Posted on: Saturday, September 25, 2004

Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

Tonight's Must-See

"Survivor: Vanuatu" (CBS) or "The Apprentice" (NBC), both 7 p.m. Producer Mark Burnett is taking over prime time. Tonight, two of his shows battle each other. Both are quick repeats from Thursday. In "Survivor," a second person is ousted. In "Apprentice," a third is ousted after the teams design a toothpaste campaign. With Burnett in charge, we can expect both to be well edited. Still, we don't need two of his shows at once.

Of Note

"Cast Away" (2000), 7 p.m., ABC. Many shows depict groups stranded on a desert island. But what would it be like to be stranded alone? This film has slow parts, but benefits from re-teaming the "Forrest Gump" duo of director Robert Zemeckis and actor Tom Hanks.

"Dad" (1989), 7 p.m., Pax TV. Gary David Goldberg, the producer-writer of "Family Ties" and other comedies, turned mostly serious in directing this film. Jack Lemmon and Ted Danson play a distant father and son who come together by circumstance. The story seems contrived at times, but it's warm and involving.

"Bill Engvall: Here's Your Sign," 5, 9 p.m., Comedy Central. Engvall — one of the "Blue Collar TV" stars — has an amiable presence as a stand-up comedian. That helps salvage some of his material that seems dated. There's better stuff later in the hour, including his "here's your sign" ode to stupidity and an account of the day he took too many painkillers.

"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," 8 p.m., CBS. This rerun has a dog finding a human head in Nevada.

"Law & Order," 8 p.m., NBC. A quick rerun of the hour that introduced Dennis Farina as the best-dressed cop since Benjamin Bratt. Someone involved in the Iraqi prison scandal has been murdered.

"Hustle," 9 p.m., ESPN. One of baseball's strongest human dramas came when Pete Rose was banished for gambling. This film tells the story, with Peter Bogdanovich directing Tom Sizemore as Rose.

"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," 9 p.m., NBC. This rerun asks whether a child was killed by an extreme religious ceremony.

"Saturday Night Live," 10:30 p.m., NBC. Justin Timberlake hosts.