The Observer from London, Greater London, England • 71

71 OBSERVER SUNDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 1991 Pop go the weasels From LA Law to police jive Bradford denies that the station has sold out to pop music and hails the changes as 'the dawning of commercial and professional realism against amateur aspirations'. He adds that all changes are 'deeply rooted in research' and will make Jazz FM 'unashamedly more familiar and popular'. The American computer package Selector has been bought in to help plan programmes. This amazing system, used to such devastating effect at Manchester's Piccadilly Radio and hundreds of US stations, will eventually store 2,000 tracks for Jazz FM. It prints out a play list eliminating clashes and repetitions and carefully following the station's editorial directives, ranking each track's mood, tempo, timing and timbre.

It also schedules the commercials. DJs can override it, but most don't bother. Bradford believes: 'What we are doing is firmly rooted in jazz-related and he referred me to the 'promise of performance' given to the Radio Authority. This defines jazz as 'including big band music, vocal and instrumental standards, Latin American music, traditional jazz, etc and all other forms of music which can be said to have been influenced by jazz or to have been instrumental in its evolution'. John Bradford is in no doubt that the station will soon achieve its target of 10 per cent of the London population listening sometime in the week with audiences up to 80,000, which will 'command enough revenue to make us profitable'.

Listening throughout the week, I found the new Jazz FM fun, fast, but rather similar to other stations close to it on the dial. It seems a great improvement to me but then, you see, I don't really like jazz. programme much admired by Bochco) and Twin Peaks, could not cope with the music. Cops with songs? Not for us, shouted America. The inspiration for Cop Rock came from Dennis Potter's The Singing Detective.

'That programme was as good as anything I've ever seen on says Bochco. Bochco had earlier been tempted to adapt Hill Street Blues for Broadway as a musical in the mid-Eighties. 'I just never had the time to do it. But the idea of mixing cops and music stayed in my head. So, I thought, why not bring Broadway to a TV series about In a way Cop Rock is a bit of a misnomer, for as Bochco explains, it is more about the running of a city, Los Angeles, and the relationships between the mayor, played by Bochco's wife Barbara Bosson (she was Captain Furillo's ex-wife in Hill Street), her councillors, the chief of police and his force.

Like most Bochco shows, there is a ensemble of main characters (1 1 in Cop Rock) rather than one or two major stars. It is, of course, the music which makes Cop Rock different. 'I had Kurt Weill and Ber-tolt Brecht buzzing around my says Bochco. 'I knew the music had to be dark, compelling and yet popular. I kept on thinking of Randy Newman, whom I had admired for Bochco and Newman, who has written the scores for several movies, hit it off immediately.

'I needed somebody who could instantly pick up on what I wanted and turn it into a says Bochco, who comes from a musical family. 'The music must be very much part Inspired by Dennis Potter's 'The Singing Detective', StevenBochco thought 'Why not bring Broadway toal series aooui copsr by Fox Television's The Simpsons. Bochco has been working on Capital Critters for the past 18 months along with top animation company Hanna- Barbera. It is, says Bochco, about the 'rats, mice and roaches, who inhabit the basement of the White House'. Some, of course, might say that the rats are not just in the basement of the US President's home.

The star of the show will be a mouse (Max) who comes up from the country to the Big City. It is political, though not overtly. Each episode of Capital Critters will run to 30 minutes, with the first due to be aired in January on ABC. Twelve more will 4' a Steven Bochco tells Richard Brooks about his new series. NO other American television programme maker has as much influence as Steven Bochco.

The creator of Hill Street Blues and LA Law, who was the first to introduce layered stories and ensemble acting to American TV, can dictate his own terms. A couple of years ago he was able to reject the job of head of entertainment with the American network CBS a post seen as the most challenging in US TV in order to have the freedom to keep on devising new programmes. A deal with rival ABC helped. His unprecedented contract means providing the network with seven new series over seven years. The first was Doogie Hawser MD, a cute comedy shown for-the past year on BBC1 in the early evening.

