Television

Actor Michael Murphy. Murphy's first work was on television when he was still a high school English teacher. He debuted on the TV series "Combat," and later acted on "Ben Casey," "Dr. Kildaire" and "Bonanza." The director for the "Combat" series was Robert Altman, with whom Murphy has had a long association. He later acted in many films by Robert Altman, including "M*A*S*H," "Brewster McCloud," "McCabe and Mrs.

Television producer and screenwriter Allan Burns. He co-created "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "Rhoda," "He and She," "Lou Grant" and "The Munsters," a body of work that has earned him 8 Emmys. Burns has a new series this fall on NBC titled "FM." It's about the on-the-job and at home travails of a public radio program director. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Television Critic David Bianculli reviews "Nightmare Classics." It's an anthology series on the Showtime cable network that adapts classic gothic and horror tales. The series is produced by actress Shelly Duvall, who won critical praise for her "Faerie Tale Theatre," and "Tall Tales and Legends," two productions for kids.

Television critic David Bianculli talks with host Terry Gross about the upcoming fall lineup.

Comedy writer Alan Zweibel. He was one of the original writers for "Saturday Night Live." He wrote the `Samurai' skits for John Belushi, and the Emily Litella and Roseanne Roseannadanna skits for Gilda Radner. He now has two projects on television - "The Gary Shandling Show" and "The Boys," a comedy special on the Showtime cable network.

Dancer and choreographer Marta Renzi. Typical of her work is "Mountainview," a half-hour dance narrative that premieres this Thursday, August 3 on the PBS program "Alive From Off Center." "Mountainview" is set at the bar of rundown resort run by three generations of the same family. The families loves and jealousies are played out to the sounds of the jukebox, which features the music of Bruce Springsteen, Tammy Wynette and Aretha Franklin. RENZI choreographed the dances and other movements and collaborated with filmmaker John Sayles on the camera work.

Television Critic David Bianculli reviews "Wise Guys!," an installment of "P.O.V." (Point of View), the PBS series that showcases independently produced documentary films. This program follows contestants as they prepare for, and perform on, the game show "Jeopardy."

Television Critic David Bianculli reviews the Arts and Entertainment Network's tribute to the 20th anniversary of man's walk on the moon. (The anniversary is on July 20th.) This special comes as most all the networks are airing a tribute to the event. But in this instance the program tries to re-create the sensations that accompanied the event by playing back, in real time, the live network transmissions as the story unfolded. Former NBC correspondent Edwin Newman is the host.

Comic Andrea Martin. She was an original member of the Canadian SCTV comedy troupe and one of its brightest stars for seven years. Her co-stars included John Candy, Eugene Levy and Martin Short. Martin brought to life the neurotic talk show host Libby Wolfson, cleaning lady Pirini Scleroso, and, perhaps her best known character, the TV station manager Edith Prickley. Martin recently starred in her own cable TV comedy special on the Showtime channel.

Television critic David Bianculli reviews "False Witness," a syndicated TV special that re-examines the facts surrounding the Jeffrey MacDonald murder case, the same case chronicled in the book "Fatal Vision," and the subject TV miniseries of the same name.