Storyteller Is Back, As `Luck` Would Have It  April 10, 1988|By
Kenneth R. Clark, Media writer. Special feature.  His face is
the face of an aging Puck-craggy, crafty, surmounted by a nose
that would make Cyrano de Bergerac look like a one-Kleenex man,
and possessed by bright, mischievous eyes that give whimsical
fantasy to the most profound pronouncement.  ``Would I lie?``
they seem to say, to which the scruffy, articulate dog who
shares his hearth probably would reply, ``probably.``  He is
``The Storyteller``-a spinner-by-the-fireside of ancient tales
peopled by beautiful maidens, stalwart heroes, horrific
monsters, black magic and enchanted princes. He is John Hurt,
one of England`s premiere actors, starring in an all too
sporadic NBC effort to depart from mainstream programming for a
sojourn into the land of fairy tale.  ``They`ve been showing
them sort of once every quarter which, it seems to me, is a
rather odd way of doing it,`` Hurt said of ``The Storyteller``
series in a long-distance telephone call