blue glow
SALON'S TV PICKS FOR
MONDAY, NOV. 16, 1998
BY JOYCE MILLMAN

S E R I E S

Sesame Street (check local listings, PBS), which begins its 30th season today, unveils a new single-theme format (after criticism that the show's old pace shortened kids' attention spans). There's also a new animated Elmo segment. More kids' stuff: a four-hour Rugrats marathon (beginning 5 p.m., Nickelodeon) gets the little ones stoked for the movie, which opens Friday. Robin Williams and Billy Crystal join pal Whoopi Goldberg on a special "Comic Relief" week of Hollywood Squares (check local times and stations), which delivers a plug for HBO's annual telecast that raises funds to benefit the homeless. Fashion designer and '70s icon Halston is profiled on a new Biography (8 p.m. EDT/9 PDT, A&E). Preacher Camden feels out of place at a reunion of his old band buddies on 7th Heaven (8 p.m., WB). Also, Mary and Matt are tempted to try a smart drug. It's Jane and Michael's wedding day on Melrose Place (8 p.m., Fox). And you know what happens at "Melrose" weddings. Ray Romano shows up as his "Everybody Loves Raymond" character on The King of Queens (8:30 p.m., CBS). Then, on Everybody Loves Raymond (9 p.m., CBS), Ray's straight talk about marriage prompts Robert to break up with Amy. It's been worth tuning in to "Raymond" every week just to see the increasingly desperate measures being taken to disguise co-star Patricia Heaton's pregnancy (her character Debra is not pregnant on the show). First she wore big overblouses, then she kept her coat on in the house, then she was constantly folding clothes (hiding her stomach behind towels and sheets), then she was making and unmaking the bed a lot (those big sham pillows did the trick). Lately, with her belly too big even for clever placement of props, the director has been giving in and shooting her from the shoulders up. Maybe they should have just written the kid into the show. Having already given America glimpses of female boxing matches and cat fights, Ally McBeal (9 p.m., Fox) moves on to female mud wrestling.

S P O R T S

Football:
Broncos at Chiefs (8 p.m., ABC)

T A L K

Rosie O'Donnell (syndicated) Garry Shandling, Hanson
Roseanne (syndicated) A "Roseanne" (the sitcom) cast reunion
David Letterman (CBS) Cameron Diaz
Jay Leno (NBC) Arsenio Hall, Garth Brooks
Politically Incorrect (ABC) Pat Sajak, Luke Perry
Conan O'Brien (NBC) Minnie Driver, Richard Belzer (rerun)
SALON | Nov. 16, 1998

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Blue Glow for Weekend, Nov. 13-15, 1998