Posted on: Wednesday, September 1, 2004
Tube Notes
By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service
Tonight's Must-See
"5th Annual Latin Grammy Awards," 7 p.m., CBS. Some of TV's most vibrant moments have come from Latin music. Now comes a two-hour shot. Carlos Santana will perform with Los Lonely Boys; Cafe Tacuba with Incubus. Other performers include Robi Draco Rosa, Paulina Rubio, Akwid, Paquito D'Rivera, Rosalyn Sanchez, and others. George Lopez, wonderfully witty in any situation, will host. Expect this to be a fun night. "Hawaii" debut, 7 p.m., NBC. Like many NBC shows, this one tries very hard to be liked. In an overstuffed hour set in the Honolulu Metro Police Department, we get chases, wisecracks, a shoot-out and a grisly crime. The settings are pretty; the stars (Ivan Sergei, Sharif Atkins, Aya Sumika) are prettier. Even the flashy police cars look great. What "Hawaii" doesn't do is get us to care. The empty quips and repartee only make the cops seem less human; the cases do little to stir interest. Let's hope "Hawaii" slows down enough to tell a story. Of Note
Republican convention, 4 p.m., ABC, CBS and NBC; 8 p.m., PBS; throughout the afternoon on cable news channels. Vice President Dick Cheney will give his speech at 4 p.m., when all the networks are paying attention. "Renovate My Family," 7 p.m., Fox. When "Trading Spouses" began, audiences loved Almela Biggins and her family. These were people with little money, but a lot of warmth. The show's $50,000 gift helped. Now the same family opens this series, which offers home remodeling and advice on relationships and such. Jay McGraw — whose dad is "Dr. Phil" McGraw — hosts. "Dateline," 8 p.m., NBC. For good or bad, this show sometimes wanders the line between news and promotion of NBC shows. This time, it plans to talk to Jane Pauley about her new book, in which she describes her bout with depression. That is aired during the first week of her new talk show, which is produced by NBC. "Rescue Me," 10 p.m., FX. With a thin grip on sanity lately, Tommy takes some time off and builds a neighbor's deck. He also rethinks his life.
