Blue Glow

Salon's TV picks for Monday, May 24, 1999

Published May 24, 1999 4:00PM (EDT)

Series

Suddenly Susan (8 p.m., NBC), which was inexplicably renewed for next year, ends its season with back-to-back episodes. The first one features guest appearances by Rick Springfield and Warren Zevon (!), and the second is the season finale, which is a tribute to co-star David Strickland, who committed suicide earlier this year. After seven years, Melrose Place (8 p.m., Fox) shuts its doors with a top-secret series finale. The season finale of Everybody Loves Raymond (8 p.m., CBS), which airs an hour earlier than usual, flashes back 15 years to when Ray and Debra first met. Matt makes a big decision on the season finale of 7th Heaven (8 p.m., WB). On the season finale of Dilbert (8 p.m., UPN), the Gruntmaster 6000 is sent out for testing to a small Texas town. Disaster follows. Ally asks Ling for advice on how to attract men -- a lot of men -- on the season finale of Ally McBeal (9 p.m., Fox). Buffy the Vampire Slayer (9 p.m., WB) reruns the one where the bad Willow from the reverse-image version of Sunnydale masquerades as the good Willow. You can tell who's who because the bad one wears leather. Mad About You (9 p.m., NBC) mercifully ends its seven-year run with a Very Important one-hour finale directed by the show's Very Important star Helen Hunt in which Janeane Garofalo plays the grown-up Mabel Buchman reflecting on key incidents in her parents' lives. This is so like "Mad About You." The show has cruised along, devoid of originality, charm, laughs, coolness, interesting characters, insight -- anything that would make us care -- for an eternity and then, desperate for some sort of Big Deal ending, ropes in Garofalo in hopes that the mistress of hip, dark sarcasm can provide retroactive meaning to this overbudgeted, overindulged mess. Goodbye, already!

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

Specials

CBS counter-programs the "Mad About You" finale with the 1995 romantic comedy The American President (8:30 p.m., CBS), starring Michael Douglas, Annette Bening and Michael J. Fox. ABC weighs in with the conclusion of Cleopatra (9 p.m., ABC).

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

Sports

NHL playoffs:

Avalanche at Stars, Game 2 (7:30 p.m., ESPN)

NBA playoffs:

Hawks at Knicks, Game 4 (8 p.m., TBS)

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

Talk

Rosie O'Donnell (syndicated) Adam Sandler

David Letterman (CBS) Damon Wayans, Harry Connick Jr.

Jay Leno (NBC) Hugh Grant

Politically Incorrect (ABC) Adam Carolla, "The Rules" authors

Conan O'Brien (NBC) John Tesh (rerun)


By Joyce Millman

Joyce Millman is a writer living in the Bay Area.

MORE FROM Joyce Millman


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Television