Tube Notes
By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service
TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE: "The Real World" season premiere, 6:30 and 7 p.m., MTV. The show that launched the reality trend returns to New York City where it started 10 years ago. Nicole, Kevin, Lori, Malik, Coral, Mike and Rachel round out the new cast. Again, we see an apartment shared by seven strangers who are attractive and mismatched. Rachel, for instance, is 18, cute and virginal; Lori and Kevin are older, looser and more flirtatious. A bigger contrast soon surfaces: Mike, from white suburbia, is chatting with Coral and Malik, who are black. He tells them his uncle won't hire blacks because he feels they have poor educations. Malik, from the prestigious University of California, Berkeley, shrugs that off as ignorance. Coral fumes. Emerging is a feud that persists through this hour — and maybe far beyond that.
TONIGHT'S OTHER MUST-SEE: "P.O.V.: My American Girls: A Dominican Story," 10 p.m., PBS. This documentary covers the lives of one immigrant family over the course of one year. Sandra Ortiz moved to New York in 1975, soon marrying a fellow immigrant from the Dominican Republic. For a quarter-century, they've been working hard, often juggling two janitorial jobs. They've brought many of her 13 siblings here. Back on the island, they're building a beachside retirement home. For a mountain girl who didn't see the ocean until she was 15, it's a huge step. One daughter has seized every opportunity (she's a college grad, a track star, an actress, and a Web site designer); the other two daughters aren't as enthusiastic about schoolwork. This is a family story filled with emotional peaks. As filmed by Aaron Matthews, it's engrossing.
"Memories of Oz," 1:30 p.m. and "The Wizard of Oz" (1939), 2 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. First comes a fresh documentary about the making of "The Wizard of Oz." Then comes the classic family film starring Judy Garland.
"Spy TV," 7 p.m., NBC. This new show offers extreme candid-camera stunts. A woman at a political event finds she's the center of media attention.
"Frasier," 8 p.m., NBC. Kim Coles returns as the outspoken advice-giver who stole attention on Frasier's show.
"Kristin," 8:30 p.m., NBC. Kristin's boss gives her a fancy new apartment. Are there strings attached?
"Resurrection Blvd.," 7 p.m. (digital), 10 p.m. (analog), Showtime. A foreboding tone settles into this episode as characters try fresh turf. One sister is pulled into a pricey nightclub world; another is drawn to a guy with a dark past.
