acrowdedhomefront

A crowded `Homefront'
St. Petersburg Times; St. Petersburg;
Oct 12, 1991;
Janis D. Froelich;

If you're hooked on ABC's new serial Homefront, (as I am), you may be wondering what's with Robert Davis, the young black character in the steamy drama. Played by Sterling Macer Jr., Davis is the sole GI in the series not involved in a hot romance.

Homefront, set in 1945 as World War II vets return home to Ohio (many with war brides), is as heavy on tangled personal lives as the drama is on its backdrop of social revolution. It's similar to a Peyton Place, only with messages about racism, sexism and changing values. This unique look at the 1940s through modern-day eyes airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on Chs. 10 and 40.

Why isn't Davis in on the fun? He's certainly a part of the turmoil. In one episode, he was beaten over the head by the local police for letting a widowed white war bride live with his family.

"I can't say why the writers are scripting it this way," Macer said in a telephone interview. "But personally, I don't mind not having a love life on the show. If you give an actor a romantic partner, then you have to build props around that love life. This way, I'm involved in a variety of tough situations."

Macer, who has a master's degree in dramatic arts from the University of San Diego, adds that he was happy to find a script where an African-American character "has some dignity."

As for the scene where Davis is clubbed by the cops, Macer says that was difficult for him to watch when the one-hour episode aired.

"That was a case of blatant bigotry. But Robert will also have to deal with subtle discrimination in upcoming episodes," he explained.

A decorated war hero, Robert is the only child of happily married Abe and Gloria Davis (played by Dick Anthony Williams and Hattie Winston). In the last segment, Abe and Gloria giddily toasted leaving their stuck-up bosses, the Sloans, where both worked as ill-appreciated domestics.

Robert landed a coveted assembly line job at the Sloan factory, the town's big employer, only after his dad had made it known he'd telephone Eleanor Roosevelt personally to get Robert work other than janitorial at the plant.

"I am looking forward to when the show adds more dimensions to Robert's life," Macer said later in our chat. "Viewers see him coming and going from work. And other than the short scene where he was talking with Gina (the Italian war bride played by Giuliana Santini), there isn't too much to know about him yet."

Macer is confident that with such a large cast, his time to take center stage is coming.

Perhaps a romance for Davis is imminent then because Homefront is loaded with love. While I was watching it one week with my 18-year-old daughter, she asked incredulously, "This show's about Grandma's and Grandpa's generation?" I reminded her that I was born in 1946 - in Ohio, too.