Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE: "P.O.V.: True-Hearted Vixens," 10 p.m., PBS.

Week after week, this summer documentary series grabs us. It goes from rage to whimsy and back, always keeping the human element.

Now comes a look at the 1999 attempt to create the Women's Professional Football League. A total of 80 women paid their way to Minnesota, to practice together and then split into two teams. They scheduled six games, ranging from tiny college stadiums to the massive Humphrey Metrodome.

It was an ambitious notion that kept colliding with pragmatism (one sponsor was the Hooters restaurant in the Mall of America) and shortfalls. A planned plane trip to New York, for instance, turned into a 20-hour bus ride.

During all this, filmmaker Mylene Moreno found two ideal people to follow.

One is Kertia "Moochie" Lofton, a wide-receiver. On the field, she shows awesome speed and skill; off the field, she's the mother of a teen-ager, realizing that time is running out for her dream of pro football or basketball.

The other is Jane Bolin, a linebacker. On the field, she is fierce; off the field, she's a student of politics and sports management, aghast at the administrative miscues. Soon, she's doing everything from offering ideas to drying uniforms, trying to keep a wobbling idea alive.

"Biography," 5 p.m., A&E. Long before the current investigation of his wife's death, Robert Blake was already a fascinating figure. He went from mistreated child actor to perplexing adult, alternately charming or crumbling. Here's a portrait.

"Frasier," 8 p.m., NBC. In a rerun, Teri Polo guests as the lawyer who's sly enough to get Frasier out of his legal troubles with Donny.

"Malcolm in the Middle," 8 p.m., FOX. This troubled family never has looked as shaky as it does in this rerun. First, it causes a toxic-waste spill; then it thoroughly misbehaves at a temporary shelter.

"The Geena Davis Show," 8:30 p.m., ABC. Here is a rerun of the episode in which Teddie and Max had a hectic marriage at city hall.

"NYPD Blue," 9 p.m., ABC. The aftermath of a workplace romance can be messy: In this rerun, Danny and Diane aren't allowed to work together.