Gary Sinise Gives `Truman' An Emmy-Looking Portrayal

An engrossing character and a superb actor come together in "Truman," an HBO film based on David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of the 33rd U.S. president, at 8 p.m. Saturday.

History has shown that not only was Harry S. Truman one of the most individual (and unlikely) American presidents, but the period during which he served was one of the most momentous in the American drama. While it's impossible to do full justice to either the man or his times in a little over two hours, "Truman" manages to project a memorable portrait of the colorful man and his life.

That's greatly due to Gary Sinise, the fine, young actor (actually only half as old as Truman) who has caught the nuances in both voice and manner to create a most convincing characterization (even for those of us old enough to recall the original).

Sinise is greatly aided by a splendidly understated, equally outstanding performance by Diana Scarwid as Bess Truman, a role that could easily, because of the public perception of the character, have slipped into caricature. It never does.

Several fine character actors, like Pat Hingle, Colm Feore, and Harris Yulin, contribute important cameos. Tom Rickman's script and Frank Pierson's direction work hard to give the film a sense of depth and continuity that keep it from being merely a historical pageant.

But in the final analysis, it is Sinise's finely-tuned characterization that brings Harry Truman to life - a performance not to be missed (and sure to be rewarded when next year's Emmys are awarded). "Truman" also airs Tuesday and Sept. 15, 18, 21 and 23.

New ones

One of the more promising new series premiering this weekend is Fox's "The Preston Episodes," at 8:30 p.m. Saturday on KCPQ-TV. It stars David Alan Grier as a former English professor who comes to the Big Apple to become a writer - and the only job he can get is on a sleazy tabloid magazine. Grier gets welcome support from Clive Revill as his boss and Judith Scott as a co-worker. It's hardly world-class stuff - but Grier is most engaging.

What can one say of "Hercules," which begins its second season at 9 p.m. tomorrow, joined this season by a spinoff, "Xena: Warrior Princess," debuting at 9 tonight, both on on KIRO-TV. Both have their campy moments (and far too much violence) and neither exhibits even the foggiest sense of history.

WB's "Kirk," which stars Kirk Cameron and premiered a couple of weeks ago, repeats its first episode at 8 p.m. Sunday on KTZZ-TV. It's a harmless little sitcom that offers no compelling reason to watch.

Video notes

MTV airs the 12th Video Music Awards tonight at 8, repeated at 11 . . . While NBC aired a one-hour version of the "American Film Institute Salute to Steven Spielberg" last spring, A&E will show a two-hour version tonight at 6 and 10 . . . CBS Reports airs "Faith & Politics: The Christian Right" tonight 9 on KSTW-TV . . . Child care is the subject of CBS' "48 Hours" tonight at 10 on KSTW-TV . . . HBO begins a new series of "Comedy Half-Hours" tonight at 10:30 with Marc Maron, whose act needs a great deal more work and far better material . . . At 9:30 p.m. tomorrow and 11:45 p.m. Sunday, HBO repeats a one-woman show by "Hazelle," a performer in the Whoopi Goldberg mold, but while Hazelle is a good actress, the characters she portrays are mostly cliches . . . A&E premieres its new "Biography This Week" weekly series, profiling a person in the news, at 5 and 9 p.m. Saturday . . . While terrific songstress Maureen McGovern appears with the Seattle Symphony in a pops concert tomorrow night, Saturday afternoon and evening at the opera house, she also appears in a PBS fund-raiser, "Great Love Songs," performing Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart, at 7 p.m. Saturday on KCTS-TV, along with Jack Jones and Dionne Warwick . . . AMC plans to launch a new monthly magazine for movie fans, "AMC's Hollywood Report," at 4 p.m. Saturday . . . "Carnie," the new talk show that premiered Monday at 1 p.m. on KIRO-TV, is a total mess, "hosted" by Carnie Wilson, just one more shouting match where mostly illiterates babble their sexual thoughts . . .

John Voorhees' column appears Sunday, Monday and Thursday in The Times.