As it did in America, it has captured a large and devoted audience, particularly among the 10 to 30 age group. The antics of the 17-year-old 'boy genius' doctor may not represent Bochco at his most innovative, but Doogie Howser MD is nevertheless a cut above the average American sitcom. His next series, Cop Rock, begins on BBC1 tomorrow night (10.10pm) after a showing in America last year. To be truthful, it was not a success there. For Bochco, ever the.

inventor, has created a police drama with a difference the difference being that there are songs. The conservative American audience, disdainful, as usual, of daring programmes such as thirtysomething (a. Monday Hey! Hey! USA Film 1938 2.00-3.40pm Channel 4 The inimitable Will Hay in his seedy pedagogue persona cntfght up with American gangsters, including Edgar Kennedy, Hollywood's master of comic exasperation. World In Action 8.3O-9.0O ITV The pirates of the South China Seas plunder some of (fie busiest shipping lanes in the world and kill more than 300 people every year. Piracy is now big business with the pirates preying on routes from Japan and Taiwan to Singapore and Hong Kong.

Tonight's programme looks at how they hijack the cargo ships, turning them into 'ghost ships' which take on cargo as if they were legitimate freighters, then vanish. Championship Boxing 9.00-1 0.00 ITV British and European heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis defends his title against former World Cruiserweight champion Glenn McCrory. Commentary by Reg Gutteridge and Jim Watt. Composers of the Week Radio 3 Mozart in Vienna (8.35-9.35am) and Brahms (11.35pm-12.35am) Stories from Black History 7.1 5-7. 30pm Radio 5 From American writer Julius Lister's tales of the slave's life.

In the first, read by Eartha Kitt, a group of plantation slaves decide to return to Africa. Eartha Kilt (7.15pm Radio 5). raising the child and then letting it look more after itself. He still keeps a watchful eye on LA Law (the six-year-old series goes from strength to strength), even if the hands-on control is now with others. His lever on Doogie Howser MD is greater.

Bochco, who works from his own production company on the 20th Century-Fox lot in Los Angeles, may be saddened at the fate of Cop Rock in America, but remains phlegmatic. 'My deal with ABC gives me the right to His next series will be just as, if not more, experimental. Capital Critters is an adult animation programme, following the path already so successfully trod First Tuesday 10.40-11.40 ITV 'The Good, the Bad and the Earthquake': In 1980, there was a severe earthquake in southern Italy, leaving 25,000 people homeless. The government poured in 25 billion to help people rebuild their lives. Yet a third of the victims are still living in temporary shelters.

This is not just a story of incompetence, but of massive corruption, involving the local Mafia, the Camorra, and" untouched villages claiming and receiving compensation. Men who tried to call a halt to the corruption have ended up dead. By 1988, the reports were so bad that the government set up a commission of inquiry. Relative Values 7.20-8.00pm Radio 4 This should be compulsory listening for MPs, judges, and social services departments. It explores the relationship of two women, Pat and Judith (who wanted to become a nun but ended up a lesbian).

They're now the parents of two teenage girls, though enrag-ingly Pat was excluded from the adoption process (a lesbian couple can't legally adopt a child together). Quite striking in their warmth, honesty, and delightfully (after 30 years together) physical relationship. The Streets of Pompeii 9.15-10.50 Radio 3 A radio classic, Douglas Clev-erdon's 1970 (re-)production of Henry Reed's play, set in Pompeii in 1952 (when the original was broadcast). A fine blend of the poetic, evoking a sense of imminent catastrophe, and the ironic, as modern tourists tramp the streets in search of tourism and meaningful Italian relationships. With Flora Rob-son and Marius Goring reprising their original roles, though some of the other acting is a little too inflated for the modern taste.

Russell Twisk finds Jazz FM great if you don't dig jazz. THE London station Jazz FM unveiled its new look this week while its ownership was still in doubt. Meanwhile, Classic FM spent the week scrambling to meet tomorrow's noon deadline set by the Radio Authority for raising the cash for its bid for a national radio licence. Classic FM, which plans to broadcast light classics, is hoping to scoop up Jazz FM, too, and it holds majority options in the station, which also expire tomorrow. It needs about 10 million.

The Radio Authority is naturally anxious that things go smoothly this time. It has already seen one bid crumble when First National couldn't raise the cash for its bid. Classic was the next highest bidder and then came UKFM, offering only a fraction of Classic's bid. Another fiasco would raise questions about the entire competitive bidding system just weeks before the TV franchises are due to be handed out. The Authority and Classic FM were tight-lipped throughout the week.

Classic boss David Maker said: 'I can't confirm anything. There are so many people involved, lawyers, bankers and the rest. My feet are nailed to the A successful conclusion will bring double sighs of relief all round. Meanwhile Jazz FM has been given a face-lift. Specialist jazz, what David Maker calls 'the seagull screech', has been banished from peak time.

