`One More Mountain' Is An Adventurous Ride

"One More Mountain," "ABC Sunday Night Movie," 9 p.m., Channel 4. ----------------------------------------------------------------- While the infamous Donner Party dominates the legends of the pioneer movement westward to California, there were other pioneers with other interesting stories to tell, as anyone knows who saw that fine documentary about the Donner Party on PBS' "American Experience."

One of the other families was the James Reed family which left Illinois in 1846 to join the Donner Party. There were tensions between the Reeds and other members of the wagontrain, partially because the Reeds were wealthier than some of the pioneers and some thought he was trying to run things.

Eventually James Reed stabbed another member of the party in an altercation - and was banished from the wagon train, forced to leave his wife, Margaret, and four children behind but vowing to eventually join them when the wagon train got to California.

The story of the Reed family has been dramatized in "One More Mountain." It stars Meredith Baxter and Chris Cooper as Margaret and James Reed and the film does a good job of recreating the challenges pioneers faced 150 years ago when they headed off into the relatively uncharted West.

The group of settlers that included the Reed family was separated by a few miles from the Donner Party and while the Reed group never resorted to cannibalism, still they were forced to deal with illness, starvation, bitter cold and death. If anything, "One More Mountain" shows their troubles to be less terrible than they probably were. (Certainly there was a great deal more snow in the Sierra Nevadas than is shown in the movie, which was filmed in Canada and is yet another of those "winter" movies in which, despite protestations about the weather, one never sees the actors' breath when they speak.)

Still, as a history lesson to remind us of the challenges our ancestors faced and conquered not too long ago, "One More Mountain" is worth watching and is pretty historically accurate, in terms of what really happened to members of the wagon train.

In addition to Baxter and Cooper, the film features Larry Drake, as another family head, and Jean Simmons, all too briefly playing Margaret Reed's mother, who did indeed die early in the journey.

Another true story ----------------------------------------------------------------- "And Then There Was One," Lifetime World Premiere movie, 9 p.m. Wednesday, Lifetime Channel (also March 13, 18 and 26). -----------------------------------------------------------------

Like "One More Mountain," "And Then There was One" is based on a true story, only a more recent one. In fact, you may have seen itjust months ago when the new "Lifetime Magazine" show aired a report on a woman who lost her husband and child to AIDS and who is herself HIV positive.

It was a touching account then and is even more so in a well-done docudrama that stars Amy Madigan and Dennis Boutsikaris as Roxy and Vinnie Ventola.

They married in 1983 and became a successful TV comedy writing team (Norman Lear was one of their mentors). All that was lacking in their lives was a child, and after overcoming various medical problems, their daughter, Miranda, was born in 1989.

But she soon became ill and was eventually diagnosed as HIV positive. When doctors insisted Roxy and Vinnie be tested, they also tested positive and neither party knows for certain how the infection came about (the film mentions the possibility of a blood transfusion.) But the film isn't interested in placing blame. The best, most affecting part concentrates on how the Ventolas came to terms with AIDS and, on the part of Roxy, the deaths of Vinnie and Miranda.

There is no "happy ending" to this movie (it ends before Roxy remarries in 1993, which was an important part of the "Lifetime magazine" report), but it challenges viewers to consider how they might behave either if they found they were HIV positive or if they knew someone who was.

Madigan and Boutsikaris are wholly convincing in their performances. Rama Laurie Stagner's script realizes this story is dramatic enough not to need phony embellishments while David Jones' direction strikes just the right serious note. This is an important film on an important topic.

Fast-moving series ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Locomotion," four-part A&E series, 5 and 9 p.m. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday on A&E. -----------------------------------------------------------------

The romance and wonder of railways is amply explored in "Locomotion," a new four-hour A&E/BBC co-production that begins with a two-hour report Sunday night.

Although planes and highway transportation have, in many ways, eclipsed trains, this lengthy examination reminds us that the invention of the steam engine and early railroads were as mind-boggling to citizens at that time as space travel still is in ours.

Although oddly organized, the film footage (and historical re-creations) are attention-holding. The first hour, "Engines of Enterprise," looks at the role the locomotive played in American history, both in the Civil War and in westward expansion.

The second hour, "Taming the Iron Monster," is about the invention of the steam engine and its role in railroad beginnings in England. (This should come first and I would venture to guess that, in England, the two films are shown in reverse order).

The hour airing MOnday night, "The War Machines," is especially provocative, for it examines the role of railroads in both World Wars and the effect railroads had on their outcomes, points of view both fresh and provocative.

The series concludes Tuesday night with an hour titled "Magic Machines and Mobile People," which explores how the idea of easy mobility affected the world's population, and then closes with an assessment of railroads today.

"Locomotion" might not sound particularly promising but this four-hour examination makes for interesting viewing.

A new direction, maybe? ----------------------------------------------------------------- "The Spud Goodman Ninth Anniversary Show," 10 p.m. Sunday, Channel 22. -----------------------------------------------------------------

Well, if it's good enough for "60 Minutes," what's wrong with "The Spud Goodman Show" celebrating the fact it's been cluttering up local airwaves for nine years. How time flies when you're having fun!

Originally a public access, very low-budget show, Spud has moved uptown and is aired on KTZZ-TV. And it's easy to see why when you watch this special, "The Good, Bad & the Dysfunctional," a potpourri of scenes from past shows, tied together by a Fairy Godmother, deliciously played by Linda Martin.

And who IS Spud Martin, you ask? He's the local character with shades who seems to have bugged just about every local celebrity and a lot of unsuspecting visiting ones, asking odd questions and trying to rattle their cages. It's a hit or miss proposition, often depending upon the wit and invention of those being hassled by Spud.

In all truth, however, one of the funniest scenes in this hour special is between Spud and his "therapist." The show might find exploring sketch comedy a rewarding direction for its next nine years.