Blue Glow

Salon's TV picks for Tuesday, Oct. 19, 1999

Published October 19, 1999 4:00PM (EDT)

Series

Biography (8 p.m. EDT/9 PDT, A&E) profiles Fred Gwynne. Behind the Herman Munster makeup, he was a Harvard grad who wanted to do serious acting. After two sluggish weeks, the new-look Buffy the Vampire Slayer (8 p.m., WB) gets a jolt of much-needed energy (we hope) when the irrepressible Spike (James Marsters) pays a visit to UC-Sunnydale in search of a mystical jewel that will make him indestructible. The story line crosses over into Angel (9 p.m., WB). Jennifer Love Hewitt bids farewell to Party of Five (9 p.m., Fox), as Sarah sets off to find her birth mother and star in her own spinoff, "The Time of Your Life" (premiering next week). On Judging Amy (10 p.m., CBS), Amy must decide a custody case involving an allegation of witchcraft, and Maxine tries to rectify a bad judgment in an old child abuse case. Rick's daughter meets Lily on Once and Again (10 p.m., ABC). You might have heard already
that ABC is considering leaving "Once and Again" in this time slot for the rest of the season, and that Steven Bochco, whose "NYPD Blue" is in danger of eviction, is hopping mad. Newspaper reports have Bochco demanding that ABC cancel "Blue" so that Bochco can take it to another network; NBC has reportedly offered Bochco the 10 p.m. Tuesday "Dateline NBC" slot if ABC lets "NYPD" go. Well, that's not likely. ABC is going to try to hold onto both shows and all indications are that it's looking to move "NYPD" to another night , whether Bochco likes it or not. Bad move, ABC. "NYPD Blue" carried the network when it didn't have another prestige show in its lineup. The ratings are still solid. "Once and Again" should be the one to move -- how about to the 9 p.m. Thursday slot currently occupied by that wretched time-suck, "Wasteland"? Frontline (check local times, PBS) has the documentary "The Lost Children of Rockdale County," the story of a syphilis outbreak among teens in an affluent Atlanta suburb; their parents never suspected that their kids were having orgies while they were at work or out of town.

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Sports

National League Championship Series:

Mets at Braves, Game 6 (8 p.m., NBC)

Hockey:

Sharks at Rangers (8 p.m., ESPN2)

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Talk

Rosie O'Donnell (syndicated) Patricia Arquette, Tyne Daly

David Letterman (CBS) Robin Williams, Norm Macdonald (rerun)

Jay Leno (NBC) George Carlin, John Popper

Charlie Rose (PBS) Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Conan O'Brien (NBC) Jesse L. Martin, Mia Hamm


By Joyce Millman

Joyce Millman is a writer living in the Bay Area.

MORE FROM Joyce Millman


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