Instead there's more soul, big beat, pop, jazz classics and loud DJs imported from other stations. Most of the jazz devotees who founded the station have departed. New managing director John damagedfood (8.30pm C4). with the lowest life expectancy (42 years) and have received no foreign aid since 1987. Yet in theory Sierra Leone could be a prosperous nation, rich in minerals, fertile land and rich seas.

Where does all the money go? WUSA Film 1970 1 1.00pm-1.05am Channel 4 Interesting, badly flawed political melodrama in which a boozy drifter (Paul Newman) gets drawn into the sticky web of a right-wing radio station in New Orleans. Anthony Perkins is superb as a neurotic liberal, but Stuart Rosenberg's flaccid direction blunts Robert Stone's intelligent script. Spike Jones 7.00-7.30pm Radio 2 Observer jazz critic Dave Gelly isn't quite persuasive in his claim that the American music humourist is a comic genius, but he does a nice job in illustrating Jones's comic skills. H-J's canon fodder. He visits an outmoded aircraft factory where the propellers arrive in useless bulk deliveries from the Soviet Union (or whatever we now call it) and have to be filed down by hand.

He visits Lech Waiesa, who doesn't seem particularly delighted to see the capitalist knight. The American Late Show 11.15-11.55 BBC2 Transatlantic arts show. Director Spike Lee talks about his film Malcolm Xand James Walcott reviews Norman Mailer's latest novel, Harlot's Ghost. A Sad State of Freedom 8.30-8.55pm, Radio 3 Harold Pinter's stirring introduction to, and reading of, the powerful work of Turkish poet, Nazim Hikmet, the most celebrated modern poet of his country despite long periods of imprisonment and being banned. MSI 1 gv.

".8., -varfVgka The Grey Pox Film 1982 2.15-3.40pm BBC1 Stuntman and aged character actor Richard Farnsworth eagerly seizes the role of his life as an old-time Western outlaw leaving a Californian jail after 30 years and being inspired by seeing the 1903 movie The Great Train Robbery to start a new career rooting trains in Canada. A delightful true story. Stories from an African Hospital 8.00-8.30 Channel 4 A baby in a hurry is born in the hospital car park. Rather more serious is the case of Bernice Krofa, pregnant with a history of stillbirths. Complications arise during her labour, an emergency Caesarean is performed, and the baby is born but doesn't seem to be breathing.

Meanwhile an ambulance arrives from a district hospital in the bush bearing a man who is delirious with fever. His wife, Rebecca, is anxious on two counts both for her husband and for the stigma that attaches if he dies. The tribe's tradition is that the widow is blamed for her husband's death. Without Walls 9.00-10.00 Channel 4 'J'Accuse Coronation Street': Mark Lawson of the Independent argues that Coronation Street has had its day, and refuses to reflect social developments. He says, The sex life of, for example, Deirdre Barlow clearly puts her at risk from the Aids virus, but Coronation Sfreef contin- -ues to treat adultery as a mere plot twist And what subliminal effect does it have on the 17 million viewers that a northern inner city without black people is presented as 'Sindy Hits Thirty': Like the Princess of Wales, Sindy is 30.

Born in 1961 with a bright nylon mop of hair and a flat-chest, she is now a long-legged, busty lovely with long House mouse: It costs the country millions of pounds every year in of the story, it must not jar. In the first episode, the mayor, later revealed as rather corrupt, sings about a crooked developer offering her a bribe if he can build a new jail. To be frank, the music is not Cop Rock's strength, even though Newman was nominated for last month's Emmy awards. The viewer does feel a mite embarrassed whenever one of the actors sings. Despite what Bochco says, the music does jar.

This is a shame -because as drama Cop Rock is hard-hitting, well shot and, as ever with a Bochco production, contains good ensemble acting. Bochco is rather like some anxious parent, giving birth, Sandi Toksvig as Sindy in 'Without Walls' (9.00pm C4). tresses. These days, Sindy's pink, princessy dreams are still popular, but little girls have their eyes on other matters. One who is interviewed expresses a wish to be a policewoman and save the rainforests.

'Could Sindy do asks the interviewer, brightly. 'No, she's too says the little girl, patiently. The Dreaded Lgrgi 9.30-10,10 BBC2 'Fashion Victims': Fashion is as prevalent in medicine as in any other area of human endeavour, and its effects are examined by Dr Richard Smith, editor of the British Medical Journal. Take the case of Bessie Harper, who died recently and had been suffering from rheumatoid arthritis for 50 years. In the 1930s she was told to eat liver sandwiches on account of the Vitamin B12.

