Tube Notes
By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service
• TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE "Smallville" premiere, 7 p.m., WB (seen on KFVE). This is the year of the prequel, the year of visiting a classic story from the start. "Enterprise" views "Star Trek's" roots and "Ponderosa" does the same for "Bonanza." Now comes the best of the three. "Smallville" is a stylish reworking of Superman's past. Don't get hung up on previous versions. This rewrites everything. Things start with a meteor shower that leaves Lana Lang orphaned, Lex Luthor bald and the Kents with a baby from above. Then we flash ahead. That baby has become Clark Kent, a teen-ager who knows he's different, but doesn't know why. The result is sharply written, directed and perfectly cast. Tom Welling and Kristin Kreuk capture the small-town innocence of Clark and Lana.
• "Investigative Reports," 6 p.m., A&E. Bill Kurtis' show celebrates its 10th anniversary with a compelling look at the death penalty. Instead of viewing the penalty itself, it shows four convictions that now seem highly doubtful. Thanks to inept defense lawyers, zealous judges and more, innocent people may have faced execution.
Of note
• "JAG," 7 p.m., CBS. Mac is one of the people trapped in a building surrounded by a mob.
• "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," 8 p.m., UPN (seen on KFVE). A bummed Buffy has no money, a flooded basement and someone trying to kill her.
• "Frasier," 8 p.m., NBC. Wanting to seem like a fun guy, Frasier throws a party for the radio staff.
• "Bob Patterson," 8 p.m., ABC. Bob (Jason Alexander) wants to be fun, too. He agrees to pose nude.
• "Scrubs," 8:30 p.m., NBC. Unlike most comedies, this show feels no obligation to constantly amuse. Tonight, each of its three young doctors becomes attached to a patient. The result is well done, often in a serious, dramatic way.
• • •
Tonight on News 8
Get the latest news at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. from Howard Dashefsky and Jodi Leong, plus up-to-the-minute weather from Sharie Shima.
• In Parenting: Minna Sugimoto shows you programs available for kids at year-round schools who are on break.
• A News8 Extra: did you know that Web "bugs" are used to track visitors to nearly every Web site, including personal pages?
Advertiser staff contributed to this listing.
