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Show Chesley Viewing Television Television makes a lousy place to bring up kids, but more and more it may have some value for adults. Having been brought up in a televisionless home (to this day) we have never pretended to be a television critic. But, even so, we could not escape completely, and have absorbed enough to have some well-grounded reactions based on jfiSSk at least three programs "Mr. Novak," "Slat-(T, "Slat-(T, N ery's People" and "The Defenders." u THE THING these three have in common J f L is that they are all obviously run by radical iAx left-wing progressivists. And, as you might fftBi ave Suessed we 1Je em not without reser-I reser-I ImlluvV vation, but generally they represent some of MIMlfilllillluv the most effective "communications" the med-Chesley med-Chesley ium has to offer. The difference and it is a great one between good and bad television is essentially in how each deals with people. One of our most persistent criticisms of television in past years has been that it tends to oversimplify, a criticism accurately applied today, for example, to such programs as "Perry Mason," "Burke's Law" and almost all prime time, half-hour shows on the air (with the obvious exception of "That Was The Week That Was," which has not been renewed next season.) THE DOMINANT good vs. evil theme is finally giving way to a more introspective and realistic controversy: man in society. Instead of "truth and right" fighting the "forces of evil," the emphasis is on people and their foibles in relation to the shortcomings short-comings of society, even of systems and law. Real issues in ethics have replaced a pseudo-morality concept. con-cept. "Mr. Novak", for example, in only one program this week dealt with prayer in the schools, teacher participation in politics, pol-itics, sex education, attitudes towards mental health, the eth-icalness eth-icalness of electing school board officials and, generally, the multifariousness of human behavior. THE "DEFENDERS", significantly, don't win every case. But they defend anyone even remotely worthy of defense atheists, pacifists, political radicals. When they lose it is often a commentary on the court system. When they win, it is not always a victory. Decisively and there are hopefully more examples to do extent that television is becoming more liberal in dealing with real people and real ideas, it Is becoming more worthwhile. We might even buy one. |