'Angels' flick dumb — but who cares?

NBC's "Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Charlie's Angels" (8 p.m., Ch. 5) is basically a really dumb TV movie, but — c'mon now — what could be more appropriate?

It's a rather entertaining romp through the real-life lunacy that accompanied the making of the '70s jiggle show. And, frankly, the actual events were far dopier than the silly show itself.

This is the story of how a basically ridiculous premise — three gorgeous gals become super-cops working for the never-seen Charlie to solve various crimes — became a successful show. And, most of the time, the plots seemed designed specifically to show off the actresses' bodies.

As "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows" describes it, "Sex, pure and simple, seemed to be the principal ingredient in the considerable success of this detective show."

And dealing with how far the show could or could not go makes for some very amusing moments in "Behind the Cameras" — and some of the discussions between executive producer Aaron Spelling (Dan Castellaneta, who voices Homer Simpson) and ABC network chief Fred Silverman (Dan Lauria of "The Wonder Years") are a scream.

It's campy, dopey fun. A lot like "Charlie's Angels" itself.

Oh, there is plenty of angst for the three original "Angels" — Farrah Fawcett (Tricia Helfer), Kate Jackson (Lauren Stamile) and Jaclyn Smith (Christina Chambers). It seems it's never easy to be an overnight pop-culture sensation, particularly if, as was the case with Fawcett, you're suddenly overshadowing your actor husband, Lee Majors (Ben Browder). Or if, like Jackson, you aren't exactly comfortable being on a jiggle show.

"Behind the Cameras" is based largely on the dishy book "Charlie's Angels Casebook," by Jack Condon and David Hofstede. Condon, who has more than 8,000 pieces of "Angels" memorabilia, served as a consultant on the film, which should give you some idea of its point of view — that of a fan who's more than a bit obsessed.

The "Unauthorized" part of the title is sheer hype. Oh, none of the principals cooperated in the making of the TV movie, but this is not a mean-spirited expose. And the "Behind the Scenes" stories are actually pretty familiar to anyone who was watching TV back in the '70s — or anyone who's a fan of the show.

This is more Spelling's story than that of the three actresses. And Matt Dorff, who also wrote the entertaining "Growing Up Brady" teleflick, said he "didn't want (Spelling) to feel that we took unfair swipes at him. . . . In a way, it's a celebration of a guy who's had 40 years (in the TV business) and an incredible impact on this industry and on pop culture."

And Spelling himself isn't unhappy with this "Unauthorized" biography of sorts. "I'm paraphrasing," Castellaneta said, "but he said, 'I don't see anything salacious or in bad taste or defamatory in any way. So I don't know why anyone would want to watch it.' "

Au contraire.

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com

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