In the 1940s she had all her teeth extracted because it was suspected they secreted toxins. In the 1950s and 1960s she was injected with iodine and steroids. By the time she died she was taking nine different drugs, some with severe side effects. Dept Date Nynie Addn.f,s Tuesday ''v Nov 3, 10, 17 Dec 1, 8, 15 Jan 19, 26 2 Feb 16, 23 Single room For the deluxe night Prices include: breakfast, half-day transfers, services lunches, dinners, insurance 24. Ail prices shown Please please on 071-723 coupon below.

21 Dorset Our offices Saturdays I Plea-ebook follow. British television is bound to be interested in the series, particularly in view of the success of The Simpsons on Sky. Whatever the fate of Capital Critters, Bochco will continue to push at the boundaries of American television, countering trend to be more and more conservative as the networks' ratings carry on falling against the rise and rise of cable. He has eschewed all attempts to move into movies, arguing that 'television has much more influence and is seen by many more people'. True.

But how long will ABC give him the 'freedom to fail as well as to succeed'? CI Wednesday where the temperature is below freezing. They cost the country millions of pounds every year in damaged food and seem to survive doses of the strongest poisons. Points of View Thirtieth Anniversary Special 8.50-9.00 BBC1 Loud background music and the inordinate number of repeats were frequent complaints back in 1961 when the show was launched. Favourites included Dixon of Dock Green, orchestra leader Victor Sylvester and DIY with Barry Buck-nell. If your name is Robinson you stand a better-than-aver-age chance of becoming the presenter.

The first was Robert Robinson, followed by Kenneth, succeeded by Anne. They are not related in any way. Inside Story 9.30-10.20 BBC1 'Trade Slaves': In a week that seems peppered with thirtieth anniversaries, Sierra Leone celebrates 30 years of independence. But the people are among the poorest in the world Thursday Comic eruptions from spoofinaster Alexei Sqyle (9. 00pm BBC1).

and the P. W. Botha Pro Am Celebrity Tournament. Troubleshooter in Eastern Europe 9.30-1 0.30 BBC2 'Like a Sleeping Beauty': Sir John Harvey-Jones sets off to sort out the Poles, enjoying a number of boozy lunches with some British business stooges who seem there simply as Friday Dream Gardens 8.30-9.00pm BBC2 'Monet's Passion': Visits to the artist's garden at Giverny, near Paris, in the company of Molly Parkin (who trained as a landscape painter), garden writer Stephen Lacey and art historian John House. Between 1881 and his death in 1926 Monet created two gardens which became a favourite subject in his paintings.

One was devoted to flowers, the other (across what was a railway line) is the water garden. Clochemerle 9.00-9.30 BBC2 It was in 1972 that Ray Galton and Alan Simpson (Hancock writers) adapted the comic novel by Gabriel Chevallier, which begins a nine-week repeat run. Set in a French village in the early 1920s, it is a bourgeois comedy of manners resulting from the mayor's plan to erect a pissoir'm the main square. A wonderful cast includes Cyril Cusack, Roy Dotrice, Wendy Hiller, Kenneth Griffith and Bernard Bresslaw. Omnibus 10.20-11.15 BBC1 'Bladerunners': Profile 6f Tor-vill and Dean asks the familiar question: have they elevated ice dance to an art form? Since the mid-Eighties, and the days of Bolero, Christopher Dean has taken the lead, developing his skills as a choreographer.

To illustrate their approach, the couple prepare a new piece called Ice Works scored by jazz musican Andy Shep-pard. (One fascinating sequence shows a pair of ice blades being made. Almost as good as the dancing.) The Friends of Eddie Coyle Film 1973 11.1 5pm-1 2.50am BBC1 Bleak, downbeat crime movie (based on the outstanding first novel by Boston district attorney George V. Higgins), centring on a petty Irish-American crook (Robert Mitchum at his most vulnerable) exploited by smarter hoodlums and unscrupulous cops. Kaleidoscope 4.05-4.4Spm, Radio 4 The live, very much alive, guest is comedian Ivor Cutler.

