Tube Notes
By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service
TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE (cable): "Stand and Deliver" (1988), 5 p.m., FOX Family Channel. A great actor and a powerful, true-life story merged here, with extraordinary results. Jaime Escalante was a South American immigrant determined to teach math in a low-income Los Angeles high school. He even pushed his students to pass the Advanced Placement Test for college. That story was skillfully directed and co-written by Ramon Menendez, but the key was the performance of Edward James Olmos. Shaving in a bald spot, adding a paunch, Olmos transformed himself into a compelling screen character. Lou Diamond Phillips played one of the students and then-unknown Andy Garcia played an investigator. Mostly, however, this story is dominated by two ferocious people — the real Escalante and the wonderfully realistic Olmos.
TONIGHT'S MIGHT-SEE (network TV): "The Downer Channel," 7:30 p.m., NBC. The second round of this summer comedy continues to be erratic but fun. Ignore the bad parts — they're gone in a nanosecond anyway — and enjoy the good ones. There's comedian Stephen Wright, continuing his role as the hapless Walter. Tonight, he tries to establish a home office; that requires finding an empty box, which is no easy task. Then there's Wanda Sykes, visiting a real-life place for impounding cars. A worker says she enjoys meeting people even if they are sad and angry people. We also meet a real-life woman who fears clowns. And we continue the almost-real portrayal of Mary Lynn Rajskub as The Uncomfortable Girl.
"Biography," 5 p.m., A&E. From the moment "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" opened in 1985, it's been clear that Tim Burton is a remarkable filmmaker. Here is a new profile of the "Planet of the Apes" director.
"Frasier," 8 p.m., NBC. This rerun catches Frasier in a midlife crisis after winning a lifetime award. He ends up confronting his mentor (Rene Auberjonois).
"Murder in Small Town X," 8 p.m., FOX. In last week's opener this intriguing show eliminated one of its 15 fictional murder suspects (the police chief) and "killed" one of the 10 real people, trying to solve the mystery. Tonight, the totals continue to dwindle.
"Judging Amy," 9 p.m., CBS. Will Maxine bribe an inspector so Sanction House can debut on time?
"Secrets of the dead," 8 p.m., PBS. "The Syphilis Enigma" explores how a European could have contracted this disease in the 14th century, some 150 years before it was thought to have arrived on the continent.
