Television Reviews : ‘Tales From Hollywood’

A glamorous ‘30s movie star has an affair with a married man. Another Joan Collins miniseries?

No, this is on PBS, of all places. “Natica Jackson” is the first installment of “Tales From the Hollywood Hills,” a three-part anthology series that’s part of “Great Performances.” It’s on tonight at 8 on Channel 24 and at 9 on Channels 28 and 15.

Based on a John O’Hara short story, “Natica Jackson” is distinguishable from similar fare on the commercial networks primarily by virtue (and it is a virtue) of its shorter length. It lasts a mere hour. “Natica” also suffers from a fuzzier sound track than you’d hear on ABC, CBS or NBC--at least on the tape I previewed.

Otherwise, this is an awfully familiar lust-in-Tinseltown tale. The blond bombshell (Michelle Pfeiffer) is married to her work--until she and a handsome chemist (Brian Kerwin) “meet cute” in a minor fender-bender. They retire to her boudoir and fall in love.

But what if the studio finds out? Won’t that spoil the plans of the star’s agent (Hector Elizondo) to negotiate a better contract? What if the chemist’s wife finds out?

All this--and less--happens in Andy Wolk’s script for “Natica Jackson.” Someone does something truly terrible at the end, but the shock is diminished by the fact that we’ve never met this person until that moment, and also because Paul Bogart directed this scene in extreme long shot.

The acting hardly qualifies as “great performances,” but it’ll do. “Natica Jackson” isn’t bad; it’s simply superfluous. Maybe the other “Tales From the Hollywood Hills,” adaptations of Budd Schulberg’s “A Table at Ciro’s” and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Pat Hobby Teamed with Genius,” will offer the sort of alternative that we expect from PBS.

(For the record: A story in The Times on Thursday identified “Tales From the Hollywood Hills” as a KCET production. There were two other companies involved: WNET-TV in New York and Britain’s Zenith Productions.)