Posted on: Thursday, August 26, 2004

Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

Tonight's Must See

Olympics, NBC and cable. All day. NBC's prime time coverage (6 p.m.) has the usual pile of gold medals. That includes men's long jump, 200-meter run and 400-meter hurdles and women's springboard diving.

All of that will be on tape. During the day, however, there will be live coverage of several key games.

Women's soccer has its bronze-medal game on MSNBC (4 a.m.) and its gold-medal game on NBC (12:30 p.m.).

The men's basketball quarterfinals are spread over four networks. There will be live games on Bravo (3 a.m.), the USA Network (4 a.m.), MSNBC (7 a.m.) and CNBC (11 a.m.).

"Charlie's Angels" (2000), 8 p.m., ABC. At times, this fast and fun movie gets too silly. Fight scenes are so overdone that viewers quit caring. Still, this film has a terrific director (simply named McG) and an ideal cast. Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu are perfect as sleek operatives for a private detective.

Of Note

More Olympics (cable): MSNBC goes from 4 a.m. and 8 p.m. Bravo is 3 a.m., 2 p.m. and 9 p.m.; also USA (4 a.m.) and CNBC (11 a.m.).

"Back in the Hood: Gang War 2," 7 p.m., HBO. In 1994, HBO showed the documentary "Gang War: Bangin' in Little Rock"; young men spoke stridently of their violent lives. Now filmmakers return and find much of this unchanged. One person who has changed is Leifel Jackson, then a big-money gang leader. Now, after seven years in prison, he's a community activist who has awards and respect, but supports his wife and child with pay that averages $140 a week.

"Extreme Makeover," 7 p.m., ABC. Last week, in the first half of this rerun, three people began a weight-loss program before their surgery could begin. Tonight, Phil McGraw, the TV psychologist who is a weight-loss advocate, visits them.

"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," 8 p.m., CBS. The sheriff is convinced that terrorists are responsible for a car bombing near a casino. Grissom isn't so sure.

"Wide Angle: Young, Muslim and French," 9 p.m., PBS. Like many suburban teens, the girls in this documentary are trying to decide whether to obey the school rules or to protest them. In this case, the issue is much broader: The French have banned students from wearing traditional scarves. Muslims — France's largest minority at 5 million strong — consider this bias. This film focuses on one city near Paris.

"Without a Trace," 9 p.m., CBS. Has injury been added to insult? Shortly after a losing football coach is fired, he disappears.