Word: formulaic
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Thomas Jefferson had the right formula for governance when he wrote that "reason and free inquiry are the only effectual agents against error." Apparently, the words of the architect of democracy have little connection with Harvard; how can the Board fairly review the administration's decisions if it is chosen by that administration...
...cast and crew are acutely aware that they have a tough act to follow. "It's like a new actor taking over another actor's role," says Anchor Gardner. No drastic departures from ABC's successful formula are planned. NBC has rounded up the required roster of former Olympians -- Gymnast Mary Lou Retton, Swimmer John Naber, High Jumper Dwight Stones -- as expert analysts, and is preparing taped features similar to ABC's "Up Close and Personal" reports. "I think ABC has done a great job; we hope to do a great job too," says Michael Eskridge, NBC's executive vice...
...Sematech a group of 14 semiconductor manufacturers has been working since last year on joint research, bolstered by a $100 million federal grant. Says Sanford Kane, an IBM official who serves as chairman of Sematech's executive committee: "We've discovered a formula where normally fierce industry competitors can work together with the Government. Fear ((of foreign rivals)) can be a very persuasive motivator." Democratic Presidential Candidate Michael Dukakis apparently thinks the idea could serve older industries as well. On a tour of a specialty-steel plant in Pittsburgh last week, he promised that as President he would create...
...Most experts, however, argue that Murdoch is far too astute a businessman to tamper with TV Guide's winning formula. The moment competing networks suspected that they were not getting equal treatment in TV Guide, they would almost certainly pull their advertising. If anything, says Barry Diller, Fox's chief executive, the fledgling network will operate at a slight disadvantage. "A magazine has to retain its credibility, or it's lost," he maintains. "The natural instinct of the people operating TV Guide will be to bend over backward to ensure that there's no appearance of favoritism...
...Scott's Raj Quartet to an inept film of E.M. Forster's A Pasage to India--even Bertolucci's The Last Emperor--films about imperialism, and particularly its demise, have become hits here and in Europe. Offering torrid plots set in tropical lands, films about empire have the perfect formula for success--glory, romance, violence and politics...