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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, July 5, 2001

Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE: "Big Brother" premiere, 7 p.m., CBS. Last summer's "Big Brother" was a big disappointment. Many of the contestants were bland. Most of the daily episodes were dull compared to the tautly edited "Survivor." The biggest problem, however, involved viewers. Each week they voted out the most interesting person. Eventually the show seemed about as interesting as an accountants' convention.

Now Arnold Shapiro — the savvy "Rescue 911" producer — has taken over with new rules. The basics are the same: Strangers (12 at first) share a house with no TV, newspapers or privacy. One will be eliminated each week with the winner getting $500,000. This time, however, there will be only three episodes a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays), allowing for better editing. There will be competitions for prizes. And Julie Chen won't have a studio audience when she does her interviews.

Most importantly, the viewers won't decide who gets kicked out. That will be done by the housemates; they couldn't do any worse.

"Friends," 7 p.m., and 7:30 p.m., NBC. The first rerun has Winona Ryder as someone who may have kissed Rachel in college. The second has Chandler embarrassing himself in front of Monica's dad.

"Sole Survivor," 7 p.m., FOX. In the second half of this miniseries rerun, a reporter learns the truth about the crash that killed his wife and daughter.

"An Evening at Pops," 9 p.m., PBS. A new season opens with former Boston Pops conductor John Williams returning for a night of movie music. That includes his own compositions and the music from "2001: A Space Odyssey"; Harry Connick, Jr. is the guest.

"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," 8 p.m., CBS. Here's another tough case: A skeleton was apparently sawed apart and scattered.

"Will and Grace," 8 p.m., NBC. Despite her emotional distance form her rich husband, Karen realizes she doesn't want a divorce.

"Mystery," 8 p.m., PBS. This rerun offered a change-of-pace for Hetty Wainthropp, the homespun crime solver. She pretends to be an abused wife so she can prove a killing linked to a shelter.

"ER," 9 p.m., NBC. In a melancholy rerun, a teenager doesn't want another heart transplant and a bishop doesn't want to be readmitted to the hospital.