blue glow
SALON'S TV PICKS FOR
WEEKEND, MARCH 19, 1999
BY JOYCE MILLMAN

S E R I E S

The new sci-fi serial Farscape (8 p.m. EST/9 PST Fri., Sci-Fi Channel) debuts. A mission gone awry sends an American astronaut into a galaxy far, far away. The special effects are from Jim Henson's Creature Shop. On Millennium (9 p.m. Fri., Fox), Black and Hollis link a pregnant woman's abduction to a Biblical prophecy. Juliet Landau (Drusilla from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") guests. Another new sci-fi series, First Wave (10 p.m. EST/11 PST Fri., Sci-Fi Channel), also has its premiere. Former "X-Files" writer Chris Brancato created this series (produced by Francis Ford Coppola) about an alien takeover of Earth and the one man who can stop it -- if he can just decipher the prophecies of Nostradamus. Nothing special. A rerun of Homicide (10 p.m. Fri., NBC) takes us back to the end of the good old days: Pembleton awaits the birth of his second child and Kellerman feels the wrath of Luther Mahoney's sister. Drew Barrymore hosts Saturday Night Live (11:30 p.m. Sat., NBC) with music from Garbage. The Sopranos (9 p.m. Sun., HBO) begins its three-part season finale (it's been renewed) in which Tony tries to figure out the traitor in his crew.

S P E C I A L S

The cable movie adaptation of Anne Tyler's 1977 bestseller Earthly Possessions (8 p.m. Sat., HBO) stars Susan Sarandon as a sheltered preacher's wife who is taken hostage by a young bank robber (Stephen Dorff) and comes to enjoy life on the lam. The two-hour documentary All About Money (9 p.m. EST/10 PST Sat., A&E) tells you everything you need to know about the history and future of dollars and cents. The sweet-faced yet savage "Daily Show" correspondent gets her own Baba Wawa-style Oscar night showcase in The Beth Littleford Interview Special (7 p.m. Sun., Comedy Central), featuring Jerry Springer, Jesse Ventura, Boy George and David Cassidy.

T H E  A C A D E M Y  A W A R D S

The Oscars are airing on Sunday for the first time, which means two things: more parties and more TV time. Joan and Melissa Rivers kick off the festivities with their annual bitch-fest, the E! Academy Awards Pre-Show (6 p.m. EST/3 PST Sun., E!). Lucky East Coast viewers get to choose between Joan and Melissa and The Barbara Walters Special (7 p.m., ABC), in which a radiant yet soft-focus Babs triumphantly brandishes the head of Monica Lewinsky and makes Susan Sarandon, Celine Dion and Elizabeth Taylor weep. (West Coast viewers get the Walters special at 8:30 p.m..) Academy Award-winner Geena Davis -- and what's she done lately? -- hosts the first-ever official network Oscar Preview Show (8 p.m. EST/5 PST, ABC), which leads up to the extravaganza everybody loves to hate, the 71st Annual Academy Awards (8:30 p.m. EST/5:30 PST, ABC), hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. And following the Oscars, Bill Maher presides over the Politically Incorrect After Party (12:05 a.m. EST/11:35 p.m. PST, ABC), with guests Bob Odenkirk and David Cross, Adam Goldberg, Peter Boyle and William H. Macy (among others). OK, everybody into the Oscar pool!

S P O R T S

NCAA Tournament:
Men's regional semifinals (7:30 p.m. Fri., CBS)
Men's regional finals (3:30 p.m. Sat., 2:30 p.m. Sun., CBS)
Women's regional semifinals (11:30 p.m. Sat., ESPN2; Noon Sat., ESPN)

Basketball:
Lakers at Magic (12:30 p.m. Sun., NBC)

Hockey:
Red Wings at Flyers (3 p.m. Sun., Fox)
Kings at Coyotes (8 p.m. Sun., ESPN)

T A L K

Rosie O'Donnell (syndicated) Rosie's birthday party
David Letterman (CBS) Tom Hanks, Scott Weiland (rerun)
Jay Leno (NBC) Rachel Griffiths, Sixpence None the Wiser
Charlie Rose (PBS) Rerun segments with Roberto Benigni, Tom Hanks and Edward Norton
Politically Incorrect (ABC) Richard Lewis, Susannah Breslin
Conan O'Brien (NBC) Claire Danes, Chris Eigeman, Steve Earle
SALON | March 19, 1999

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Blue Glow for Thursday, March 18, 1999