The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • 104

Grimm brothers special: lavish romp through fable GRIMM i ifj fairy tales with a mature twist. Sand also starred in his own television series, "Friends and Lovers," several seasons ago. For actress Chita Rivera, portraying the Gingerbread Lady wis a bo an enjoyable change of pace. "I felt I was in a Wall Disney film," Rivera said. "For me it's a departure.

I love to do this kind of thing; it's like a big game. We had smoke pots boiling away for the segments where I entice the kids in 'Hansei and I was scared at one point I was going to get burned to a crisp. But I didn't. Maybe my fairy godmother was watching." Though the Grimm brothers' fables have entertained children for more than a century with whimsy, outlandish situations and an obvious sense of unreality, it is known that the stories appeared during an ominous political period in German Nx y- X--r Continued from I'age One children with something wny and a little wacky. It't all really a mad trek through an em banted forest" According to WohL the special'! production values are strong "There re lou of special effects and cameos with the guet stars." he said.

"The result is a kind of lavish romp with the Crimm brothers. During the work on the piece, I often wondered what the brothers would think if they could see what television has done." Wohl paused and then speculated. "They would probably love it. seeing the wonders of what TV can do. Those guys would probably be ace TV writers today." For actor Paul Sand, the special presented an opportunity to indulge in whimsical flights of fancy all his own.

Sand said that a secret desire he has harbored for years was to appear in a typical MGM movie from the Golden Age, complete with extravagant sets and shiny dance floor. "It was pretty much all here with 'Brothers Sand said. "We did it in a huge sound-stage with wind machines whirring, wild costumes, and dozens of technicians and people running around all over the place giving the thing a great feeling of importance. I think I indulged my fantasies as well as I ever have." Sand is no stranger to fairy tales, having won a Tony Award for his roles in "Story Theater" on Broadway some years ago. That play has been described as a series of history.

Most scholars agree that when Napoleon invaded Germany, the Grimm Brothers took it upon themselves to chronicle as much as they could of their native folklore, since they felt that Napoleon's aggressive conquests threatened German culture. The Grimm brothers' work, "Nursery and Household Tales," was published in 1812, concurrent with Napoleon's retreat from Moscow, and the public immediately took the volume to heart, except in Vienna, where the work was dismissed as folly. I I yr Jp I I 1 I 'i i i J-V I VJ. 1. I Vy -IfX 'X I Translator business based on 'holes' in TV viewing area By EDWIN DARBY CMctw Daly Nwi CHICAGO, ILL.

-irritated television there are "holes miles from a TV station, a 100-foot As too many addicts know, in the TV hill between your house and the station can block you out complete Lynda Carter ly- "I live in Mountain Top, a town of 3,000. It is part of the Wilkes-Barre and Scranton broadcast market. We could get the Wonder Woman's bracelets shine By FRANK SWERTLOW 177 ChkM CXIV Ntwt Any fool knows that Wonder Woman sports the biggest bracelets NBC and ABC stations but not CBS. The broadcasters figure that a house in our town is worth $8 a year, so with 3,000 houses the town is worth $24,000 a year in total ad revenue and rates are set accordingly. CBS bought one of our translators for $15,000 and filled in that hole." That's the business selling translators to commercial television stations that Koppelman hopes will produce millions for Emcee.

in Hollywood, which, of course, explains her success in the TV ungle. Now, some people may shout, broadcast skies, both in metropolitan areas and in the countryside. Stephen Koppelman, the 38-year-old president of the Emcee company, thinks his firm can make millions by filling in those holes. Koppelman offers this background: "Under the rules of the Federal Communications Commission, there are three grades for a television station's broadcast area. First there is the City grade, the immediate broadcast area.

Then there's the A grade. Typically, that extends out about 40 miles. Finally, there is the grade, another 20 miles from the station. "Until 1976, TV stations in making audience claims and setting rates to be charged advertisers would boast about the population and the number of TV-homes in a radius extending out at least 50 miles. "But since then the FCC has been making broadcasters show the holes in their areas, the locales not reached by the signal because of contour and other obstructions.

The advertising buyers have been jump up and down and scream nasty COMMENTARY ence in the CBS version of the show when compared to ABC's version last season. There are some differences, but the key to the success of the show those bracelets has not changed. They just blaze away, like strobe lights at a chic disco. Those wise folks at CBS know the secret to making winners. I have to salute them.

CBS honors the things that are sacred in television. The network, known far and wide as the Tiffany of Broadcasting, knows itsewelry. Why, I even expect the French television network, which copies all those Hollywood originals, to follow CBS with its own version of "Wonder Woman." It will play in Paris and the Cote d'Azur. It will be a "I Femme de la Wonder," followed a panel discussion from the Sorbonne. The French are serious students of American culture.

The changes CBS has made are inconsequential. I mean, who cares that the old show took place during World War II and the new Wonder Woman bounces about in 1977. The key, the essence, the brilliance of Wonder Woman remains intact those jeweled arm bands. It is questionable whether Lynda Carter is a better actress on CBS than she was on ABC, and her new costume is not any skimpier than her old one. But I will tell you this: Watch the bracelets.

They are the stars, because the way things zip along in Hollywood, those bracelets will be award-winning bracelets next year. The full name of his tiny company is Electronics, Missiles Communications an awesome label the company picked up back in the days of Sputnik technology boom. It is located in White Haven, Pa. The company could become a valuable adjunct to the commercial TV industry and possibly to the infant over-the-air pay-TV industry while going head-to-head in competition with cable television. Until now Emcee's major market has been educational television.

words at me for saying so, but it's those shiny bracelets. Certainly it's not her dazzling figure or her skimpy costume or those touching love scenes. I mean, anybody can act these days in Hollywood. Look at Lindsay Wagner. She's not just a Bionic Dope anymore she's an award-winning Bionic Dope, thanks to the Emmys.

Essentially, there is little differ jumping on that. These things vary remarkably. You know, if you are 40 November 20, 1977 3-TV Des Moines Sunday Register.