An Artful Take On Dodgers

October 10, 1997|by Renee Lucas Wayne, Daily News Staff Writer

In all the Jackie Robinson tributes during this 50th-anniversary year, none has told the story of the man who broke the color line in major league baseball from a kid's perspective. Now Nickelodeon does.

``Nickelodeon Sports Theatre with Shaquille O'Neal'' presents ``First Time'' (9 p.m. tomorrow and repeating at 7 p.m. Tuesday), a well-written and equally well-acted fictional story of Troy Davis, a 13-year-old African-American boy whose greatest ambition is to play shortstop for the (pre-Robinson) Brooklyn Dodgers.

Shielded from racism by loving parents and nurturing friends, Troy's dream collides with the ugly reality of 1947 America when taunting from a classmate and rival - ``You ever seen this color on the Dodgers?'' - leads to a fight at school, which leads to a trip to the principal's office.

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Troy's struggle to come to grips with the reality of a racist society is handled with sensitivity and depth by executive producers Michael Tollin and Brian Robbins (creators of Nick's ``All That'' and ``Kenan & Kel'').

Robert Ri'chard turns in a strong performance as the conflicted Troy. Veteran John Amos is wonderful in the role of Three W, the apartment handyman and friend of Robinson (Joe Lattimore), who orchestrates a life-changing encounter between the two on the eve of Robinson's historic debut.

On a lighter note, ``Mother Goose: A Rappin' and Rhymin' Special'' (7 p.m. Sunday and again at 6:25 a.m. Wednesday on HBO) is worth having a friend tape if you get only basic cable.

HBO's hip animated family series, ``Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child,'' gives classic fairy tales an ethnically diverse spin. In this one, Mother Gooseberg (Whoopi Goldberg) gets weary of complaints from her characters - the Crooked Man (Denzel Washington) feels misrepresented, Jack and Jill (Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee) gripe about mounting medical bills - and decides to retire.

The trouble is, she takes her rhymes with her. No longer able to converse in verse, Old King Cole (Jimmy Smits) throws a party to woo her back.

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