Chopped Liver

Like "Innerspace," which didn't get its due at the box office, director Joe Dante didn't get his due in some reviews. Instead, the attention went to exec producer Spielberg. The headline in the S.F. Chronicle: SPIELBERG'S COMIC FANTASY. The Boston Globe didn't even mention Dante. The Hollywood Reporter's Duane Byrge kicked off his review by calling the film, "A good old popcorn presentation from Steven Spielberg."

Let us pause now and observe a moment of silence, in honor of the death of a team that seemingly was bound for glory. Maybe the Lakers, had they brushed aside the pesky Celtics in four or five games, would not have been elevated to the pantheon of all-time great basketball teams. But, Charley, they coulda been a contendah. The Lakers blew their chance at immortality Thursday night as the Celtics dumped them into Boston Harbor, 123-108. A Garden variety win.

As we were talking logistics for today's cover spread on the TV preseason (running on Page 4 and several pages thereafter), Morgan Gendel, who was putting it all together, was asking, "What is this for? What is it we're trying to prove with this? What are we trying to do?" He is one of those young, high-minded reporters who is all drenched in good intentions. On the contrary, were we of a cynical bent, we might have explained, "Son, what we are trying to do is fill up the space."

In the midst of what is supposed to be a series loosely based on the plight or struggles of a woman professional, thereby assuming a certain enlightened or at least contemporary consciousness, the "Remington Steele" episode that aired June 14 interjected three stereotypical bowing and scraping Japanese characters with--can you guess?--cameras snapping, apparently as a running gag. I know I'm not supposed to take this series seriously, but giving subtitled translations or remarks among those three like, "What do they think we are, chopped liver?