sportsnight homicide etc
Vicki Lewis (of NewsRadio) is among the guests on The Rosie O’Donnell Show (syndicated, check your local listings).
I can’t possibly explain how crucial the current stretch of reruns of Babylon 5 (Sci-Fi, 6pm, letterboxed) are, nor how much I like them. And they look gorgeous, most of the time, letterboxed. I can’t wait to see today’s episode– “Shadow Dancing”– and tomorrow’s episode– “Z’ha’dum”– in widescreen format.There are sequences that are literally breathtaking.For those sequences, I’ll forgive any flaws.
If you missed The 1900 House (PBS, check your local listings) the first time it aired, it’s gonna air again on PBS in most markets. Watch as a modern British family moves into a house that’s set up as it would’ve been in 1900. And they must live, pretty much, just like people did back then. Possibly the best (and surely the most educational) reality show of the year.
Yay! Hank Azaria reprises his role of a physicist who has a thing for Phoebe on a new Friends (NBC, 7pm). Loved the character when he first appeared during the first season, happy to see his return. But then I’m always happy to see Hank Azaria in anything. There are also new episodes of Weber (NBC, 7:30pm), Will & Grace (NBC, 8pm) and Just Shoot Me (NBC, 8:30pm).
Gilmore Girls (WB, 7pm) is a rerun of the one that shows Rory’s first day at Chilton. It’s a really good early episode, if you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend it. And have I mentioned lately that this is the best new series of the season? (And quite possibily my favorite show of the season, period).
A new episode of Diagnosis Murder (CBS, 7pm) is followed by a rerun (CBS, 8pm) for those who need to catch up (who weren’t watching it when it was on at 9pm). And if you’re looking for City of Angels, you’re out of luck . . . it was cancelled quite some time ago (the episodes just lingered for a good long while).
For once, I agree with Robert Bianco: ” I can think of few story lines this year that have been more ludicrous ? or which seemed more clearly aimed at Emmy voters ? than Mark Greene’s easy-come/easy-go brain tumor. This week on ER (NBC, 10 p.m. ET/PT), he has his surgery. We can only pray that it’s successful, if only so we never have to see Anthony Edwards writhing around on the floor again.” Amen to that. Yeah, it’s a new ER (NBC, 9pm). Plus: James Belushi guest stars.
Don’t forget that two more first season episodes of Sports Night (Comedy Central, 9pm and 9:30pm) air tonight! Yay! The first is “The Hungry and The Hunted” which finds Jeremy on a dangerous assignment (oh-oh). The second is “Intellectual Property” . . . where Dana starts dating someone and Casey thinks there’s a fly in the studio and somebody gets in trouble for singing “Happy Birthday” on the air (I really like this episode, though it sounds kinda silly when I describe it). Anyway. If you missed Sports Night when it aired on ABC or just these particular episodes, I recommend catching up with ‘em. It’s one of my favorite shows, it’s Aaron Sorkin’s first TV series, it features a cool cast and sharp dialogue. And no, it’s not about sports (it’s about the people who work on a fictitious sports tv series).
What other TV series would dare to have it’s third episode be a quiet (though funny and touching) character study? Especially when the previous episode kicked off a major homicide case that hasn’t been solved? Well, that series is Homicide: Life on the Street (Court TV, 10pm), of course. Ever groundbreaking. These first season episodes are so very good that I run out of superlatives. When the show first aired on NBC, the network opted not to air this episode– “Night of the Dead Living”– until the very end of the season. Now you can see the show in it’s rightful place in the story, as the third episode of the Best D*mn Show on TV. A sequence from this episode was used in Homicide: The Movie, last year’s reunion film.
Jon Stewart, Everlast on a very funny rerun of a recent Late Show w/ David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).
Tom Hanks, Julia Stiles, Collective Soul on a new Tonight Show (NBC, 10:35pm).
Ken Burns and Wynton Marsalis on a new Charlie Rose (PBS, check your local listings).
David Chappelle, Meredith Viera, Jud Hale on Late Night w/ Conan O’Brien (NBC, check your local listings).
Bob Costas inteviews Garry Shandling on a classic Later (NBC, check your local listings).
