A Menacing Push on the Small Screen

Just as the initial wave of “Star Wars” mania appears to be subsiding, this week features two TV specials tied to the release of Episode 1 in the series, “The Phantom Menace.” Fox offers “From Star Wars to Star Wars” at 9 p.m. Tuesday, hosted by the film’s Samuel L. Jackson, while PBS weighs in the same hour Friday with “The Mythology of ‘Star Wars,’ ” as Bill Moyers interviews director George Lucas. So why didn’t Fox run its special four weeks ago, which not only would have been closer to the movie’s opening but also would have coincided with the important May rating sweeps? Fox officials say the window in which the special could air was set by Lucasfilm Ltd., which no doubt realized “Phantom Menace” didn’t require any extra publicity for its premiere but might need a little help if the film is to keep playing through the summer. Also, the special will contain “amazing behind-the-scenes footage,” according to Fox, which Lucas may have been reluctant to reveal so early in the process. Need we mention as well that the movie’s distributor, 20th Century Fox, also owns the network and has an interest in “Star Wars’ ” box-office performance? We thought not.

Top 50 Countdown of Screen Legends

Huntz Hall, who played Leo Gorcey’s goofy sidekick Sach Jones in “The Bowery Boys,” may not rank among the 50 greatest Hollywood screen legends of all time, but he holds a special fondness for Tony Macklin. Macklin, an English professor and film historian at the University of Dayton, said sentiment made him write in Hall along with his choices for the 50 greatest screen legends to the American Film Institute; Macklin is among more than 1,800 people who voted. Their choices will be unveiled Tuesday at 8 p.m., when CBS airs “AFI’s 100 Years . . . 100 Stars.” Hosted by Shirley Temple Black and featuring 50 of today’s top stars, the three-hour program will feature a countdown of the top 25 men and 25 women whose screen debut occurred in or before 1950, or whose screen debut occurred after 1950 but whose death marked a completed body of work. The AFI hopes the show will provoke public interest in classic films--and raise millions for the financially strapped nonprofit organization--much as a similar show on the century’s 100 greatest films did last year. (The earlier show also provoked controversy about the choices, which were seen as skewed toward contemporary, popular fare). Which brings us back to Macklin. His top five female screen legends are Ingrid Bergman, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Katharine Hepburn and Grace Kelly. His top male screen legends are Charlie Chaplin, John Wayne, Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart and James Dean. Why did Bergman and Chaplin top his list? “They took all the outrage, all the slings and arrows, and endured it and prevailed,” Macklin said. But he felt compelled to add Huntz Hall because he fondly remembered “The Bowery Boys” from his youth. “Sach was one of a kind,” Macklin said. “I can’t defend him as a great actor and I wouldn’t even try, but in my heart, he’s in the pantheon.”

Perfection Is a Sometime Thing

It wasn’t the end of the world as they know it, but R.E.M. was badly rattled by the 1997 retirement of drummer Bill Berry. The quartet-turned-trio responded in October by releasing the introspective “Up,” an album that has been hailed by critics but has continued the Georgia group’s trend of sliding sales in recent years. On Thursday, the new-look R.E.M. kicks off its first tour in four years with a date in Lisbon, Portugal, and its U.S. tour begins here at the Greek Theatre on Aug. 9. Longtime fans will hear old and new songs, but they might notice a different stage vibe as the group works with different musicians to fill the void left by Berry. “We have to look at each other a lot more now when we play; we can’t take for granted that we’re all going to start and stop together,” says singer Michael Stipe. “Fans should be warned that perfection in a live environment is not something to expect.”

--Compiled by Times Staff Writers