Tube Notes
By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service
Tonight's Must-See
"MI-5," 7 p.m., A&E. Last week's opener showed us that this series is tough, tense and unflinching. It focuses on an idealistic British anti-terrorism unit that needs a wall of deception and violence. Still, none of that prepares us for tonight's fierce episode. Two agents, Tom (Matthew MacFadyen) and Helen (Lisa Faulkner) pose as husband and wife in order to stop a racist intent on starting a race war. There are complications and then a jolting scene. This is disturbing but first-rate TV.
"Last Comic Standing," 8 p.m., NBC. Each week, a comedy-club crowd has ousted one comedian. Now viewers get their turn. The five finalists will each get a five-minute set. Afterward, viewers will pick the winner to be announced next week. All five are first-rate. They are Tess Drake of Sandusky, Ohio; Cory Kahaney of New York City; Ralphie May of Dallas; Dat Phan of San Diego; and Rich Vos of Plainfield, N.J.
Of Note
"Boy Meets Boy" debut, 6 & 8 p.m., Bravo. On one level, this is simply a gay variation of "The Bachelor." One man starts with 15 guys and in the weeks ahead winnows the field. The show also, however, follows the current trend of adding a cruel twist. In this case, some of the men are only pretending to be gay.
"8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," 7 p.m., ABC. Jason Priestley, who races cars in real life, guest stars in this rerun as a driver whom Paul (John Ritter) wants to write a biography about.
"According to Jim," 8 p.m., ABC. This rerun has Cheryl online pretending she's a guy.
"Defending Our Kids: The Julie Posey Story," 6 p.m., Lifetime. Here's another chance to catch this new film, based on a true story. Annie Potts plays someone who posed as a young girl to catch people who were harassing girls via the Internet.
"Nip/Tuck," 10 p.m., FX. This episode isn't as brutal as last week's opener. Tonight, one Miami plastic surgeon (Dylan Walsh) drifts further from his wife (Joely Richardson) and son. Another (Julian McMahon) finds a few holes in his devil-may-care facade.
