Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

Tonight's Must-See

• "Pleasantville" (1998), 7 p.m., ABC. Before he became a superhero in "Spider-Man," Tobey Maguire tackled this quiet role with grace. "Pleasantville" stars Reese Witherspoon and Maguire as a brother and sister who are transported from the 1990s through their television set into the black-and-white world of a 1950s television show. This wonderfully filmed fantasy changes both of them for the better.

• "Biography," 5 and 9 p.m., A&E. Of all the passionate forces in the 1960s, few matched concert promoter Bill Graham. He was, people say here, a master showman. He would mix Santana, The Doors, light shows and old blues men. He was also, they say, unethical, stealing performers or venues. Both extremes were shaped by his tortuous youth. As a Jewish boy in Germany he spent years ducking the Nazis; some nights he hid in ditches. Even in the United States, he refused to be adopted, clinging to the futile hope his mother was alive. Later, he changed his name (from Grajonca) and become a master capitalist.

Of Note

• "Donahue," debut 2 p.m. (live) and 8 p.m. (delay), MSNBC. For years people have tried to get Phil Donahue back into the talk-show arena he once ruled. Then came a rancorous session as a guest on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor." Now Donahue has his own show opposite O'Reilly. There will be dissent, he says, but no rudeness. There will be phone calls but no studio audience.

• "Happy Gilmore" (1996), 7 p.m., Fox. Adam Sandler stars in an adequate comedy about an angry hockey player who tries golf.

• "Dog Eat Dog," 8 p.m., NBC. Maybe this is our dream hour. Trying to destroy each other in a contest are Richard Hatch ("Survivor"), Darva Conger and Kato Kaelin.