Tube Notes | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Tube Notes | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper

Posted on: Wednesday, January 29, 2003

Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

Tonight's Must-See

Lake Bell and Jeff Goldblum play journalists covering a war in Uzbekistan in "War Stories."

NBC

"War Stories," 7 p.m., NBC. On the eve of a ratings sweeps period, NBC does something interesting. Instead of showing reruns of "Ed" and "The West Wing," it has this movie, which doubles as a pilot. It's a surprisingly sophisticated story filled with hidden agendas and mixed emotions. Lake Bell — who played the teen drifter who hooked up with Abby's brother on "ER" — plays Nora Stone, a photographer sent to cover a war in Uzbekistan. She's paired with Ben Dansmore (Jeff Goldblum), a cynical reporter who was shattered by his colleague's death. There are other reporters, including Gayle Phelan (Louise Lombard), who uses her sex appeal for information and for fun. This is a world in which first impressions are often wrong. "War Stories" is a dense, tangled film that keeps the mind moving.

Of Note

"That '70s Show," 7 p.m., Fox. In the season-opener we saw Kelso necking with a blonde bikini beauty played by pop star Jessica Simpson. Now she visits his home in Wisconsin, and that causes trouble between Kelso and Jackie.

"American Idol," 7:30 p.m., Fox. In the first three nights, we watched as the judges picked 234 young singers to go to Hollywood. Tonight, they hear them again and trim the field to 32.

"The Bachelorette," 7:30 p.m., ABC. Here's another 90-minute episode to keep "Idol" from getting a head start.

"Law & Order," 9 p.m., NBC. In this rerun, cops seem to have proof that three men stole a woman's big-screen TV. But that doesn't prove they killed her.

"FROM HELL" (2001), 11:30 p.m., Cinemax. A novel take on the Jack the Ripper tale has Johnny Depp as the killer's opium-addicted pursuer.

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