Crime Is Compelling, But Robert Urich Is Not

``Blind Faith,'' four-hour NBC miniseries, 9 p.m. Sunday and Monday, Channel 5.

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Given the times in which we live, it seems unlikely we're ever going to run out of unusual and bizarre crime stories to dramatize. Last week it was the spy saga of the Walker family; this week it's another docudrama, this time about a supposedly model husband-father named Rob Marshall in an upscale New Jersey community who was convicted of murdering his wife, evidently in the hopes of collecting a large insurance settlement.

The case drew the attention of Joe McGinniss, whose fascination with the case of the army officer who claimed his wife and daughter were killed by hippies resulted in the best-seller, ``Fatal Vision,'' which was also made into a miniseries. In fact, the same production team, including scriptwriter John Gay, who dramatized ``Fatal Vision'' for TV, is also responsible for NBC's ``Blind Faith.''

What intrigues McGinniss are characters who are not what they seem - as ``Blind Faith'' unravels, it becomes clear Rob Marshall was a far cry from the loving husband and responsible father many thought he was. Such stories fascinate McGinniss (and us) because we wonder (a) how they get away with it and (b) why no one can see through them.

If this kind of story fascinates you - the Diane Downs saga (``Small Sacrifices'') is another example that comes quickly to mind - you will probably enjoy ``Blind Faith,'' although it seems less successful than ``Family of Spies,'' ``Small Sacrifices'' or ``Nutcracker,'' one of two movies about a family murder in Utah.

Certainly the situation is promising - when we first meet the affluent Marshalls, they seem right out of a TV sitcom: handsome dad and beautiful mom, in love and celebrating their 20th anniversary, successful parents of three bright sons, one in college, one about to go to college, the third still in junior high school.

Marshall claimed that, while driving back from Atlantic City with his wife, he pulled into a roadside park to check a tire he thought was going flat. Another car pulled in behind him and when he awoke, he had been injured by a blow on the head, his wife had been shot to death and his money was gone - obviously a robbery. But the wave of sympathy soon gives way to suspicion as inconsistencies in Marshall's story crop up - and eventually Marshall's behavior and facts about his life give us a portrait at odds with the one he has carefully created.

The ``faith'' of the title obviously refers to the three Marshall sons who cling desperately to their belief in their father's innocence, in defiance of mounting information to the contrary. Slowly, painfully, they must accept the truth that their father may not have actually murdered their mother but he arranged for it to happen. (Marshall has been sentenced to death but still has an appeal in on that sentence.)

What keeps ``Blind Faith'' from being the powerhouse it might have been was the casting of Robert Urich as Marshall. Urich is a capable actor who looks the part, but he never convinced me he was as cleverly scheming as we're supposed to believe. And because I was never convinced of his innocence for a moment, it was hard to understand why the three intelligent Marshall boys didn't begin to suspect their father sooner than they did. The role of Rob Marshall cries out for a bravura performance - such as Powers Boothe gave in ``Family of Spies,'' Farrah Fawcett in ``Small Sacrifices'' and Lee Remick in ``Nutcracker.''

In all three cases, the characters they were playing were despicable and you'd be forgiven for asking why we should spend time and money on telling their life stories - except that the performances in each case got and held your attention in such a riveting fashion. Urich makes Marshall more pathetic than anything else; he gets your pity but eventually you just despise him.

Under Paul Wendkos' direction, David Barry Gray, Jay Underwood and Johnny Galecki give excellent performances as the three sons, giving each a distinct personality. Joanna Kerns, as Mrs. Marshall, has limited screen time - mostly flashbacks - and she's further hampered by the script which makes her a stick-figure paragon of virtues.

Bill Forsythe makes the most of the role of a hired killer while Joe Spano acts properly outraged as Rob Marshall's best friend. Doris Roberts plays a sympathetic neighbor, and Dennis Farina and Kevin Dunn give sturdy performances in scenes involving Marshall's investigation and trial.

Finally, Robin Strasser gives an interesting performance as Felice Richmond, a woman with a bad reputation - which is hardly surprising if the real Richmond behaves with the kind of abandon Strasser exhibits.