ALL TIMES ARE EST UNLESS NOTED CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS. - - - - - - - - - - - - RECENTLY IN BLUE GLOW Helen Hunt wants $1 million a week (03/19/98) CBS's in-flight programming (03/18/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - ENTERTAINMENT THIS WEEK Primary Colors The perfect political movie for today -- empty and cynical Wild Things Neve Campbell in a sultry, trashy -- and devious -- thriller - - - - - - - - - - - - BROWSE THE ARCHIVES MOVIES TELEVISION INTERVIEWS FEATURES

blue glow SALON'S TV PICKS FOR MONDAY, MARCH 23, 1998 BY JOYCE MILLMAN T H E_.A C A D E M Y_.A W A R D S E! Entertainment cable channel is throwing everything it's got into covering Hollywood's biggest night. The coverage begins with an "E! News Daily" live look at Oscar night preparations (6 p.m.. E!), followed by Joan and Melissa Rivers shouting at the stars outside Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium in the Academy Awards Pre-Show (7 p.m., E!). Barbara Walters (8 p.m. EST/ 9 PST, or after the Academy Awards, ABC) does her annual Oscar-themed show with this year's guests Kim Basinger, Burt Reynolds and Will Smith. Joan and Melissa are back to dish about what everybody was wearing in an Academy Awards Fashion Review (10 p.m., E!). Todd Newton and Suzanne Sena anchor the Academy Awards Post-Show (Midnight, E!). Wait -- there's a show in there? Oh, yeah. Billy Crystal hosts the 70th annual Academy Awards (9 p.m., ABC). And remember, all of this is live, so if you don't live on the East Coast, make sure the VCR is set -- or drive really fast to get home from work by 6. S P E C I A L S While Hollywood honors titanic productions, the Independent Spirit Awards (8 p.m., Bravo) has its own live ceremony saluting the best small pictures of the year. Spike Lee gives the keynote address; John "Not Steve Buscemi" Turturro hosts. Another Oscar alternative: Mystery Science Theater 3000's Robots' Choice Awards (8 p.m. EST/ 9 PST, Sci-Fi Channel), a distinctive look at this year's Academy Award nominees. S P O R T S NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament (7:30 p.m.; 9:30; Midnight, ESPN). Boxing: In the most audacious example of Academy Awards counter-programming, Fox offers Oscar De La Hoya's Big Fight Night (8 p.m., Fox) -- get it, "Oscar"? Anyway, WBC Welterweight champion De La Hoya hosts an evening of fisticuffs that includes WBA Junior middleweight champ Yory Boy Campas vs. Anthony Stephens, a Heavyweight bout (Butterbean vs. Bill Eaton) and a women's match (Lucia Rijker vs. Mary Ann Almager). S E R I E S David Berkowitz, otherwise known as the serial killer "Son of Sam," is profiled on a new Biography (8 p.m. EST/9 PST, A&E). CBS throws on a lineup of reruns against the Academy Awards, the highlight of which is an Everybody Loves Raymond (8:30 p.m., CBS) double-header. NBC's mostly rerun schedule includes a special Monday rerun of Law & Order (10 p.m., NBC). T A L K Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Linda Ronstadt guest on David Letterman (CBS); Jay Leno (NBC) has a rerun with Denzel Washington and Backstreet Boys; Gary Busey, Shelley Winters and Talia Shire are panelists on Politically Incorrect (ABC); a rerun of Conan O'Brien (NBC) features baseball legend Ted Williams. SALON | March 23, 1998 Blue Glow for < href="/ent/glow/1998/03/20glow.html">Weekend March 20-22, 1998

ILLUSTRATION BY KATHERINE STREETER