ALL TIMES ARE EST UNLESS NOTED CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS. - - - - - - - - - - - - RECENTLY IN BLUE GLOW Up the "Creek" (01/22/98) First Seinfeld, now Shandling (01/21/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - ENTERTAINMENT THIS WEEK Oscar and Lucinda A shimmering romance starring Ralph Fiennes as a misfit Australian gambler Spice World The Spice Girls' tasteless debut - - - - - - - - - - - - ENTERTAINMENT LAST WEEK The family values of "NYPD Blue" By Joyce Millman The most pro-family show on television Deconstructing Harry Yucky Woody gives his hard-core fans the final finger Kundun Scorsese's exquisite Dalai Lama biopic - - - - - - - - - - - - BROWSE THE MOVIE ARCHIVES TV ARCHIVES

blue glow SALON'S TV PICKS FOR TUESDAY, JAN. 27, 1998 BY JOYCE MILLMAN S T A T E _O F _T H E _U N I O N _A D D R E S S The president speaks (9 p.m. EST/6 PST, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, CNN, MSNBC). During last year's State of the Union speech, the networks could hardly wait to break away for coverage of the O.J. Simpson civil trial verdict. What the White House wouldn't give for a diversion like that now ... S P E C I A L S Linda Ellerbee hosts the Nick News special report Divorce: Caught in the Middle (8 p.m., Nickelodeon), which looks at divorce from the perspective of kids. Reflections on Ice: A Diary of Ladies Figure Skating (8 p.m., HBO) reviews the history of the sport from the days of Sonia Henie to the present. Caleb Carr, the author of "The Alienist," wrote the made-for-TV movie The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy (8 p.m., UPN), a sci-fi adventure starring John Corbett and John Pyper Ferguson as former enemies who join forces to defeat an alien race that seeks to create a universe without families. This movie has been sitting on the shelf for two years; it was filmed as a potential series for CBS, but that network passed on it. The documentary series The Irish in America (check local times, PBS) continues with a look at the influence of the Catholic Church on Irish immigrants. Josie Bissett plays a nanny whose affair with her employer enrages his wife in the new TV movie Baby Monitor: Sound of Fear (9 p.m., USA), and you gotta love that title. While President Clinton is addressing the nation, his animated alter ego Virtual Bill (9 p.m., MTV) will be surveying the state of music videos, among other things. S E R I E S Buffy the Vampire Slayer (8 p.m., WB) has werewolf troubles to take her mind off Angel. On Dawson's Creek (9 p.m., WB), Dawson casts Jen as his new leading lady and Joey confronts Dawson's mother about her suspected affair. S P O R T S College hoops: Wisconsin at Minnesota (7:30 p.m., ESPN); Kentucky at Vanderbilt (9:30 p.m., ESPN). NBA: Pistons at Bucks (8 p.m., TNT) T A L K Rosie O'Donnell (syndicated) welcomes Patti LuPone; Charlie Rose (PBS) has a live show on the response to the State of the Union address, following the Clinton speech; Robert Duvall and Emmylou Harris guest on David Letterman (CBS); Jay Leno (NBC) hosts Kevin Spacey and Angelina Jolie; Dee Dee Myers and Jon Stewart are panelists on Politically Incorrect (ABC); Conan O'Brien (NBC) features Rosanna Arquette. SALON | Jan. 27, 1998 Blue Glow for < href="/ent/glow/1998/01/26glow.html">Monday, Jan.26, 1998

ILLUSTRATION BY ERIC WHITE