‘Promise To Carolyn’ Packs Punch
What’s so good about “A Promise to Carolyn,” CBS at 9, is that it is plausible, terrifying and heartbreaking. And while it may be guilty of some typical TV-movie flashback excesses, the fact-based drama will send chills up and down your spine.
Swoosie Kurtz (“Sisters”) and Delta Burke (“Designing Women”) co-star as white-trash sisters who, 40 years after the fact, come to grips with the fact that their 2-year-old baby sister Carolyn was murdered by their abusive stepmother (played by Shirley Knight and by Morgana Shaw in flashbacks).
Kurtz’s character, 5 at the time of the assault, has always had doubts about her sister’s death. Burke’s character, who was only 3 when she witnessed the killing, has blocked out all memory of the incident. With the help of a therapist, however, she unlocks the past.
Confronting their horror together, they set out to persuade prosecutors to reopen the decades-old case. They find a sympathetic detective and an assistant district attorney determined to see justice done.
It’s a little distracting to see Kurtz as a coarse, cigarette-smoking Texan. Burke, however, is well-cast as her sister. Both sisters have had lifelong emotional problems (and why not) that cloud their credibility. That they get it together to fulfill this “Promise” is a strong part of the story.
The flashbacks are tough to watch as all three children are repeatedly belted and screamed at. But the visceral scenes make you better feel the torment the sisters have lived with.
“A Promise to Carolyn” packs an emotional punch. But you’ll feel good when these sisters finally get what they want.
Highlights
“Fox’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Skating Championship 2,” FOX at 8: Kristi Yamaguchi, Katarina Witt, Okasana Baiul, Kurt Browning, Scott Hamilton and Victor Petrenko are among the world-class competitors. The skate to rock, pop, and in Yamaguchi’s case, country music. Dorothy Hamill and FOX sports commentator James Brown host the event.
“Nova,” KSPS at 7 : “The Day the Earth Shook” looks back on the earthquake in Northridge, Calif., two years ago this week, and the one in Kobe, Japan, a year ago this week. The hour asks if scientists are any closer to predicting when quakes will strike.
“3rd Rock From the Sun,” NBC at 8:30: A head cold can’t keep Dick (John Lithgow) from attending a wedding with Albright (Jane Curtin). There he meets Martha Stewart, who makes a cameo. This episode is even funnier than last week’s series premiere.
“Hudson Street,” ABC at 8:30: Tony and Lucy (Tony Danza Shareen Mitchell) get together to discuss old times but are soon reliving them. Not a good thing considering it’s a week before her wedding to Dr. Bob (Doug Ballard).
“Frontline,” KSPS at 8: The rise and rise of Newt Gingrich, who some say is the most powerful person in government, is chronicled in “The Long March of Newt Gingrich.” He’s portrayed as a calculating opportunist in both political and personal matters.
A college professor remembers him as “brash, very capable, cocky, self-confident.”
“The John Larroquette Show,” NBC at 9:30: Larroquette is reunited with “Night Court” co-star Charlie Robinson, who plays a bookie who makes off with money Hemingway won on the ponies. Complicating matters, the original wager was from money “borrowed” from Catherine (Alison LaPlaca).
Talk Time
“Tonight,” NBC at 11:35 : George Clooney (“ER”) and actress Jennifer Jason Leigh.
“Late Show With David Letterman,” CBS at 11:35 : Actor Wesley Snipes and singer-musician Harry Connick, Jr. Repeat.
“Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” NBC at 12:35 a.m. : Musical guest Everything But The Girl.
xxxx CABLE CALLS New York Times Syndicate “Biography,” A&E at 8 and midnight: The distinguished career of Norman Schwarzkopf is covered from his boyhood in the Middle East, to West Point, Vietnam, Grenada and Iraq. “Spotlight With Phyllis George,” TNN at 8 and midnight: George has a friendly chat with first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. Also featured are singer Shania Twain and actor Chuck Norris (“Walker, Texas Ranger”).