A L S O_.T O D A Y Blue Glow HBO's must-see "Mr. Show" goes on; John Glenn returns to orbit Y E S T E R D A Y Happiness Reviewed by Jonathan Lethem Todd Solondz's harrowing comedy unearths the violence and desperation in suburban life (10/23/98) Pleasantville Reviewed by Charles Taylor Director Gary Ross fetishizes the '50s in this high-concept parable about the dangers of conformity (10/23/98) Slam and SlamNation Reviewed by Hank Hyena Two new films celebrate -- and exaggerate -- the power of spoken word (10/23/98) R E C E N T_. T E L E V I S I O N The kids are alright By Joyce Millman Teen spirit: TV's wise kids and puerile adults (10/12/98) Escape from the planet of the tapes By Joyce Millman After being inundated with Lewinsky scandal, it's a relief to get back to TV that doesn't matter (09/28/98) Date night, ABC By Joyce Millman Two new shows, "Cupid" and the updated "Fantasy Island," remind us of why Saturday night is the loneliest night (09/25/98) Strangeness in the night By Joyce Millman What's a nice boy like Conan O'Brien doing in a place like late night TV? (09/14/98) Women are from Venus, men are from Vegas By Joyce Millman ABC's girl-talk show "The View" and HBO's "Rat Pack" movie have more in common than you think (08/17/98) BROWSE THE TV ARCHIVES COLUMNS FEATURES S A L O N E M P O R I U M FREE! 12-ounce bag of Salon Blend with a purchase of $30 or more. While supplies last.

PRAISE THE LORD AND PASS THE REMOTE | PAGE 1, 2 - - - - - - - - - - Two weeks after the launch of Fox Family Channel, a more straightforward family values network, PAX TV, debuted on 95 UHF stations across the country. PAX TV is the latest venture from Lowell "Bud" Paxson, a born-again Christian media mogul based in West Palm Beach, Fla. Paxson was the co-founder of the Home Shopping Network, that uniquely American nexus of televangelism and capitalism -- all those products guaranteed to fill needs, uplift souls, change lives! In 1991, Paxson sold his interest in the Home Shopping Network for a nice bundle ($100 million) and began buying up small UHF stations around the country, drastically slashing staffs and running infomercials instead of local programming. In March 1997, the Supreme Court upheld the "must carry" provision of the 1992 Cable Act, which requires cable operators to carry any and all local broadcast stations on their systems, and Paxson began shaping his far-flung empire -- he owns the largest group of TV stations in the country -- into what he very optimistically calls "the nation's seventh broadcast network." When it debuted on Aug. 31 of this year, PAX TV reached nearly three-fourths of all homes with televisions, thanks to the must-carry rule. PAX TV is unmistakably religious (its logo is a dove hovering over red, white and blue letters spelling "PAX TV") and unmistakably Christian -- although, as yet, there's nothing on the network as hard-core evangelical as "The 700 Club." At the center of PAX TV's prime-time schedule are reruns of that spiritual-kitsch standard bearer "Touched by an Angel," as well as reruns of such G-rated favorites as "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," "Diagnosis Murder," "Eight Is Enough" and, of course, "Highway to Heaven." For original programming, PAX TV offers two live-from-Stepford happy-talk shows, "Great Day America" and "Woman's Day with Phyllis George" (believe me, you don't want to go there), and a Sunday prime-time show called "It's a Miracle" that airs opposite "The X-Files" and also looks at extreme possibilities (holy visions, healing through prayer, rescue by angels). Except there aren't any skeptical Scullys here. Upcoming original PAX specials include TV adaptations of such trendy spiritual bestsellers as "Chicken Soup for the Soul" and "The Bible Code." And there's a Saturday and Sunday morning block of values-imparting kids' programming called "Cloud Nine" that's hosted by a group of teen angels ("just like teenagers on Earth, the teen angels have their extreme style and lots of teen attitude," reads the press release) and offers a lineup of wholesome yet flavorless live action and animated shows that all seem to be set either in outer space or in a magical woodland populated by fuzzy talking animals. If you've ever doubted the brilliance of the "King of the Hill" religious puppet-show parody "Manger Babies," tune in to "Cloud Nine." Bland as it may be, PAX TV's programming, unlike Fox Family Channel's, is certainly true to its (narrow) vision. This is family-friendly entertainment sprinkled with Sunday School homilies and an exclusively Christian religious outlook. But while PAX TV may not be as heavy-handed as "700 Club," it's just as dangerously self-righteous. One of the original full-page newspaper ads for PAX TV's launch read like a coded anti-gay screed, touting PAX as relief from TV made by "so-called creative people peddling every kind of alternative lifestyle to our kids." (The ad was quickly pulled when gay activists objected, with Paxson Communications Corp. president Jeff Sagansky, a former CBS programming chief, maintaining that it was all an unfortunate misunderstanding.) But even on the earnestly spiritual PAX TV, God still has to share the schedule with Mammon. Paxson's Home Shopping Network experience is much in evidence in the five hours of paid infomercials that air weekday mornings (and three hours on Sunday) on Paxson stations. In interviews, Bud Paxson gives his maker all the credit for the events that brought PAX TV to fruition. "God doesn't speak to me in letters," Paxson told the San Francisco Chronicle. "I don't see anything in writing. I don't hear voices. I got a knowing in my heart -- 'Don't worry about must carry.'" But, apparently, Paxson knows where his bread is buttered in the temporal world, too. On July 9, a month before the launch of PAX TV, Paxson co-hosted (with Sylvester Stallone) a Florida fund-raising dinner honoring President Clinton. At the event, which raised $850,000 for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Clinton praised his 1996 Telecommunications Act (which removed pesky restraints on TV station-gobbling moguls) for making such a worthy venture as PAX TV possible. Alas, the Lord may work in mysterious ways, but politicians and businessmen always show their hands. SALON | Oct. 26, 1998

ILLUSTRATION BY KATHERINE STREETER