Tube Notes
TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE
"Third Watch," 8 p.m., NBC. Last week's special was compelling. For two hours, it offered the straightforward thoughts and emotions of New York police officers and firefighters, plus their spouses. Now comes a new step: The next two episodes use the World Trade Center attacks as a backdrop for fictional stories. Tonight's hour is set on Sept. 10, the day before the attacks. "You see how normal their lives are," says producer John Wells. Next Monday's episode deals with the tragedy and its aftermath. "We forget that this was an extremely successful rescue operation," Wells says. "Thousands of lives were saved."
TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE II
"Masterpiece Theatre: The Cazalats," 9-11 p.m., PBS. Here is "Masterpiece" at its best — a richly detailed portrait of an entire family. At first, this seems like a soap opera in tweed. Two of the four Cazalat children have secret affairs; another, a widower, finds that his children fervently disapprove of his young second wife. Stick around, however, and you'll find the characters adding depth and humanity. The setting does the rest; this is 1937, when people ponder retreating to the family estate, to avoid the London bombing.
Of Note
"Fame For 15," 4 p.m., The National Network. There is something fascinating about regular people who are thrust into the news. This is the start of a series that looks at people whose 15 minutes of fame kept expanding. Tonight's opener sometimes suffers from its jittery approach, but it offers intriguing opposites:
Donato Dalrymple was a quick talking guy who savored the excitement after finding and rescuing Elian Gonzalez; Scott O'Grady had an aw-shucks approach that charmed people after he survived six days behind enemy lines in Bosnia.
"Crossing Jordan," 9 p.m., NBC.
A firefighter friend of Jordan's was apparently killed via arson.
— Mike Hughes, Gannett News Service
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.
• Darren Pai reports from the special session of the Legislature.
• Parenting with Minna Sugimoto
