‘The Ponder Heart’ Glows Despite a Few Plot Struggles

Daniel Ponder is well-known in his Mississippi hometown for his habit of giving away whatever he has at hand--money, a pocket watch, a piece of property--for the sheer joy of it.

His generosity, warmth and wry good humor are characteristic of the creations of Eudora Welty, who died in July at age 92. So it’s nice to see him serving as a sort of tribute to Welty in an adaptation of “The Ponder Heart” being shown tonight at 9 on KCET and KVCR. Directed by Martha Coolidge and starring Peter MacNicol and JoBeth Williams, the movie is an installment in PBS’ “American Collection” of literature and drama.

MacNicol’s Daniel is the very picture of serenity, his face perpetually lighted with a dreamy, carefree smile. He has so little capacity for business--and seems so determined to give away his father’s hard-earned fortune--that folks in Clay, Miss., wonder whether he isn’t a bit soft in the head. Yet MacNicol’s portrayal leaves no doubt that Daniel is, in his own quirky way, a hero.

Williams plays the story’s narrator, Edna Earle, a niece who is nearly Daniel’s age. Confident and levelheaded, she runs one of the many family businesses: the Beulah Hotel. Her unofficial job is to keep an eye on Uncle Daniel, a duty she lovingly performs.

Under Coolidge’s tender direction, the movie virtually glows from within. However, its plot gets jumpy and fragmented at about the one-hour mark, and Gail Gilchriest’s screenplay changes several key details in Welty’s 1954 novel, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear.

If the “American Collection” is meant to celebrate outstanding literature, why tamper with the original?

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“The Ponder Heart” will be shown tonight at 9 on KCET and KVCR. The network has rated it TV-G (suitable for all ages).

Surf Report

SERIES

After the recent terrorist attacks, the drama “Third Watch” (8 p.m. NBC) opens its third year with a two-hour tribute to New York City’s police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians.

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MOVIES

Jim Carrey plays a Rhode Island state trooper with split personalities, both of whom are in love with Renee Zellweger, in the Farrelly Brothers’ 2000 comedy “Me, Myself & Irene” (6:30 p.m. Cinemax), while Matt Damon assumes one identity after another, with murderous results, in director Anthony Minghella’s “The Talented Mr. Ripley” (8 p.m. Showtime), set in 1950s Italy.

Long before “A Nightmare on Elm Street” or “Scream,” director Wes Craven concocted the 1977 cult classic “The Hills Have Eyes” (9 p.m. IFC), about a family camping trip turned nightmarish by a band of modern-day cannibals.

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SPORTS

Somebody has to win: The Washington Redskins (0-4) are looking for their first victory of the season as they visit archrivals the Dallas Cowboys, who are also 0-4, on “Monday Night Football” (6 p.m. ABC).