Posted on: Saturday, September 8, 2001
Tube Notes
By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service
TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE: "Get Shorty" (1995), 7 p.m., NBC. Elmore Leonard's novels crackle with catchy characters and twisty plots. He gives us a world in which everyone — crooks, cops and victims — seems interesting. This Leonard novel seemed perfect for a movie. It has a small-time crook going to Hollywood. The result is beautifully adapted by Scott Frank and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, who cast it perfectly. John Travolta stars, with Rene Russo in support. Tough guys abound, including Delroy Lindo, James Gandolfini (before "Sopranos" made him famous), Dennis Farina and Danny DeVito. This is a film that's simultaneously a comedy, an adventure and simply good filmmaking.
"Bonanza," 3-11 p.m., Pax TV. On Sunday, this network will premiere "Ponderosa," a fairly solid prequel to "Bonanza," the classic cowboy series. To get us in the mood, it offers this marathon; members of the new cast introduce key episodes from the old one. "Mad TV," 10:35 p.m., FOX. Here is a rerun of the episode that aired at Oscar time. It ranges from Hannibal Lecter in Mayberry to a pretend Oscar telecast, with Will Sasso and Debra Wilson pretending to be hosts Louie Anderson and Brandy.
