Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

Tonight's Must-See

Basketball, 7 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. CBS. Today the NCAA tournament dominates CBS. The games fill all of the morning and afternoon programming today, tomorrow and most of Saturday. They end about 2 p.m. Sunday before returning next week. Games vary by region.

"On the Spot" premiere, 9:30 p.m., WB. Maybe the important thing is to appear to be having fun. This show is partly a situation comedy about a young guy (Jeff B. Davis) whose boss (Tim Conway) puts him in charge of an odd hotel. Then come extra touches. There's a host and a studio audience linking to make the actors improvise. Dweezil Zappa leads a band and his girlfriend, singer Lisa Loeb, appears briefly. There's a party atmosphere masking the fact that the improv moments rarely produce humor. The scripted parts, however, sometimes make this a fun show.

Of Note

"Friends," 7 p.m., NBC. This reruns the funny episode that sent the plot in a fresh direction. Chandler has always been the one with the stable job. Tonight he decides he can't bear working in Oklahoma far from his wife. So he simply quits.

"On the Waterfront" (1954), 6 and 11:55 p.m., AMC. This powerful drama directed by Elia Kazan — with Marlon Brando confronting a corrupt union — won an Academy Award for best picture. It's a black-and-white film with some of the best acting in Hollywood history. Brando and Eva Marie Saint won Oscars; Rod Steiger, Lee J. Cobb and Karl Malden had three of the five supporting nominations but didn't win.

"An American in Paris" (1951), 3 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. Here's another best-picture winner. It's a glorious Gene Kelly musical.

"Will & Grace," 8 p.m., NBC. In a rerun, Grace and Leo proceed with their marriage — then realize they know little about each other.

"ER," 9 p.m., NBC. This rerun has the doctors quarantined in the hospital during a potential smallpox outbreak.