTNOTE: Among other things we’ve learned from the “Brooklyn Bridge” letters is that there is a Boring, Ore., and a Greenacres, Wash.

OVER THERE: CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, who caught public attention during the Gulf War, has become as commanding and authoritative as any foreign correspondent on the tube.

IMAGE: What’s the most unforgettable TV footage of 1992? For many, it’s the Rodney G. King verdict or the riots. Tough to beat. But for me, it will always be that poor 15-year-old boy swept away down the Los Angeles River during the February flooding.

SLOW BUT STEADY: It’s taken time, but “CBS This Morning,” anchored by Paula Zahn and Harry Smith, has recently shown some ratings progress. Let’s hope there’s no more talk of dumping the show.

VISITOR: Arsenio Hall turns up on “The Jackie Thomas Show” next Tuesday. Seems that Thomas, the wild-man TV star played by Tom Arnold, appears on Hall’s show and--what else?--trashes his own writers.

LAST LAUGH: First, Andy Griffith’s “Matlock”--booted by NBC--won a weekly return on ABC starting Jan. 14. And now CBS has scheduled “The Andy Griffith Show Reunion”--with Don Knotts and Ron Howard--for Feb. 10, during the monthlong ratings sweeps. Well, two out of three networks ain’t bad.

MAESTRO: Walter Cronkite not only hosts “From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 1993” on KCET Channel 28 Jan. 1, he also conducts John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.” He’ll lead the Hoch and Deutschmeister Band, just in case you wanted to know.

GALAXY: Dana Andrews, who died last week, was introduced to a whole new generation by cable TV through repeated showings of such films as “Laura” and “The Best Years of Our Lives.” Never flashy, he always seemed trustworthy on screen.

It’s hard to believe, by the way, that another memorable film star with that same solid quality, Dick Powell (“Murder My Sweet”), died 30 years ago this coming Jan. 2. He was also an early, significant figure in TV--in production as well as on-camera--and the time for a new, first-class retrospective of his career and contributions seems ripe.

DOING THE RIGHT THING: Spike Lee does a guest shot Jan. 3 on the kids’ show “Ghostwriter,” a mystery-adventure series aimed at making reading and writing “exciting and relevant” to youngsters. The segment airs on KCET at 6:30 p.m.

CHRISTMAS WEEKEND: The five “Planet of the Apes” films are on Cinemax Saturday. . . . Same night, it’s all Garbo on KCET: the documentary “The Divine Garbo” followed by “Grand Hotel” and “Ninotchka.”

PLAY BALL: That nifty series “Baseball’s Greatest Games” is getting a weekly, year-round spot on the Prime Ticket network. There’ll be marathons of the games on Christmas and New Year’s Day.

BEING THERE: “I’ll tell you what bothers me about this.”--Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) in “Columbo.”

Say good night, Gracie. . . .