ALL TIMES ARE EDT UNLESS NOTED CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS. - - - - - - - - - - - - RECENTLY IN BLUE GLOW Smits leaving "NYPD Blue" (04/20/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - ENTERTAINMENT THIS WEEK Nightwatch Dark, dank, disgusting, sadistic and no fun at all: It's the perfect post-"Seven" thriller Wayne Wang Thinking outside the "Chinese Box" - - - - - - - - - - - - BROWSE THE ARCHIVES MOVIES TELEVISION INTERVIEWS FEATURES

blue glow SALON'S TV PICKS FOR WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 1998 BY JOYCE MILLMAN S P E C I A L S This year's Academy of Country Music Awards (8 p.m., CBS) has no host; instead, performers and presenters will introduce each other. The lineup includes Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Reba McEntire, Travis Tritt, Bryan White, Dwight Yoakam, Faith Hill and Deana Carter. The new cable thriller A Wing and a Prayer (9 p.m., USA) stars Claudia Christian as an air traffic controller who must land her husband's crippled jet. S P O R T S Baseball: White Sox at Indians (7:30 p.m., ESPN); Orioles at Angels (10:30 p.m., ESPN). NHL playoffs: Coyotes at Red Wings (7:30 p.m., ESPN2). S E R I E S Party of Five (8 p.m., Fox) returns to the lineup with a two-hour episode. It's the first day of the rest of Charlie's life. Live from Lincoln Center (check local times, PBS) presents the New York City Opera's production of the rarely performed 1941 Benjamin Britten-W.H. Auden opera "Paul Bunyan." The Seinfeld (8:30 p.m., NBC) rerun is supposed to be the Festivus episode, but this was just on. Or am I hallucinating from "Seinfeld" overload? 3rd Rock from the Sun (9 p.m., NBC) repeats the hour-long post-Super Bowl episode in which the Solomons scramble to save Earth from a takeover by alien supermodels. Law & Order (10 p.m., NBC) does a Kaczynski with an episode about a murder suspect, turned in by his brother in hopes of securing medical help for him, who refuses to let his lawyer use an insanity defense. South Park (10 p.m., Comedy Central) promises no more dirty tricks -- Cartman's father will be revealed. Or not. T A L K Liam Neeson guests on Rosie O'Donnell (syndicated); Jason Alexander and Steve Earle appear on David Letterman (CBS); Jay Leno (NBC) hosts Norm MacDonald and Vonda Shepard; Conan O'Brien visits Tom Snyder (CBS); Richard Lewis and Rob Morrow guest on Conan O'Brien (NBC). SALON | April 22, 1998 Blue Glow for < href="/ent/glow/1998/04/21glow.html">Tuesday, April 21, 1998

ILLUSTRATION BY MICA FULGIUM