Reel 256

Debut: This anthology series, coproduced by director Robert Altman, follows a pistol as it passes from hand to hand. Asked why a gun was chosen as the motif triggering each episode, executive producer Jim Sadwith responded, "[because] it is such a powerful icon in this society." The opener stars Daniel Stern as a struggling L.A. actor, who decides to return with his family to Virginia. En route, he stops at a convenience store, where he interrupts a robbery and winds up using the thief's gun to prevent his own son's kidnapping. Acclaimed a hero, the down-and-out actor finds himself an overnight celebrity with a movie deal. Dora: Kathy Baker. (1:00) [The Couch Critic reviews Gun on p. 12.] Baker, Stern

(CC) SUN. 6 PM TNT; James Garner hosts a rootin', tootin' celebration of big and small-screen Westerns. Among the horse-opera staples covered: tall-in-the-saddle heroes, bad-to-the-bone outlaws and frontier heroines. There's also a segment that blasts holes in Hollywood's treatment of legends such as Billy the Kid, and a look at Tinseltown's portrayal of minorities. Featured: Kris Kristoferson discusses his bloodless death in Sam Peckinpah's "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" (1973); Bruce Dern recalls killing John Wayne in 1972's "The Cowboys"; and Carroll Baker salutes John Ford, her director on 1964's "Cheyenne Autumn." (2:00) Wayne, Norman Howell in "The Cowboys"

Debut: This anthology series, coproduced by director Robert Altman, follows a pistol as it passes from hand to hand. Asked why a gun was chosen as the motif triggering each episode, executive producer Jim Sadwith responded, "[because] it is such a powerful icon in this society." The opener stars Daniel Stern as a struggling L.A. actor, who decides to return with his family to Virginia. En route, he stops at a convenience store, where he interrupts a robbery and winds up using the thief's gun to prevent his own son's kidnapping. Acclaimed a hero, the down-and-out actor finds himself an overnight celebrity with a movie deal. Dora: Kathy Baker. (1:00) [The Couch Critic reviews Gun on p. 12.] Baker, Stern

Debut:

(CC) SUN. 6 PM TNT James Garner hosts a rootin', tootin' celebration of big and small-screen Westerns. Among the horse-opera staples covered: tall-in-the-saddle heroes, bad-to-the-bone outlaws and frontier heroines. There's also a segment that blasts holes in Hollywood's treatment of legends such as Billy the Kid, and a look at Tinseltown's portrayal of minorities. Featured: Kris Kristoferson discusses his bloodless death in Sam Peckinpah's "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" (1973); Bruce Dern recalls killing John Wayne in 1972's "The Cowboys"; and Carroll Baker salutes John Ford, her director on 1964's "Cheyenne Autumn." (2:00) Wayne, Norman Howell in "The Cowboys"

Debut: This anthology series... (1:00)

Debut:

(CC) SUN. 6 PM TNT (2:00)