Tube Notes
By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service
Democratic National Convention finale, 4 p.m., ABC, CBS and NBC. Also, gavel-to-gavel, 8 p.m. on PBS, throughout the day on CNN, C-SPAN, MSNBC and Fox News Channel. John Kerry gives his acceptance speech tonight. What he says — and how he says it — could sway the race. Al Gore thrust himself into the race with a strong speech in 2000, says former Clinton White House adviser George Stephanopoulos. Walter Mondale knocked himself out with a poor one in 1984. "When George Herbert Walker Bush said, 'Read my lips, no new taxes,' he pretty much won the 1988 campaign and lost the 1992 campaign with one single speech," Stephan-opoulos says. Kerry's talk tonight bears the extra task of introducing him to much of the public, says CNN's Judy Woodruff. "It's absolutely critical for him," she says.
"Blue Collar TV" debut, 7 p.m., WB. Wonderfully witty one moment, silly and goofy the next, "Blue Collar TV" is erratic but fun. At the core are three gifted standup comics — Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy — but the show never really lets these master storytellers get rolling. Instead, we have lots of skits, based on the foibles of ordinary life. Some are clever; some simply take a single gag and stretch it endlessly. Settle back, enjoy the good parts and let the others float by.
Of Note
"Will & Grace," 7 p.m., NBC. Jack competes in a spelling bee.
"Scrubs," 7:30 p.m., NBC. Turk is excited by his success in the operating room.
"Reba," 7:30 p.m., WB, rerun. Cheyenne is turning 21 and wants her mom and stepmom at the party.
"Studio 7," 8 p.m., WB. Last week, this game show (with a few reality touches) got off to a mildly interesting start. Now we see seven more young people competing in their knowledge of recent events. One will be thrust into the seven-person finals, competing for $777,000.
"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," 8 p.m., CBS. A roller-coaster accident killed six people. But was it really an accident?
"Last Comic Standing," 8 p.m., NBC. There Is a second hour this week, revealing results in "American Idol" style. On Tuesday, the five previously ousted comedians got one more chance to perform. Tonight, we learn which one is back in the competition.
