Tube Notes
By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service
Tonight's Must-See
"The Love Letter" (1999), 7 p.m., ABC. In a summer of overheated movies, it's good occasionally to sample the opposite. Like a seaside summer in New England (the setting for this film), "Love Letter" is slow, gentle and pleasant. It leaves a lot dangling, but holds our interest. Helen (Kate Capshaw) has settled into an uneventful life. Divorced, she lives in her mom's home and runs a bookstore with a manager (Ellen DeGeneres), an employee (Julianne Nicholson) and a college student who's helping for the summer (Tom Everett Scott). Then people keep finding a typed, unidentified love letter. Souls stir. Senses awaken. Things are complicated further by Helen's maybe-boyfriend (Tom Selleck) and her mother (Blythe Danner). This is a cast filled with interesting people. Capshaw is the wife of Stephen Spielberg; Danner is the mother of Gwyneth Paltrow; Selleck is, well, Tom Selleck. Under director Peter Ho-sun Chan (in his English-language film debut), performances are universally good.
Of Note
"Top Ten Patriotic Places," 2 p.m., Travel Channel. As the Fourth of July weekend begins, this channel tells us where we could have gone. This first hour visits such spots as the Statue of Liberty, Pearl Harbor, Gettysburg and Mount Rushmore. That's followed by two additional hours called "Fireworks Road Trip." The first visits Boston, Montreal and San Remo, Italy. The second stops in Detroit and Seattle, where we can watch the sparks fly from previous years. Both programs repeat throughout the afternoon.
"Friends," 7 p.m., NBC. This rerun has Rachel giving her phone number to a handsome guy at a bar, then having second thoughts. In a hilarious subplot, Joey is convinced that Monica is cheating on his friend Chandler.
"The Hurricane" (1999), 7 p.m., Fox. In this emotional true story, Denzel Washington plays Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, the imprisoned boxer. A teen reads his autobiography and is determined to help him. Norman Jewison ("In the Heat of the Night") directed.
"Will & Grace," 8 p.m., NBC. Will decides that he and his boss (Gene Wilder) share one thing in common — a bitter view of romance.
"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," 8 p.m., CBS. In a rerun, a boy is kidnapped while his dad, a basketball star, is in a casino.
"Without a Trace," 9 p.m., CBS. In a rerun, an Army officer disappears after his retirement dinner.
