Tube Notes
By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service
TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE: "AFI's 100 Years . . . 100 Thrills," 7 p.m., CBS; or "Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures," 4:30 p.m., Cinemax. Two new specials remind us that filmmaking can be a great art form. The CBS special is the latest of the annual ones from the American Film Institute. This time it focuses on movies that provided thrills by action, horror, science fiction or beyond. Appropriately the host is Harrison Ford, who has been at the core of thrills in Steven Spielberg and George Lucas films.
Meanwhile, Cinemax focuses on a man who never stuck to categories. Kubrick thrilled us in "The Shining," "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "A Clockwork Orange"; he drew big laughs in "Dr. Strangelove" and ethicaldilemmas in "Paths of Glory" and "Lolita." To the people who knew him he was an outgoing New Yorker. Christiane Kubrick, his widow, recalls meeting him in a successful "Paths of Glory" interview: "He just sat there beaming at me, grinning at me, and I must have grinned back. And (he kept smiling) at me for 43 years." Eventually the Bronx, N.Y. native retreated to England. His perfectionism was legendary. "For a person so charming and so likeable — indeed, loveable — he could do some pretty cruel things," says Shelley Duvall of "The Shining." "I wouldn't trade the experience for anything ... but I wouldn't go through it again."
"Living Edens: Tasmania: Land of the Devils," 8 p.m., PBS. Off the Australian coast Tasmania has few people and many fascinating animals. This film sticks mostly to the land creatures, but its underwater shots are stunning.
"Frasier," 7 p.m., NBC. This airs an hour earlier that usual, repeating an episode in which Niles can try a half-court basketball shot for big money.
"Kristin," 7:30 p.m., NBC. Here's the second episode of this new, summertime series. Kristin (played by Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth) wants to ditch her goody-goody reputation. She succeeds, first through deception and then with a karaoke triumph. With other actors this would seem lame. With Chenoweth it's fun.
"Ed," 8 p.m., and 9 p.m., NBC. Here are back-to-back reruns of this first-rate show. Both follow the relationship of Ed and a beautiful prosecuting attorney, played by Rena Sofer.
"Dune," 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sci-Fi Channel. This starts a three-night rerun of the miniseries that aired this season based on Frank Herbert's novel.
"Scanners" (1981), 6 and 8:30 p.m., The National Network. Director David Cronenberg created some powerful moments in this intense tale of extreme telepathy.
