Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

Tonight's Must-See

"Cupid" debut (CBS) or "Dating Experiment" (ABC); both 9 p.m. This summer, it seems the world has become obsessed with the dating lives of beautiful people. Two such shows have the same time slot. "Dating Experiment" has self-contained hours. Tonight, a woman accompanies her date to Puerto Rico while trying to conceal that she's a topless dancer. "Cupid" will follow Lisa Shannon's effort to find a fiancé. Shannon and two friends will trim the field to 10 guys for her to date. Then viewers will start ousting them. If Shannon marries the last guy and they stay together for a year, the couple will get $1 million.

"Martin Luther," 9 p.m., PBS. Martin Luther grew up in a stern, middle-class home, this excellent documentary says. He was a fairly cheerful college student, urged by his dad to be a lawyer. Then the plague killed three of his friends. A newly serious Luther embraced religion and eventually led the Protestant reformation that transformed Europe.

Of Note

"Boarding House: North Shore," 7 p.m., WB. Here's the second female competition, putting the focus on the three women in the boarding house. Chelsea Georgeson (a young Australian) and Holly Beck (a college grad from Californian) are dead-serious surfers, ranked No. 5 and 8 in the world, respectively. Veronica Kay, another Californian, is known both as a surfer and as a swimsuit model.

"The George Lopez Show," 7:30 p.m., ABC. In an excellent rerun, George finds a credit error that leads him to an enigmatic stranger played by Lou Diamond Phillips.

"Law & Order," 8 and 9 p.m., NBC. The first rerun has a Russian model dying in a clothing boutique; the investigation leads to her doctor. The second has a luxury-car salesman found dead in Harlem; police are soon tracing a string of robberies.