Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

Tonight's Must-See

"P.O.V.: Fenceline: A Company Town Divided," 10 p.m., PBS. In the quiet warmth of Louisiana lies your classic company town. Norco was named for the New Orleans Refining Co. The town's original function was to provide workers for what is now a Shell Oil refinery. It's a wonderful place to live, half the people in this film say. They work at Shell, as did their parents and grandparents. They live in middle-class comfort and retire comfortably. It's a terrible place, the other half say. More than one-third of the children in their neighborhood have asthma, sometimes severe. Income is low; cancer rates are high. The first half is white; the second half is black. That defines this quietly jolting film.

Of Note

"American Idol: The Search for a Superstar" (Fox) and "The Mole" (ABC); both 8 p.m. Both shows are getting down to the crunch now. "American Idol" has eight finalists for pop-music fame. "The Mole" has its final four.

"Frasier," 8 p.m., NBC. Here's the conclusion of a terrific two-parter with two disasters. Daphne's mom (Millicent Martin) keeps criticizing her, while a neighbor (Brian Stokes Mitchell) keeps one-upping Frasier.

"Son of the Beach," 7 p.m., Fx. This might be a good time to start watching this series, a "Baywatch" knockoff that ranges from juvenile humor to clever parody. Tonight, young men are disappearing from the beach. RuPaul is suspected.