wednesday
James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson in Giant (TCM, 1pm).
The “Sally” episode of Sports Night (Comedy Central, 1:30pm). One of my favorites.
Brain and brain, what is brain? Find out (or not!) in the “Spock’s Brain” episode of Star Trek (Sci-Fi, 4pm). Marj Dusay guest stars.
Cherry (Nan Woods) and McMurphy (Dana Delaney) go out in search of Cherry’s brother in the Vietnam underworld on China Beach (History Channel, 1pm and 6pm).
The war with the Shadows heats up in the “Shadow Dancing” episode of Babylon 5 (Sci-Fi, 6pm, letterboxed).
Malcolm has to work for the meanest lady on the block and Dewey starts carrying a purse to school (after Reese destroys his backpack) on Malcolm in the Middle (FOX, 7pm).
Alex Trebek guest stars on a new episode of Ladies Man (CBS, 7pm). Alfred Molina and Sharon Lawrence star. I wish I could forget this show.
The First Lady is upset with The President and Bartlet has to deal with a hostage crisis in Columbia (among other things) on The West Wing (NBC, 7pm).
Kubrick fans can watch a couple of his films sans commercial interruption tonight on TCM: Paths of Glory (TCM, 7pm) and Dr. Strangelove or How I Stopped Worrying And Learned to Love the Bomb (TCM, 8:30pm).
New episode of Good Eats (Food Network, 8pm and 11pm). Episode title is “Let Them Eat Foam” and the episode is about baking sheet cakes, layer cakes, and angel food cake.
It’s Buffy’s 20th birthday and if you watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer (WB, 8pm) regularly, you know no good came come from Buffy’s birthdays. In this episode, Dawn gets fed up with the Scooby gang acting weird around her and tries to find out what’s really going on. Spike helps out. I like Spike.
Part 2 (of 3) of Dune (Sci-Fi, 8pm-10pm; 10pm-midnight). The Sci-Fi channel miniseries, that is.
The True Hollywood Story behind Sixteen Candles (E!, 8pm).
Series premiere of The Beast (ABC, 9pm). It’s about a bunch of people who work at a 24-hour cable news channel. Their lives are also broadcast on webcams as they work on stories. Frank Langella, Jason Gedrick, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Peter Riegert star. In this, the pilot episode, they may be given the chance to broadcast an execution.
Cary Grant plays an unconventional doctor in People Will Talk (AMC, 9:30pm).
David Duchovny on The Daily Show (Comedy Central, 10pm and midnight). Really! My apologies if you tuned in last night looking for the Coen brothers and instead saw Gene Simmons. Yikes! That’s what I get for not doublechecking the listings. But Jon Stewart himself promised last night (on the show) that David Duchovny would be the guest tonight.
Kim Cattrall, Mary Chapin Carpenter on The Late Show w/ David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).
Lucy Lawless, Green Day on The Tonight Show (NBC, 11:05pm or later ‘cuz of basketball game).
The endlessly entertaining Craig Bierko on Late Night w/ Conan O’Brien (NBC, 12:05am or later ‘cuz of basketball).
Yet another of my favorite episodes of Sports Night (Comedy Central, 12:30am): “The Six Southern Gentlemen of Tennesee”
Part 2 (of 2) of More Tales from the City (Showtime, 11pm-1:30am).
