blue glow
SALON'S TV PICKS FOR
WEEKEND, JAN. 8-10, 1999
BY JOYCE MILLMAN

S P E C I A L S

John Travolta hosts A Civil Action: In Pursuit of Justice (8 p.m. Fri., Court TV), a documentary about the Massachusetts civil case on which Travolta's latest movie is based. The new animated Saturday morning series Batman Beyond (7 p.m. Sun., WB) gets a nighttime preview. In 21st century Gotham City, an aged Bruce Wayne hands over the crime fighting reins to his protégé, 17-year-old Terry McGinnis, who becomes the new Dark Knight. The new TV movie Murder in a Small Town (8 p.m. EST/9 PST Sun., A&E) stars Gene Wilder (who also co-wrote the script) as a 1930s Broadway director turned Connecticut sleuth. The new cable movie Purgatory (8 p.m. Sun., TNT) is a western with a spooky twist. A band of outlaws (led by Eric Roberts) rides into a town called Refuge, which ain't no refuge. With Sam Shepard and Randy Quaid. Ray Romano hosts the annual People's Choice Awards (9 p.m. Sun., CBS), in which Gallup poll participants pick their TV, music and movie favorites of 1998 from a very short list of people's choices. Celine Dion rules!

S E R I E S

The new drama Providence (8 p.m. Fri., NBC) premieres. A successful Los Angeles plastic surgeon (Melina Kanakaredes) goes home to Rhode Island for her sister's wedding and gets back in touch with family values, honest medicine and dead relatives, who appear to her as smiling visions. From the creator of "Touched by an Angel," which explains a lot. On Homicide: Life on the Street (10 p.m. Fri., NBC), a race riot is triggered when a white bus driver accidentally hits an African-American pedestrian. Sammo has to protect the visiting mayor of Shanghai from a mob hit on a new Martial Law (9 p.m. Sat., CBS). Bill Paxton hosts Saturday Night Live (11:30 p.m. Sat., NBC), with music from Beck. Rufus Wainwright and Phish perform on Sessions at West 54th (check local times Sat., PBS). Homer takes Ned Flanders on a Vegas bender on a new episode of The Simpsons (8 p.m. Sun., Fox). The rise and fall of Chris Farley is chronicled on the E! True Hollywood Story (8 p.m. Sun., E!). Eddie Murphy is the executive producer and star (in voice only) of the new Claymation sitcom The PJs (8:30 p.m. Sun., Fox). Murphy's character is the superintendent of a building in an inner-city housing project (hence, the title) and the anything-goes humor has already drawn protests from some African-American community groups. On a new X-Files (9 p.m. Sun., Fox), Mulder and Scully get mixed up with a rainmaker in a drought-plagued Kansas town. The best new series in a long time, The Sopranos (9 p.m. Sun., HBO), premieres. It's an hour-long drama with flashes of dark humor about a middle-aged Jersey mobster named Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) who enters therapy when problems with his family -- and his Family -- get to be too much. On The Practice (10 p.m. Sun., ABC), Bobby's friend wants him to defend his teenage daughter, who is accused of killing her newborn baby.

S P O R T S

Football:
NFC Playoffs: 49ers at Falcons (12:30 p.m. Sat., Fox); Cardinals at Vikings (4:15 p.m. Sun., Fox)
AFC Playoffs: Dolphins at Broncos (4 p.m. Sat., CBS); Jaguars at Jets (12:30 p.m. Sun., CBS)

T A L K

Rosie O'Donnell (syndicated) Mira Sorvino, Lauryn Hill
David Letterman (CBS) Robert Duvall, Jon Stewart
Jay Leno (NBC) John Travolta, Tracey Ullman, Chris Isaak
Politically Incorrect (ABC) Debbie Harry, Coolio
Dennis Miller (HBO) Chris Matthews
Conan O'Brien (NBC) Lisa Kudrow
SALON | Jan. 8, 1999

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Blue Glow for Thursday, Jan. 7, 1999