friday
Picks for Saturday will be online on . . . Saturday.
Dana Delany is a guest on The View (ABC, check your local listings).
Brimstone (Sci-Fi, 10am-3pm) featured in the sci-fi marathon du jour. I liked this show.
“Where The Boys Are” is just another in a string of great episodes of China Beach (History Channel, Noon and 6pm).
Brisco and Lord Bowler help one of Bowler’s exes fight off some gangsters on The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (TNT, 2pm).
Mary Tyler Moore, k.d. lang on a new Rosie O’Donnell Show (syndicated, check your local listings).
Brian Wimmer narrates an Intimate Portrait (Lifetime, 6pm) of Ricki Lake. Hey! They were both on China Beach! Coincidence? I think not.
Sci-Fi channel doesn’t air Babylon 5 at 6pm, but Prey (Sci-Fi, 6pm) instead. I think this is a Friday thing.
In a non-shocking non-twist, Max escapes from Manticore in the season premiere of Dark Angel (FOX, 7pm). Nana Visitor and Kevin Durand guest star.
When we last left Providence (NBC, 7pm), Dad Jim (Mike Farrell) had been shot in the head on the sidewalk outside of the family homestead while walking a dog. How much did that suck? It’s this kind of melodramatic manipulation that is why I rarely watch the show anymore. Feh. Anyway. Except Dad to come home to recuperate from his injuries. And Syd deals with a neurotic patient who thinks TV characters are real. On the season premiere. They’ve a talented ensemble at work here, here’s hoping the writing improves this season.
New episode of The Ellen Show (CBS, 7pm) called “Walden Pond.”
Season premiere of The Mole (ABC, 7pm). Well, actually they’re calling it The Mole II: The Next Betrayal. Whatever. I’m still not gonna watch it.
Series premiere of Danny (CBS, 7:30pm). Daniel Stern stars as a single father of two teens who is trying to run a “lively community center.” I think this show looks awful, but what do I know?
Series premiere of Pasadena (FOX, 8pm). It’s a soap with a murder mystery or some sort of Big Mystery involved. Dana Delany, Barbara Babcock, Balthazar Getty, Philip Baker Hall, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Martin Donovan and other folks star. Diane Keaton directed this, the pilot episode.
Series premiere of Thieves (ABC, 8pm). John Stamos and Melissa George star as thieves (oddly enough) who are caught by the government and then forced to steal things for the government. Or something. Oh yeah, they’re working together very reluctantly, after meeting for the first time, when they’re caught together. And they’re forced to work together. Expect some “banter” and maybe some cool stealing stuff scenes. This is the kindof show that I hope is good because I’m predisposed to like anything with heists in it. But somehow I don’t expect much (call it the John Stamos factor).
Reasons to watch the season premiere of That’s Life (CBS, 8pm): Ellen Burstyn, Debi Mazar, Titus Welliver, Paul Sorvino, and even Kevin Dillon. Pity I still don’t much care for Heather Paige Kent (the lead). Lydia decides on a major as she starts her sophomore year. The guide listing says she “finally decides,” but I think it’s crazy to say “finally” when she’s just starting her sophomore year. Puhlease.
Season premiere of Once and Again (ABC, 9pm; also rebroadcast on Lifetime at 10pm on Sunday night). Yay! It’s one of my favorite dramas of recent years. In this episode, the newly blended family tries to adjust to living together. And Eli gets busted for something or other and seeks help from Grace (of course).
An 18-year-old girl brings charges against her father when she deals with some repressed memories (or are they?) on the season premiere of Law & Order: Special Victim’s Unit (NBC, 9pm; will be rebroadcast on USA at 10pm on Sunday night). I’ve grown to really like this drama, too, so it’s cool that both it and Once and Again air later on cable so I’ve two chances to see each and don’t have to fret so much about which to watch on Friday at 9pm. Now I just have to decide which to watch on Friday and which to watch on Sunday. And keep that straight.
New episode of 48 Hours (CBS, 9pm) called “At Ground Zero.”
Jason Alexander, Don Zimmer, Wyclef Jean on a new Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 10:35pm).
John Travolta, Aaron Neville on The Tonight Show (NBC, 10:35pm).
Dana Delany, David Rakoff on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC, 11:35pm).
Adam West, Dido on The Late Late Show (CBS, check your local listings).
In theory at least, Homicide: Life on the Street doesn’t air on Friday nights, instead Court TV airs Hollywood at Large (Court TV, midnight). But at least one time the guide was wrong and Homicide was on. F.Y.I.
Read the rest of this entry »
