Posted on: Monday, October 15, 2001
Tube Notes
TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE
"Third Watch," 8 p.m., NBC. "Third Watch" has quietly and competently told fictional stories of New York cops, firefighters and paramedics. Now real life has put these people in the spotlight. Taped interviews with 44 New York policemen and firemen, including the show's four technical advisers (real-life police and firefighters), with so many good perspectives gave NBC the decision to expand the one-hour show to two hours. "Minute by Minute," 7 p.m. (repeats at 11 p.m.), A&E. "Minute by Minute" reminds us that many tragedies bring out the heroic side of human nature. This episode views the 1989 San Francisco earthquake. Heroism was instant. A firefighter spent hours patiently cutting away debris to rescue a woman; a doctor squeezed into tight quarters to save a boy. Laymen scrambled up battered bridges to find survivors. A powerful story, told by the people who were there.
Of note "Everybody Loves Raymond," 8p.m., CBS. There's trouble when Robert loses Ray's wedding ring.
"Masterpiece Theatre: The Ponder Heart," 9 p.m., PBS. Before her death in July at 92, Eudora Welty wrote stories with Southern settings and warmly whimsical characters. This one is extremely lightweight, but has been superbly directed (by Martha Coolidge) and acted. Peter MacNicol plays a sweet chap who marries a young ditz (Angela Bettis), causing his niece (JoBeth Williams) to fret about the family fortune. There is even a murder trial in this mildly funny movie.
"100 Centre Street," 10 p.m., A&E. This hour starts powerfully with Judge Rifkind (Alan Arkin) hoping to bail out his daughter who's been jailed for vagrancy. In another storyline, Bobby finds conflicting information about his teen-age client, Rudolfo.
— Mike Hughes, Gannett News Service
