blue glow
SALON'S TV PICKS FOR
MONDAY, DEC. 14, 1998
BY JOYCE MILLMAN

S E R I E S

7th Heaven (8 p.m., WB) has its Christmas show, in which Matt plays Santa at the mall, Mary meets a handsome homeless man while volunteering at a soup kitchen and Eric and Annie enact their own version of "The Gift of the Magi." In case you haven't been keeping up with "the whitest family in America" (as the show's producer has lovingly described them), Annie is pregnant with twins, meaning that soon she and Eric will have -- yes, seven children. Oh, now we get the title. Legendary Hollywood leading man (with a secret) Montgomery Clift is profiled on a new Biography (8 p.m. EST/9 PST, A&E). On The King of Queens (8:30 p.m., CBS), Arthur (Jerry Stiller, people!) gives Doug and Carrie a new car for Christmas, except it's a sub-compact made in Luxembourg. On the Ally McBeal (9 p.m., Fox) Christmas episode, Cage and Fish faces the loss of its biggest client, Ally tries to talk Renee out of getting back with her married boyfriend and there's the annual holiday karaoke show. Ray is upset when his parents return the engraved toaster he bought them for Christmas on Everybody Loves Raymond (9 p.m., CBS). Attention "thirtysomething" fans (and you know who you are): Patricia "Nancy" Wettig guest stars on L.A. Doctors (10 p.m., CBS) as the dying former girlfriend of doc Roger (Ken "Michael" Olin). Wettig and Olin are married in real life. Investigative Reports (9 p.m. EST/10 PST, A&E) airs "Inside Scientology," a look at the Church of Scientology's defensive dealings with critics in the media and government. (Due to some erroneous press information, we listed this last week.)

S P E C I A L S

The Jack Canfield bestseller Chicken Soup for the Soul (9 p.m., PAX) becomes a TV special of inspirational vignettes acted by Jack Lemmon, Martin Sheen, Charles Durning, Meredith Baxter Birney and Paula Abdul. Hey, this opens up a whole new TV genre -- the uplifting self-help bestseller holiday special! Coming soon: "Deepak Chopra's Heavy Metal Christmas," "Dr. Laura and the Topless Miracle of Chanukah" and "Oprah Claus Conquers the Martians."

S P O R T S

Football:
Lions at 49ers (8 p.m., ABC)

T A L K

Rosie O'Donnell (syndicated) Michael Keaton, Annie Potts
David Letterman (CBS) Robin Williams
Jay Leno (NBC) Sarah Michelle Gellar, Helena Bonham Carter, Shawn Colvin
Politically Incorrect (ABC) Robert Conrad, Carole Montgomery
Conan O'Brien (NBC) Mike Myers, Jerry O'Connell (rerun)

E T C.

Faced with their lowest ratings in years, the Big 3 networks are frantically shuffling their lineups, or what's left of them. NBC has already made a spectacular blunder in moving 3rd Rock from the Sun from Wednesday to Tuesday at 8, where it died a painful death last week opposite ABC's Home Improvement and CBS's JAG. CBS is benching the quirky but viewer-challenged Buddy Faro, replacing it with new episodes of the western Magnificent Seven. The most intriguing schedule tweak is ABC's uncharacteristic decision to coddle a low-rated cult favorite; it's moving the addictive romantic comedy-drama Cupid from Saturday to the ultra-competitive time slot of Thursday at 9. The move, which takes effect Jan. 7, is a bold challenge to NBC's increasingly vulnerable "Frasier" and increasingly unbearable "Veronica's Closet."
SALON | Dec. 14, 1998

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

Blue Glow for Weekend, Dec. 11-13, 1998