Tube Notes
By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service
Tonight's Must-See
"Fame," 7 p.m., NBC. Last week's premiere made it clear that this show is more than an "American Idol" knockoff. It brings some style and sizzle of its own. The gimmick involves using the name of the "Fame" movie and TV show, with Debbie Allen (who was in both) as producer and co-host in the search for a consummate dancer/singer. Allen, however, won't settle for being a gimmick. She's a dancer-singer-director-producer with talent and intensity. That was obvious in the opener. Most of the six performers offered sensational song-and-dance skills. Three advanced to the next round and the other three were sent home. Tonight, we meet six more. This show is worth noticing.
Of Note
"Celine Dion: A New Day Has Come," 7 p.m., CBS. Actually, that new day has come and gone, since this is a rerun. Still, it's a chance to hear Dion unleash at the Kodak Theatre, the home of the Oscars. That includes numbers with Brian McKnight and Destiny's Child.
"Ready to Rumble" (2000), 7 p.m., WB. Scott Caan (James Caan's son) and David Arquette star in this movie, which flopped at the box office. They play portable-potty guys who obsess on wrestling. Now they want to revive the career of a banished wrestler (Oliver Platt).
"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (1985), 8 p.m., ABC Family. Long before they were big stars, Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt starred in this pleasant film. Parker, then 20, plays a teen whose conservative dad doesn't want her entering a dance contest. Hunt, then 21, plays her friend.
"Anaconda" (1997), 8 p.m., USA Network. Lots of prominent people — Jennifer Lopez, Eric Stoltz, Ice Cube — confront a large snake in this adventure. How large? At one point, it devours and then vomits out Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight. It's an odd and scary movie.
"Homefront in the Garden," 8 p.m., BBC America. The British manage to have a fresh outlook on everything, including garden shows. Tonight, designer Diarmuid Gavin provides a design that includes wooden tunnels, stainless steel and fiber-optic lighting.
"The Bernie Mac Show," 8 p.m., Fox. The kids go on strike after Bernie makes them fix the yard.
"Law & Order," 8 and 9 p.m., NBC. In the first rerun, a murder suspect claims he killed for religious reasons. In the second, a wealthy teenager has been run down outside a coffee shop.
