Blue Glow

Salon's TV picks for Weekend, April 9-11, 1999

Published April 9, 1999 5:06PM (EDT)

Series

On a new Homicide (10 p.m. Fri., NBC), written by Yaphet Kotto, Falsone and Stivers are angered over special treatment given a federal prosecutor charged with murder. John Goodman hosts Saturday Night Live (11:30 p.m. Sat., NBC), with music from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. An art gallery owner (Isabella Rossellini) discovers Homer's hidden talent on a new episode of The Simpsons (8 p.m. Sun., Fox). Painter Jasper Johns (!) also has a voice cameo. Family Guy (8:30 p.m. Sun., Fox) settles into its cushy time slot with an episode in which the TV-loving head of the household suffers when his satellite dish is damaged in a freak accident. On a new episode of The X-Files (9 p.m. Sun., Fox), Mulder and Scully investigate an escaped con who seems to have the ability to pass through walls. Behind the Music (9 p.m. Sun., VH1) has a 90-minute profile of Cher. Believe! The Awful Truth (9 p.m. EDT/10 PDT Sun., Bravo) is Michael Moore's latest attempt to find a TV home for his investigative ambushes. His last series, "TV Nation," didn't last long on NBC (no big surprise); will cable be more tolerant?

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Specials

The National Geographic special Tigers of Kanha (8 p.m. Sat., NBC) spends two years with a Bengal tiger and her three cubs as they struggle to survive in a rugged Indian forest. Apparently, this Titanic (8 p.m. Sat., HBO) movie was somewhat popular -- anybody ever hear of it? The Century (9 p.m. Sat., ABC) finally closes with a look at the Iran hostage crisis and some predictions for the next 100 years. The new cable movie 36 Hours to Die (8 p.m. Sun., TNT) stars Treat Williams as an ailing brewer who opens up a can of whup-ass on the mobster who's trying to extort him. Written by Robert Rodat ("Saving Private Ryan"); co-starring Kim Cattrall and Carroll O'Connor. Sharon Lawrence and the late Richard Kiley star in the new TV movie Blue Moon (9 p.m. Sun., CBS), about a Nova Scotia fishing family beset by personal and professional crises. In the Discovery Channel Eco-Challenge (9 p.m. Sun., Discovery), teams from 27 countries compete in a grueling race across Morocco.

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Sports

Basketball:

Suns at Jazz (8 p.m. Fri., TNT)

Timberwolves at Lakers (10:30 p.m. Fri., TNT)

Sonics at Lakers (5:30 p.m. Sun., NBC)

Baseball:

Diamondbacks at Braves (7:35 p.m. Fri., 7:05 p.m. Sat., 1:05 p.m. Sun., TBS)

Reds at Cardinals (2 p.m. Sat., FX)

Angels at Rangers (8 p.m. Sun., ESPN)

Hockey:

Flyers at Capitols (7 p.m. Sat., ESPN2)

Kings at Stars (3 p.m. Sun., Fox)

Coyotes at Mighty Ducks (8 p.m. Sun., ESPN2)

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Talk

Rosie O'Donnell (syndicated) Steven Weber, Lea DeLaria

David Letterman (CBS) Bill Maher

Jay Leno (NBC) Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hulk Hogan

Politically Incorrect (ABC) Dweezil Zappa, Laura Linney

Conan O'Brien (NBC) Jerry Springer, Citizen King

Craig Kilborn (CBS) Joe Pantoliano, Shawn Mullins


By Joyce Millman

Joyce Millman is a writer living in the Bay Area.

MORE FROM Joyce Millman


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