Tube Notes
By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service
TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE: (Network TV): "P.O.V.: Life and Debt," 10 p.m., PBS. As protests rage over a global economy, it all seems complex and confusing. Now this passionate documentary by Stephanie Black brings things to human terms. In Jamaica, Black shows us the sweet view that tourists get and the pain of a tortured economy. Bananas, her film says, were the island's key import. European nations, feeling guilty about their sins from the colonial days, were good customers until U.S. monopolies paralyzed the economy. Meanwhile, American chain restaurants moved onto the island. They ignored Jamaican farmers and imported food from overseas. There are many such stories in this compelling portrait. Like other "P.O.V." films, this doesn't claim to be a balanced, two-sided portrait. It is, however, a brilliant projection of one point of view.
TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE (cable): "WITCHBLADE," 9 p.m., TNT. This terrific series has Yancy Butler as a tough cop who suddenly has an ancient weapon and mortal enemies. Tonight, she has her showdown with corrupt cops. This was planned as the series finale. The show has been so successful, however, that it might be back next year.
"Doc," 7 p.m., Pax TV. Here's another chance to see the excellent pilot film, which showed how a country doctor (Billy Ray Cyrus) ended up in New York City.
"Biography," 5 p.m. and again at 9 p.m., A&E. This hour profiles Sandra Bernhard, the actress-comedian who will have her own short-run talk show on A&E next week.
"Ultimate Revenge," 8 p.m., The National Network. Here's the premiere of a half-hour show that lets people play an elaborate practical joke on a friend or loved one. One episode, for instance, will have a young waitress find her shop overrun by 40 crabby clowns. The opener has a husband — who doesn't spend enough time at home — find the place has had a bizarre makeover.
"Gold! The Gold Wars," 10 p.m., History Channel. This starts a four-night, four-hour documentary, looking at man's obsession with gold. The first hour is both interesting and monotonous, as similar misdeeds span the centuries: one man slaughters 5,000 Incas, gets 11 tons of gold in ransom and then kills his hostage anyway. The British wage a brutal war to get South Africa's gold and Americans violate their own treaty so they can turn sacred Indian land into the country's richest gold mine.
