By Andy Ihnatko

Contact (1997)
TNT, 8:00-11:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 5
Full IMDb listing

What sort of person would jeopardize a promising career to obsessively scan the entirety of the radio spectrum one sliver at a time in search of any sort of signal that might be of intelligent extraterrestrial origin? How did they get that way?

If such a signal were actually received, how would you break the news? What impact would it have on society? How would our world leaders and policymakers react? How would we even begin to determine that it wasn't a mere signal, but an actual communication meant specifically for us? How would we decipher the message? If it were an invitation to come on over and say howdy — along with instructions on how to do so — should we? If the instructions were more or less (1) Build this, (2) Have someone sit down here and then (3) Press this button, should we be worried that we were really being instructed to build an atomic Veg-O-Matic? How would we choose the lucky or unlucky bastard who gets to strap in? What would this person say to the aliens if this thing actually works? What would he or she experience? How would they share that experience upon their return? And how would we pay for all of this?

So now you know what it's like to spend two and a half hours watching "Contact." It's a seemingly exhaustive series of fascinating questions and explorations on the subject of first contact with an alien intelligence, but it's like SETI itself. Near the end, you start to feel a little like Ellie the astronomer. There are just too many roads to explore and exploring them all can only be done with grim determination fueled by interest in the topic at hand.

(continued)

Picks to click ... for the week of Feb. 28 are here ... Also, it's not too late to start watching NBC's 10-hour miniseries epic "The 10th Kingdom." As you'll read in this review in Sunday's Kansas City Star, the best is still to come. "The 10th Kingdom" continues through March 6.

The daily digest ... for March 3-5, 2000: ... Nice to have you back, Andy! ... "Biography" is trotting out its Kathie Lee Gifford chestnut at 8 p.m. Saturday on A&E ... Next week TV Guide features a first-person account by Will Durst of a good deed gone awry. Seems he cost his pal Rudy Reba $218,000 by giving the wrong answer as the phone-a-friend last week on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." You can spend your hard earned cash money to read all the gory details — or you can come back here to the old TV Barn on Monday and we will have the exclusive Q-and-A between myself and Will. The only interview you'll read with Durst, right here on TV Barn. Boy, am I sounding like a "Dateline" promo or what? ... David Letterman won the week of Feb. 21 with its best household rating in four years, best adults 25-54 rating since May 1995 and biggest victory over Jay Leno since July 1995. As Letterman mentioned on Friday's broadcast, ABC's Ted Koppel called to congratulate him on the big win. Craig Kilborn also hit new highs in 18-to-49-year-olds ... And for our Kansas City readers, here's my review of C.W. Gusewelle's new documentary, "Water & Fire: A Story of the Ozarks," for public TV station KCPT.

Previously on TV Barn:
2 March: Bush whacked
1 March: Reader mail
29 Feb: Kathie Lee quits
28 Feb: Kathie Lee triumphs
24 Feb: Reader mail
23 Feb: More games to come
22 Feb: "X-Files" meets "Cops"
21 Feb: Dave is back!

On this date... in 1980, few asked for it, but an ex-football jock (Fran Tarkenton), a lounge singer (John Davidson), and an "actress" (Cathy Lee Crosby) lend their combined credibility to the delivery of daredevil dogs, dummies, and death defying displays decrying, "Don't Try This At Home." Wow, "That's Incredible!"

March 4: in 1982, hot on the heels of their success with "Airplane!," Leslie Nielsen and producers Jim Abrahams, Jerry and David Zucker aim too high with too many jokes-a-minute in the series "Police Squad" ("IN COLOR!") On tonight's episode, "A Substantial Gift (The Broken Promise)," the bizarre case of a bank teller who's staged a holdup, Detective Frank Drebin can tell one person's story just isn't adding up. He just doesn't know who that person is. "Special guest star" Lorne Greene dies in the opening credits. Rex Hamilton stars as Abraham Lincoln.

March 5: in 1986, "Fast Times" hits TV screens with only teachers Ray Walston and Vincent Schiavelli sticking around from the film set at Ridgemont High. Among the new kids showing up for class (or lack thereof) are Wallace Langham, Moon Unit Zappa, Patrick Dempsey, Jason Hervey, Courtney Thorne-Smith and Dean Cameron as Jeff Spicoli. Nobody graduates this series, as it's flunked after only six weeks. -- Tom Heald

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