Posted on: Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Tube Notes
By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service
Tonight's Must-See
"Strange Days on Planet Earth," 9 p.m., PBS; concludes next week. A doctor is perplexed by Trinidad children's respiratory illnesses. The problem, researchers suspect, is caused by dust clouds floating across from a drought-plagued Africa. That's one example of global interdependency. This compelling series has many more. "Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story," 9 p.m., USA Network. Emile Griffith was a soft-spoken hat designer from the Virgin Islands. Then someone spotted his torso and decided he should be a boxer. He became a fierce one — a six-time world champion — then one of his opponents died in the ring during a live telecast. This brilliant documentary, shown without commercial interruption, has comments from many of the most astute observers of the time, including Pete Hamill, Jimmy Breslin and the late Jack Newfield. "In the Heat of the Night" (1967), 5 p.m., AMC. With Rod Steiger as a rural Mississippi cop and Sidney Poitier as a Philadelphia police detective, this Oscar-winner is superbly written and acted. "Revelations," 8 p.m., NBC. In last week's terrific opener, an astrophysicist and a nun were seeking clues on the end of the world. In this episode, they trace a "miracle child" who survived a shipwreck. "Lost," 7 p.m., ABC. This rerun views the past of the scary Sawyer. "Stacked," 7:30 p.m., Fox. Last week's debut, which had some funny moments, saw a sexy Pamela Anderson hired at a bookstore. Now, however, she must compete with an Ivy Leaguer for the job. "American Idol," 8 p.m., Fox. After the surprising ouster of Nadia Turner, the field is trimmed to six. "Eyes," 9:02 p.m., ABC. An assistant district attorney (Laura Leighton) needs some dirty tricks when she faces a dishonest judge.
Of Note