Saturday Sounds of the Sixties 8.00-8.30 BBC 2 Even for nostalgia buffs, this is a disappointing compilation of old TV shows featuring Dusty (with the Springfields), The Beatles, Joe Brown, Freddie and the Dreamers, Gerry and the Pacemakers and the Stones. Much as one wants to get one's feet tapping, the material hasn't been stitched together with much flair. Performance Absolute Hell 9.20-1 0.35 BBC2 A play by Rodney Ackland set in a Soho club on the eve of the 1945 election that swept Labour to power. The play caused great controversy when first performed but has been rarely staged since then. Cast includes Francesca Annis, Judi Dench, Charles Gray and Bill Nighy.

TV: Jennifer Selway Films: Sean French Radio: Anne Karpf 3 or 4 night visits to ISTANBUL from only 195 Timewatch 8.10-9.00pm BBC2 'Charles Darwin Devil's Chaplain': The usual view of Darwin is that he bravely upset the applecart in 1859 when he published On the Origin of Species. Darwin, a new book published tomorrow, written by Adrian Desmond and James Moore, challenges that view and is the basis of tonight's programme. The truth is that Darwin delayed publishing his theory of evolution for over 20 years because he was terrified of being thought a radical. It was only when he heard that a rival theorist was on the verge of publishing that he took the plunge, admitting to a friend that he was 'living in hell' and felt like a 'Devil's Chaplain'. Super Mouse 8.30-9.00 Channel 4 From Anglia, a Survival film on the common house mouse.

Originally, they were found in central Asia and around the Mediterranean. Now they are everywhere, including my kitchen. But they have also been found in cold meat stores The Sheepman Film 1958 6.00-7.20pm BBC2 That rare thing, a genuinely funny Western, starring Glenn Ford as a two-fisted, gun-toting shepherd taking on the angry cattlemen. Directed by veteran George Marshall whose credits include Destry Rides Again. This Week 8.30-9.00 ITV 'Twoccing Up Your Premiums': Twoccing (Taking Without the Owner's Consent) is the car owner's nightmare and the epidemic of 'hotting', 'joyriding' and 'ram-raiding' has had some tragic results.

Norwich Union has put up its insurance premiums by 20 per cent and it is expected that other companies will follow. Alexei Sayle's Stuff 9.00-9.30 BBC2 Return of the man in the ill-fitting suit who announces, 'I am one of Vanessa Redgrave's Lots of good jokes including the spoof trailer for a film called Things Exploding Four Nights Sunday to Thursday 245.00 Nov 24 234.00 225.00 Dec 22 250.00 10.00 Feb 2, 9 229.00 239.00 Mar 1, 8, 15 249.00 supplement 79.00 Ramada Hotel add 15 per person per (22 per night for single). flights, 3 or 4 nights accommodation, city excursion, half-day shopping tour, of a local representative. Not including: visa 5, airport taxes 9.50. travel are subject to change.

How to Book telephone Voyages Jules Verne 6556 or complete and return the VOYAGES JULES VERNE Square, London NW1 6QG ABTA 68215 ATOL883B are open for telephone reservations on and Sundays from 9am to 5pm. Istanbul iwin(s) amior singlcls). No. ofnighls Istanbul is the perfect place for a winter's break. Enjoy one of the world's most endlessly captivating cities during the quieter winter months.

Istanbul offers the visitor a unique bridge between European and Asian cultures. Few cities have so rich a history as this: Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul for nearly 1600 years the capital successively of two of the greatest empires the world has ever known." And in addition to the wonderful sightseeing, Istanbul is justly famous for its excellent shopping. Our visits are for 3 or 4 nights and you can choose between the 3-star Sokhollu Pasha Hotel or the 5-star luxury of the Ramada Hotel. The Sokhollu Pasha Hotel Situated in the old town on the European side of Istanbul, the hotel was first built as a residence for the royal chief physician in the late 18th century. In the last few years the building has been carefully restored to retain its original features, such as the wooden clapboard fascia and using traditional furnishings such as creamy cotton lace curtains, and become a charming character hotel with 37 rooms.

The Ramada Hotel The Ramada Hotel is four years old and occupies a prime site in the old quarter close to the Grand Bazaar. It offers a high degree of comfort, yet retains its local charm. All rooms are air-conditioned with private bathrooms and colour television. There are three restaurants (including one of Istanbul's best Chinese restaurants), shops, bar, and a comfortable lounge area. Hold payable to 'Voyages Jules deposit of 1(10 per person ami llic insurance of Insurance YESNO.

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