TV REVIEWS : ‘DESPERATE EXIT’ TACKLES PROBLEM OF TEEN SUICIDE

Television takes on a serious and timely tone today with programs about teen-age suicide, terrorism and illiteracy.

The program about teen-age suicide, “A Desperate Exit,� comes fresh on the heels of last week’s publication of a study suggesting that such dramatic TV programs, no matter how well intentioned, may have “a lethal effect� by stimulating suicidal behavior among youths.

Responding to that report in the New England Journal of Medicine, broadcasters have pointed out that while it is possible to log an increase in suicides and suicide attempts after a TV broadcast, researchers have no way of measuring how many children the programs might have helped.

Helping is certainly the intent of “A Desperate Exit,� which begins the 15th season of “ABC Afterschool Specials� at 3 today on Channel 10 and at 4 on Channels 3 and 42. KABC-TV Channel 7, not wishing to preempt its new “Oprah Winfrey Show,� will carry the hourlong drama Friday at 7 p.m.

Rob Stone of “Mr. Belvedere� stars as Jed, the high school senior who is left to feel angry, confused and grieved after Charlie, his best friend (played by Malcolm-Jamal Warner of “The Cosby Show�), kills himself.

Neatly laced throughout Linda Elstad’s script, which is based on the book “Face at the Edge of the World� by Eve Bunting, are comments about why suicide is not the way to go, what the warning signs are and what people should do if they spot them.

The plot is more problematic. Martin Tahse, making his directing debut after producing 23 “Afterschool Specials,� seems curiously dispassionate about the subject, downplaying his characters’ emotional reactions in favor of enhancing the mystery of why Charlie chose to check out.

Importantly, even after he learns the reason, Jed doesn’t forgive his friend for what he did. Still, making Charlie’s death the subject of a TV mystery is vaguely unsettling--especially now that we know that dramas about teen-age suicide cannot be taken any more lightly than teen-age suicide itself.

“A Chance to Learn� tonight on PBS is the flip side of “At a Loss For Words . . . Illiterate in America,� the documentary that ABC broadcast Sept. 3. Where the first program was a discouraging look at the dimensions of the nation’s illiteracy problem and its many causes and effects, the one tonight is a more encouraging report on what is being done to combat the problem.

The remedies aren’t pat, they aren’t easily implemented and they aren’t cheap--but they exist, says Pernell Roberts, host of the hourlong program, which begins at 7:30 on Channel 50, and at 8 on Channels 28, 15 and 24.

“A Chance to Learn� effectively demonstrates its point by highlighting efforts being made by communities across the country to teach adults to read and write. The camera captures the tremendous pride and optimism that result from people learning the skills that can lead to better jobs and better communication with their families and friends.

The intent of the documentary is to encourage other communities to take up the fight; it is, Roberts says, a call to action. After the ABC program, which showed how illiteracy affects the economy, national defense and our democratic government, one hopes the call is heeded.

And if you’ve got a thing for problems without easy solutions, stay tuned for “Fighting Terrorism: A National Security View,� which begins tonight at 8:30 on Channel 50, at 9 on Channels 28 and 15, and at 10 on Channel 24. It provides a capsule view of the thorny dilemmas that the government faces when confronted with an event such as the recent, bloody Pan Am jet hijacking in Pakistan.

In fact, it is just such a hijacking involving Middle East terrorists that is the starting point for this exercise staged by the Center for Strategic and International Studies at Georgetown University. A variety of national security experts from the top ranks of government play the roles of the National Security Council members in deciding how to handle the crisis.

The hourlong program, culled from a two-day simulation conference in May, is slow going in the early stages because of the amount of exposition required, but it gradually builds in dramatic intensity as the stakes of the “game� escalate and the players become more comfortable in their roles. Eventually they are considering the merits of strategic air strikes, invasions, assassinations, mining and economic sanctions.

What emerges is a glimpse of how the National Security Council operates and how crisis decisions are shaped not only by U.S. foreign policy but also by concern for such factors as the opinion of U.S. allies, the threat of engaging the Soviet Union, the reaction in Congress and the image of the President.

With nuclear warfare as the possible end result of a wrong decision, the process is critically important to understand.

“Fighting Terrorism� was written, produced and directed by Jay LaMonica for KCET.