TELEVISION REVIEWS : ‘FIRES’ AFFIRMS FAMILY VALUES

The family is the most trivialized institution on TV. But here’s a far more satisfying application.

It tends to meander, needs tightening and would be far stronger at three hours than at its present four-hour length. Yet Showtime cable’s “Home Fires” is the most intriguing, let-it-rip TV rendering of an American family since, well, “An American Family.” And that 1972-73 PBS epic was a living documentary about a family--the Louds of Santa Barbara--that actually existed.

Airing in two parts at 9 p.m. Sunday and Monday, the fictional “Home Fires” is a comforting, if-bumpy validation of the oft-maligned family unit as the bedrock of American society. After “An American Family,” you weren’t all that certain.

Just as “An American Family” did, though, this Edgar J. Scherick production chronicles the routine--those fascinatingly mundane normalities of life that we take for granted--along with the inevitable crises that flash unexpectedly.

It contains some significant story flaws, including a casual reaction to a burglary that defies reason. Despite its blemishes, though, “Home Fires” is extremely seductive and rewarding, an exceptional collaboration by director Michael Toshiyuki Uno, writer Gill Dennis and a luminous cast. Together, they reach a level of honesty and nuance about family life rarely matched on regular TV.

The family members are Lawyer Charlie Ash (Guy Boyd) and his second wife, Cath (Amy Steel), their young son, Wil (Whitby Hertford) and Charlie’s battling children from a previous marriage, teen-agers Sam (Max Perlich) and Mary (Juliette Lewis).

Charlie’s courtroom work, Cath’s anguish over a one-night fling, Wil’s childhood fears, Sam’s alienation and Mary’s emotional attachment to her deranged mother and ugly clashes with Sam are major themes in a sometimes sharply veering saga.

“Home Fires” offers blunt truths about teens without being judgmental: Mary and a girlfriend routinely smoking pot; both girls spying on Sam masturbating in front of a girlie magazine.

At once appealing and painful, the aching, lingering rivalry between Sam and Mary is what truly fires this story and also showcases two raw acting talents. Uno draws magical performances from relative newcomers Perlich and especially Lewis, who lights up the screen. In much smaller roles, Elizabeth Ruscio is excellent as one of Charlie’s associates who goes astray, as is Nan Martin as a tyrannical judge.

“Home Fires” is a triumph for families and Showtime.