Short Takes: Nov. 9, 1992

TELEVISION

Orwell Meets the Marx Brothers

When Larry Gelbart's Broadway comedy MASTERGATE opened three years ago, it was deemed a parody of the Iran-contra hearings. With the passage of time -- and a sharp TV adaptation for Showtime -- it seems bigger than that: a definitive satire of the obfuscating language of government and the media. The setting is a congressional hearing investigating a CIA diversion of funds, but the details are drowned in dialogue that sounds like a cross between Orwell and the Marx Brothers. "My involvement was strictly limited to the extent of my participation," huffs one official. A...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!