ALL TIMES ARE EST UNLESS NOTED CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS. - - - - - - - - - - - - RECENTLY IN BLUE GLOW "Daily Show's" Kilborn has a big mouth (12/18/97) - - - - - - - - - - - - ENTERTAINMENT THIS WEEK M O V I E S Tomorrow Never Dies 007 has lost his verve Titanic Glub, glub, glub - - - - - - - - - - - - LAST WEEK Veronica's Closet Food guilt and fear of fatness Scream 2 Sequels suck, but not this one Amistad Spielberg's slave-revolt movie is a sinking ship - - - - - - - - - - - - RECENTLY A full list of recent reviews, interviews and table talk. - - - - - - - - - - - - BROWSE THE MOVIE ARCHIVES TV ARCHIVES

SALON'S TV PICKS FOR WEEKEND, DEC. 19-21, 1997 BY JOYCE MILLMAN S P E C I A L S Glenn Close hosts Christmas in Washington (10 p.m. Fri., NBC), which features performances by Thomas Hampson, Deana Carter, Aaliyah and the ubiquitous Hanson, as well as a White House tour conducted by Hillary Clinton. Olympic hopefuls Tara Lipinski and Michelle Kwan compete in the Skate International Champions Final (8 p.m. Sat., Fox). For reasons unknown, Garth Brooks hosts this year's airing of It's a Wonderful Life (8 p.m. Sat., NBC), which also includes a tribute to Jimmy Stewart. More figure skating: Ekaterina Gordeeva and Victor Petrenko have the title roles in Beauty and the Beast on Ice (8 p.m. Sat., ABC), which is a rerun. And still more figure skating: Bronson Pinchot hosts the 1992 special Disney's Christmas Fantasy on Ice (9 p.m. Sat., ABC), which is of special interest because it includes a performance by Ekaterina Gordeeva and her late husband, Sergei Grinkov. Steve Harvey: One Man (10 p.m. Sat., HBO) features the comedian in a recent stand-up performance. The Wonderful World of Disney Presents Flash (7 p.m. Sun., ABC) is a new TV movie starring Lucas Black ("Sling Blade") as a lonely Georgia boy who forms a bond with a horse named Flash. Hume Cronyn stars in the new cable movie Horton Foote's 'Alone' (8 p.m. Sun., Showtime), about a widower who's reluctant to sell his farm after his wife's death. James Earl Jones, Chris Cooper and Piper Laurie co-star. The lovely 1994 version of Little Women (8:30 p.m. Sun., NBC) (sob) makes its network TV debut. Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon and Claire Danes star. A new TV version of Truman Capote's story A Christmas Memory (9 p.m. Sun., CBS) stars Eric Lloyd as a young boy from a broken home who is befriended by an eccentric woman (Patty Duke) in Depression-era Alabama. S P O R T S College hoops: Wake Forest vs. Princeton (7 p.m. Fri., ESPN); Clemson vs. Seton Hall (9 p.m. Fri., ESPN); Louisville at Georgia Tech (Noon Sat., ESPN); North Carolina at Florida State (2 p.m. Sat., CBS); Texas at Illinois (4 p.m. Sat., CBS); Michigan State at South Florida (5 p.m. Sat., ESPN); Tulsa at Kentucky (7:30 p.m. Sat., ESPN); Syracuse at UNLV (12:30 a.m. Sun., ESPN); Connecticut vs. Stanford women (4:30 p.m. Sun., ESPN). NBA: Heat at 76ers (8 p.m. Fri., TNT). Football: Bills at Packers (12:30 p.m. Sat., NBC); Rams at Panthers (4 p.m Sat., Fox); Steelers at Oilers or regional action (1 p.m. Sun., NBC); Chargers at Broncos or regional action (4 p.m. Sun., NBC); 49ers at Seahawks (8 p.m. Sun., ESPN). S E R I E S It's a jolly Christmas for Frank Black (I don't think so) as he's reunited with his estranged father (Darren McGavin) on Millennium (9 p.m. Fri., Fox). Radiohead performs on From the 10 Spot (10 p.m. Fri., MTV). On The Practice (10 p.m. Sat., ABC), Eugene and Ellenor defend a rapist. Saturday Night Live (11:30 p.m. Sat., NBC) has a compilation of Christmas skits from years past. Hank goes blind when he walks in on his mother (voice of Tammy Wynette) and her new beau (voice of Carl Reiner) in the throes of passion on King of the Hill (8:30 p.m. Sun., Fox). The X-Files (9 p.m. Sun., Fox) reruns the one where a serial killer of young girls baits Mulder. T A L K Leslie Nielsen visits Rosie O'Donnell (syndicated); David Letterman (CBS) hosts Pierce Brosnan; Jay Leno (NBC) features Cuba Gooding Jr.; Charlie Rose (PBS) talks with "Titanic" director James Cameron; Ozzy Osbourne and Wallace Langham are panelists on Politically Incorrect (ABC); Conan O'Brien (NBC) features Colin Quinn and Southern Culture on the Skids. SALON | Dec. 19, 1997 E T C. Former "Saturday Night Live" player Chris Farley died Thursday in Chicago of a suspected heart attack at age 33. The similarities between his premature passing and that of his idol, John Belushi, as well as to the early-heart-attack death of John Candy, are eerie. Farley, an alumnus of Chicago's Second City comedy troupe, will be remembered for his manic physical comedy routines on "Saturday Night Live" (an inept motivational speaker, a cholesterol-crazed Chicago Bears fan) and as Oliver Hardy to David Spade's Stan Laurel in the movies "Tommy Boy" and "Black Sheep." But when Farley guest hosted "Saturday Night Live" a few months ago, some viewers were appalled at his bloated appearance (he was long rumored to be a heavy drinker) and the strenuous paces he was put through in the service of lame fat jokes. "Why don't his friends hold an intervention for him?" one Salon staffer wondered aloud at our editorial meeting the Monday after Farley's "Saturday Night Live" appearance. "Somebody ought to save Chris Farley from himself."

Blue Glow for < href="/ent/glow/1997/12/18glow.html">Thursday, Dec. 18, 1997

ILLUSTRATION BY CATERINA FAKE