Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

• TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE: Essence Awards, 7 p.m., Fox. Because sweeps are over, the networks plan to slouch off into a summer of reruns. But there's a good side: Each year, Essence magazine assembles this feel-good special that leaps between true stories of heroes and spectacular performers. This time, entertainment comes from the co-hosts, Steve Harvey and D.L. Hughley. The singers include both classic stars (Gladys Knight, Jennifer Holliday, Chaka Khan) and newer stars (Eve, Lauryn Hill, and Yolanda Adams).

• "Three Sisters," 7:30 p.m., NBC. NBC will show off this show during the summertime in a comfy time slot. Tonight's episode has the cynical Nora moving back home.

• "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," 8 p.m., CBS. Grissom is asked to find fresh evidence for a man facing the death penalty.

• "Mystery: The Wyvern Mystery," 8 p.m., PBS. Much of this hour seems like a misplaced "Masterpiece Theatre." Beautifully photographed, it's a romance with a poor-but-beautiful girl (Naomi Watts) in a mansion full of foul people. By the end of tonight, this becomes a Gothic horror tale.