Posted on: Saturday, August 23, 2003
Tube Notes
Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service
Tonight's Must-See
"A Decade Under the Influence," 2 p.m., Independent Film Channel. As the 1960s ended, the old Hollywood was crumbling. Studio films suddenly seemed stiff and flat. New directors were bringing a fresh approach — sometimes in subject matter and sometimes in technique. So the 1970s was a decade under the influence of change. This rerun has many of the people who made a difference. That includes some key actors (Jon Voight, Clint Eastwood, Pam Grier, Julie Christie) and lots of directors. There are comments by Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Altman, Peter Bogdanovich, Martin Scorsese and more. The only problem: IFC is seen only on digital cable. "A Decade Under the Influence" originally ran in one-hour chunks, Wednesday through Friday. Now you can catch it all at 2 p.m., followed by Scorsese's "Mean Streets" at 5 p.m.
"Selena" (1997), 5 & 7:30 p.m., Bravo. This pleasant film offers a feel-good portrait of Selena, the young superstar, and her family. Jennifer Lopez, then unknown to most movie fans, was excellent in the title role.
Of Note
Little League World Series, 1:30 p.m., ABC. The kids get their turn in prime time. "NBC 2003 Fall Preview Show," 7 p.m., NBC. One month before its season starts, NBC peeks ahead. "Fear Factor," 7:30 p.m., NBC. Here is a rerun of the celebrity episode that included the Penn & Teller magic duo. (Actually, Teller took all the abuse, as usual; Penn did the talking.) Others are Keshia Knight Pulliam ("The Cosby Show"), Barry Williams ("The Brady Bunch"), Natasha Henstridge ("She Spies"), Gena Lee Nolin ("Baywatch") and Matt Cedeno ("Days of Our Lives"). "Hack," 8 p.m., CBS. Aiming for revenge, a man kidnaps Mike and plans to execute him.
"Absolon" (2003), 6 & 10 p.m., Sci-Fi Channel. As a neurological disease destroys humanity, a scientist finds a cure, then is killed. Now a cop (Christopher Lambert) has been injected with the cure and may be mankind's last hope.
"The District," 9 p.m., CBS. An ex-con dies in the crash of a stolen BMW with $180,000 in it.
"Dragnet," 9 p.m., ABC. Joe Friday faces a review board, after shooting a cop to protect an innocent man.
