ALL TIMES ARE EST UNLESS NOTED CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS. - - - - - - - - - - - - RECENTLY IN BLUE GLOW John Cleese vs. John Lithgow (02/26/98) Howard Stern, TV star? (02/24/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - ENTERTAINMENT THIS WEEK illtown Nick Gomez's mesmerizing crime story may be the best movie you won't get to see this year - - - - - - - - - - - - ENTERTAINMENT LAST WEEK Live Flesh Is Almodóvar all grown up or just worn out? Nil by Mouth Gary Oldman's working class antiheroes find life nasty, brutish and short - - - - - - - - - - - - BROWSE THE ARCHIVES MOVIES TELEVISION INTERVIEWS FEATURES

SALON'S TV PICKS FOR WEEKEND, FEB. 27 - MARCH 1, 1998 BY JOYCE MILLMAN S P E C I A L S So you thought you'd seen the last of those figure skaters ... Tara Lipinski, Michelle Kwan, Ilia Kulik, Grishuk and Platov and other Nagano medal winners perform in The Golden Gala (8 p.m. Sat., NBC), an exhibition taped in Tokyo. The new cable movie The Pentagon Wars (8 p.m. Sat., HBO) is a satire about the development of the Army's problem-plagued Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Kelsey Grammer and Cary Elwes star. Pocahontas (7 p.m. Sun., ABC) makes its broadcast debut as a "Wonderful World of Disney" presentation. Delroy Lindo stars as Matthew Henson, who served as valet to explorer Robert Peary and became the second person to reach the North Pole, in the new cable movie Glory and Honor (8 p.m. EST/7 PST Sun., TNT). Henry Czerny plays Peary. It's a Mel Gibson kind of night: Gibson supplies the voice of John Smith in "Pocahontas," then stars as Scottish warrior William Wallace in the first network showing of the 1995 Academy Award winner Braveheart (9 p.m. Sun., NBC). The film is shown in two parts, concluding Monday. In the new TV movie The Long Way Home (9 p.m. Sun., CBS), Jack Lemmon plays a crusty widower whose zest for life is reawakened on a road trip with a young woman (Sarah Paulson). It was either this or a road trip with Walter Matthau. Get out your handkerchiefs: Christopher Reeve: A Celebration of Hope (9 p.m. Sun., ABC) salutes the actor and spotlights spinal-cord injury research. Robin Williams hosts; performers include Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan and Willie Nelson. Kurt Loder obtains an audience with Madonna on the occasion of her new release, "Ray of Light," in this week's edition of Ultrasound (10 p.m. Sun., MTV). S P O R T S NBA: Lakers at Timberwolves (8 p.m. Fri., TNT); Lakers at Knicks (1 p.m. Sun., NBC); Jazz at Rockets (3:30 p.m. Sun., NBC). NHL: Blackhawks at Avalanche (3 p.m. Sat., Fox); Blues at Mighty Ducks (8 p.m. Sun., ESPN). S E R I E S ABC News Saturday Night (10 p.m. Sat., ABC) airs footage made by a film crew that took part in a rescue on Mount Everest. Garth Brooks hosts Saturday Night Live (11:30 p.m. Sat., NBC). Helen Hunt provides the voice of Moe's scheming girlfriend on The Simpsons (8 p.m. Sun., Fox). On King of the Hill (8:30 p.m. Sun., Fox), Hank's on shaky ground when unpaid rental charges for a porn video lead to a bad credit rating for the Hills. It's back to mythology for The X-Files (9 p.m. Sun., Fox), and not a moment too soon. Mulder meets a woman who claims to be an abductee, but her son, who's an FBI agent, thinks she's crazy. Masterpiece Theatre (check local times, PBS) has a new version of the oft-filmed Wilkie Collins gothic novel "The Woman in White," starring Tara Fitzgerald. T A L K Friday: Janet Jackson and Gregory Hines visit Rosie O'Donnell (syndicated); Tara Lipinksi, Kate Winslet and Ray Romano guest on David Letterman (CBS); not to be outdone when it comes to gold medalists, Jay Leno (NBC) welcomes Picabo Street (as well as David Caruso); photographer Chuck Close (postponed from an earlier date) is scheduled for Charlie Rose (PBS); Conan O'Brien (NBC) features David Schwimmer and Kurt Loder. SALON | Feb. 27, 1998 Blue Glow for < href="/ent/glow/1998/02/26glow.html">Thursday Feb. 26, 1998

ILLUSTRATION BY HENRIK DRESCHER