THE BATTALION FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 1977 Page 5 KOOtS. • • Alex Haley traces Black heritage in television novel series I _ ^ a i a. * oc O'T I r r , l 1 ___ _ t> _ _ i . i i . r .1 h'irct r»f oil w/n^n \\7(± 1 or r» f To ■»-» Q/l f * 1.:K „ 1 „ ^ „ L' J l_* J 1 ..1 /•! a. By JOAN HANAUER United Press International NEW YORK — Alex Haley spent hears searching for an intangible iat slavery stole from black Ameri- H — his identity as part of an ■jc group with an identity and jllure beyond the American ex- erjence. Blacks in America traditionally a\|ebeen identified, by themselves nd others, in terms of what was one to them. Their history, as far 5 they know it, began in slavery, nd they can claim only vague roots jjwiewhere in Africa. ^Haley went back to find out who is ancestors were, where in Africa came from, how they came to e sold into slavery, and what hap- ened to them as slaves and freed- ien. His story, told in the bestsel- ng book “Roots,” comes to televi- on via ABC-TV starting Jan. 23, •lOp.m., Central time in a 12-hour Jesentation over eight consecutive lights, a method of putting a novel n the air that hasn’t been tried be- After two-hour episodes Jan. 23 nd 24, “Roots will be shown from 9-10 p.m., Central time Jan. 25-27, goes to two hours Jan. 28, back to one hour Jan. 29, and winds up Jan. 30, 9-10 p.m., Central time. It makes for stunning television theater. The first two segments of the pro gram get “Roots” off to a rousing start, although they are very differ ent. “Roots” begins in The Gambia, West Africa, in 1750 with the birth of Kunta Kinte, who was “the Afri can” about whom Haley’s grand mother once told him stories. Kunta Kinte is shown growing up in an idyllic pastoral setting, perhaps somewhat romanticized, but a far cry from the old-fashioned stereotype of primitive savagery. The boy, only recently having completed his manhood rites, is captured by slavers. The scenes that follow, as the captives are caged on a beach, then stuffed into a slave ship like perishable but not very valuable goods — there are argu ments for both “tight pack and “loose pack” of human cargo — are horribly realistic. LeVar Burton as the young Kunta Kinte, Cicely Tyson as his mother and Thalmus Rasulala as his father bring to the screen a warm family picture before it is shattered by Ralph Waite as an evil third mate (what’s Pa Walton doing in a role like this?) and Edward Asner as a moralistic ship’s captain corrupted by slavery. The slaves aboard ship, most of whom do not speak a common lan guage and don’t even understand what the ocean is, try to take over “the white man’s canoe,” but the rebellion fails, and they are sold at Annapolis. Here Kunte Kinte is bought by Lome Greene and finds both a friend in Louis Gossett Jr., and a cruel overseer in Vic Morrow. The story continues through the week until Jan. 30 when the eman cipated black family, harassed by nightriders and exploited by the greedy, moves to Henning, Tenn. That’s where Alex Haley first heard his grandmother speak of “the Afri- Brandon Stoddard, ABC vice president who has seen the “Roots” project through from the beginning, speaks proudly of the show. Those who have read the book will find minor differences, and Stoddard explained in an interview: “First of all, when we bought ‘Roots’ two years ago, it was only one-third finished. We worked off of I don’t know how many drafts of ‘Roots.’ At one point we were work ing with 2,800 pages and there were some things in the drafts that did not wind up in the Doubleday book. “Then there were the dramatic changes — to have a slave talking inside his head for an hour is okay in a book, but it doesn’t play too well on television. But there is nothing in ‘Roots’ that Alex didn’t whole heartedly approve.” Stoddard said the innovative scheduling was done for maximum impact. “Roots’ is an event in itself,” Stoddard said. “It’s not like Rich Man, Poor Man,’ which spanned 20 years in the amount of television time that ‘Roots’ covers 117 years. “With ‘Rich Man, Poor Man’ each episode ended with a man on a cliff. But with ‘Roots’ the mood changes, the characters change and you can go into ‘Roots’ at any point, miss a night and go back to it, and not be confused. ‘‘We don’t expect 90 million Americans never to go out to dinner or visit Aunt Sally’s from Jan. 23 through Jan. 30. I do think a lot of people will be watching at least three or four episodes.” In a way, “Roots,” which cost ABC $6 million, is a gamble. “Obviously there has never been a television drama which deals with blacks on a long-term basis,” Stod dard said. “But there are attitudes and emotions here that have no thing to do with black and white. I’m a New England WASP and I find myself responding to it enor mously. What ‘Roots’ says about the meaning of family and the impor tance of your heritage, and of main taining your heritage, will touch everybody.” Two can ride cheaper than one. Cxxncil A Public Ser/ice ot This Magazine & The Advertising Council A&M AEROBICS CLUB Spring Adult Fitness Programs for Men and Women REGISTER EARLY! Call Dr. George Jessup 845-6841 for registration and fee information Classes begin Monday, January 24 — Aerobics Activity Room (G. R. Annex 255): “Noon Exercise Program for Women” — Monday through Friday, 12:00-1:00 “Evening Program for Men and Women” — Monday through Thursday, 5:00-6:00 Darkness, cold slow search By MARY HESALROAD t)i. William P. Fife of Texas University played a major in the investigation of the mur- displl] ioo! istkf professor finds Baugh’s body der of Lawrence Tipton Baugh. He found the body last Saturday by Scuba diving in the Navasota River. The Brazos County Sheriffs Of- Dr. William P. Fife lice asked Fife to help in the search for Baugh’s body last Friday. Fife is a professor of biology and sponsor of the Scuba Club at A&M. “This business of trying to find things under water is a lot more dif ficult than many people realize, be cause rarely do you have the visibility you see in picture books,” Fife said yesterday. Wayne Hughes, Dennis Denton and Tracy Treybig, undergraduates at A&M, assisted Fife in the search. Hughes and Denton are assistants for Fife at the hyperbaric testing laboratory. Fife has worked with the Texas Rangers in si miliar circumstances. Last year he made an unsuccessful search in the Red River for a gun that may have been used to kill a Hearne man. Fife compared his dive in the Navasota River to being in a totally dark room. “I couldn’t see a thing,” he said. “Everything had to be done by feel ing along the river bed. When you are in this kind of position and you have currents in the water as well as extreme cold you just aren’t very ef ficient.” Diving in such conditions could be dangerous, Fife said. “The core temperature of the der; Deni® i, lion iter, M.S.C. CAMERA COMMITTEE FIRST MEETING MONDAY, JAN. 24, 1977 ROOM 301, RUDDER TOWER 7:30 P.M. BE THERE! Thanks Aggies — for again giving Ol’ Army Lou your business. II you still need some books or a calculator, come to Lou. He’s got a complete line of used'books and calculators. Loupot’s Bookstore Northg ate-Across From the Post Office ;s Bff liseu |I f ist,' we 9 X *° e * o®*