Sunday, December 17, 2000		Television

WHATEVER happened to good scripts and exotic settings of serials? Over the years they all seem to have been lost out to city sets where entire episodes are shot in cramped apartments.

But Sampat Aur Sampat on Zee TV Fridays 9 p.m. is a refreshing change from the ubiquitous plastic props. It is set in an exotic hill station where Kiran Sampat a young widow with five daughters makes her living from a small orchard.

The daughters turn out to be beautiful and intelligent. The eldest is the nearest to her mother and helps in managing the orchard. The second one is the town flirt. The third is a singer, the fourth an athlete and the youngest just happy-go-lucky.

The hill resort they live in had been popular once. But now, it has slipped as there is no rail connection to it, nor is there any modern, motorable road approaching it.

But suddenly, the place becomes a boomtown, as a pharmaceutical giant makes the resort its base. The rail con- nection is made and road built bringing in tourists and engineers and workers. And the daughters have a field day in selecting their suitors.

An engaging serial which will keep you engrossed because of its breathtaking locales and good performances.

This is a story that could appeal only to all the closet misogynists. Tanhaaiyaan on B4U every Wednesday 8 p.m. revolves around Satyadev Sharma (Mohan Bhandari) and his family of stepbrothers, sister and mother.

He also has a family of his own; his wife and daughter Poonam who suffers from progressive blindness. But he puts the needs of his stepbrothers, sister and mother before his own family.

Things are thrown out of balance when he has to choose between money he has borrowed for his daughter’s operations and sending his stepbrother to London for a diploma course, and he decides to do the latter pushing his poor daughter into a world of darkness.

There’s a misplaced sense of family ties and sacrifice which runs through the serial. Totally out of sync with reality and depressing from the word go.

What’s a Black Belt karate star doing rapping on stage? Gurdas Mann is back in the arclights with yet another hit. The singer-actor is back again with his new album Pyar Kar Le (Tips Music and is regaling fans who cut across boundaries.

"I believe in my music which is rooted in culture and fold songs. Though I may use modern instruments all my melodies have roots in rural Punjab", says Mann.

Over the years Mann has released 26 hit albums, written over 200 songs and performed at sell out concerts around the world. His 1995 album Apna Punjab, is today a worldwide Punjabi classic.

It’s no surprise that his new album, Pyar Kar Le is already a runaway hit and once again showcases his versatility. The video from the album brings alive the magic of this Punjab and has channels swaying to his beat.

Farah Khan has directed the video of the title song. The imaginative choreography has contributed a lot to the success of the album which is clocking brisk sales. Its rise on the Indipop charts shows that Mann at 43 has not lost his touch and this Punjab da puttar is still going strong.

Cartoon Network is ushering viewers into the 21st century. The new millennium has dawned and Gotham City has embraced the future, moulded by corporate greed and corporate crime.

Luckily for the citizens of Gotham City, the ever-vigilant Batman has remained constant in their lives. While the integrity and ideals of Batman remain unchanged in Batman of The Future weekends, 9.30 p.m., the man behind the cape is no longer young.

Finding it more and more difficult to keep up his crime-fighting efforts, he has retired. After all, he had to face physical danger and fight crazed villains for more than half a century. He passes the cape and cowl to a more youthful successor.

Terry McGinnis is a high-school senior who meets a retired Bruce Wayne and discovers his secret identity as Batman. Terry’s father, like Bruce’s own, was murdered by criminals and he has vowed to avenge the death.

The 17-year-old protege also juggles a home life, high school and a girlfriend—something the old Bruce Wayne never dealt with. But then, times do change—even for the caped crusader.

Here’s the heartthrob of the nation on the platter—or rather on Sony Max. The channel has devised a simple contest for the innumerable Hrithik Roshan fans.

All you have to do is buy the Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai—The Love Mix album and answer a simple question, which is printed on the inlay card. If you are one of the lucky 100 you will get to meet Hrithik on January 13, 2001.

If you are a Hrithik fan this could be your lucky chance. Keep tuned to Sony Max for the contest details.

For two-thirds of the year, the Siberian Arctic is frozen solid. Some determined creatures that have adapted to this extremely harsh environment. Discovery shields itself against blustering winds to witness this struggle for survival.

From hunting to scavenging, the survival techniques of the Arctic and red fox are featured in Siberian Survivors: A Tale of Two Foxes December 25 at 7 p.m.s

Two different foxes on two different islands — one to the north and one to the south of Siberia are both tenacious survivors. Wrangel, located 160 kilometres north of Siberia, is home to the Arctic fox. Its larger cousin, the red fox makes its home in Talan, where the gruelling Arctic winter ends in April.

Both foxes are experts at finding food during the long, bleak winter months, but nonetheless, their survival is only made possible by the summer break. Although it is a fleeting season, they have only this one brief chance to stock up for winter.

Watch these incredible foxes living on the edge of survival in this absorbing programme.

— Mukesh Khosla