Tube Notes
By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service
TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE: "The Downer Channel" premiere, 7:30 p.m., NBC. Think of this as a "Laugh-In" for a new generation. Gags and bits — some clever; some not — fly by at a furious pace. "Downer" embraces life's drab, dreary, depressed moments. Steven Wright, the master of such humor, shows up in running gags. One week, he's perpetually on hold; the next, he needs an empty box to start his home office. Also popping up weekly are Fred Willard and Teri Garr as parents who can never say anything encouraging. The show's stars, however, are four relative newcomers. Mary Lynn Rajskub is especially good in such roles as The Uncomfortable Girl, trying to get a massage or buy a sweater. Then again, the bigger stars are behind the scenes. The producers include Steve Martin, plus the people behind "3rd Rock from the Sun" and some early years of David Letterman's show. Put them together and you have a neatly perverse wit. These people even resemble the misfortunes of people with cheerful names, including Sunny Von Bulow, Happy Rockefeller, Joy Philbin and Lucky Luciano.
TONIGHT'S CAN'T RESIST: "Murder in Small Town X" premiere, 9 p.m., Fox. In one strange swirl, we get pieces of "C.S.I.," "Survivor" and "The Blair Witch Project." The setting is a picturesque Maine town. The town is real (albeit given a fake name), with real residents in the background. In the foreground, however, are 15 improvisational actors, portraying suspects. Now 10 real people — mostly young and attractive — must solve a fictional murder there, guided by a real cop, Gary Fredo. Each week, clues will be found and one contestant will be "killed." The opener was originally 90 minutes, then trimmed to an hour. The result has a stylish, cinematic feeling that keeps us watching.
"Spy TV," 7 p.m., NBC. Pity the poor real-estate salesperson who is the victim of a joke here. The house being shown actually has a wild party going on.
"Frasier," 8 p.m., NBC. This rerun has Frasier breaking the rules of his wine club by hosting a radio show about wine.
"Dharma and Greg," 8 and 8:30 p.m., ABC. Here is a one-shot rerun of the two-parter that put the loving couple at odds. Kevin Sorbo ("Hercules") plays the handsome college professor who comes between them in a story that juggles comedy and a tad of believable drama.
"Trapped," 6 and 8 p.m. USA Network. This new movie has people trapped inside a casino that is ablaze. It stars Parker Stevenson as the unscrupulous casino owner and Meat Loaf as the engineer.
"P.O.V.: Take It From Me," 10 p.m., PBS. Here is another superb hour from this documentary series. For one year, we follow four women who are on welfare in New York City even as the system is busy trimming its roles. The results are often depressing, but also deeply involving.
