Blue Glow

Salon's TV picks for Weekend, Aug. 3-5, 2001

Published August 3, 2001 5:15PM (EDT)

Series

Tom Brokaw anchors the Dateline NBC (9 p.m. Fri., NBC) report "The Promised Land," a look at the fates of some of the Chinese refugees who fled to the United States on a cargo ship in 1993. E! True Hollywood Story (9 p.m. Sun., E!) dishes the dirt about "Magnum, P.I." -- not that there is any. On Sex and the City (9 p.m. Sun., HBO), Charlotte and Trey get some surprising news from the infertility doctor. The Fishers hire a replacement for Rico and Nate has a strong reaction to one of Billy's photos on Six Feet Under (9:30 p.m. Sun., HBO). The Andy Dick Show (10:30 p.m. Sun., MTV) returns with new episodes of merriment and raunch. New talk show The Chris Wylde Show Starring Chris Wylde (11:30 p.m. Sun., Comedy Central) debuts; raise your hand if you've ever seen this guy before. Another new series, Insomniac With Dave Attell (midnight Sun., Comedy Central), sends the comedian out into the wee hours to profile people who work the graveyard shift or party all night.

Specials

Bill Murray. Rodney Dangerfield. Ted Knight. Need I say more? Ladies and gentlemen, Caddyshack (8:55 p.m. Sat., NBC). It's preceded by a 20th anniversary look at The Story Behind "Caddyshack" (8 p.m.), hence the weird start time. James Franco from "Freaks and Geeks" gives one of the finest performances of the year as James Dean (8 p.m. Sun., TNT), a terrific new TV movie about the boy-man behind the legend. Laura Linney plays a single mom trying to overcome the oppressiveness of life with a sullen teenager and a meddling mother in the new TV movie Wild Iris (8 p.m. Sun., Showtime). Gena Rowlands and Emile Hirsch costar. Six teams of mismatched road mates set off on a cross-country race (for a measly $100,000) in the new five-part reality special Cannonball Run 2001: Race Across America (10 p.m. Sun., USA). No, Burt Reynolds isn't around for this one. But reality TV malcontents Susan Hawk ("Survivor"), Jeff Varner ("Survivor 2") and Kaya Wittenberg ("Temptation Island") are all stuck in a car together and forced to endure one another's miserable company, so maybe there is a God.

Sports

Baseball:
Braves at Brewers (8 p.m. Fri., 2 p.m. Sun., TBS)
Cubs at Dodgers (1 p.m. Sat., Fox; 8 p.m. Sun., ESPN2)
Royals at Twins (7 p.m. Sat., FX)
Mariners at Indians (8 p.m. Sun., ESPN)

Talk

Rosie O'Donnell (syndicated) Kelli Williams, Thomas Jane (rerun)
David Letterman (CBS) Antonio Banderas, Jeff Ross
Jay Leno (NBC) Tim Roth, Nicole Sullivan
Dennis Miller (HBO) Dee Dee Myers
Politically Incorrect (ABC) Vincent Pastore, A.J. Benza
Conan O'Brien (NBC) Juliette Lewis
Craig Kilborn (CBS) Michael Clark Duncan

All times Eastern unless noted.


By Joyce Millman

Joyce Millman is a writer living in the Bay Area.

MORE FROM Joyce Millman


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