Posted on: Thursday, January 13, 2005

Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

Tonight's Must-See

"Committed," 7:30 p.m., NBC. Marni (Jennifer Finnigan) finally has a real boyfriend. Unfortunately, he's tangled up with her imaginary one. For two years, she's been telling co-workers about Raoul. When Nate (Josh Cooke) visits her office, people think he's Raoul. Complications grow. Nate is jealous of a guy who doesn't exist; Marni is hospitalized and had listed Raoul as her emergency contact. Meanwhile, Bowie (Darius McCrary) overdoes a song to his mother. And the sad clown in Marni's closet (Tom Poston) actually gets a job clowning. We haven't seen this episode but the first three were terrific, making this worth trying.

"Tilt" debut, 4, 5, 7, 10 p.m., ESPN. Cable keeps giving us reality shows about gambling, but here's a fictional series. Michael Madsen plays a Las Vegas poker champ. Tonight, Eddie Cibrian ("Third Watch"), leads a group trying to beat him.

Of Note

"Joey," 7 p.m., NBC. The opening-night party is approaching for "Deep Powder," the series Joey co-stars in. Now he isn't sure who to bring — his sister or his nephew or the attractive, married landlord.

"Life As We Know It," 7 p.m., ABC. Last week, Sue's dad (a member of the teachers' union) quietly confronted Miss Young about her past affair with Ben, one of her students. She agreed to quit her teaching job. Alas, the dad also banned Sue from dating Ben; now they consider breaking the rule.

"The O.C.," 7 p.m., Fox. Here's a much better teen drama. Tonight's hour eyes Seth's parents' 20th anniversary. Both Seth and Ryan have their own schemes when the grown-ups are distracted.

"North Shore," 8 p.m., Fox. This series, which started in the summer before getting an extra fall-winter run, wraps up its first season tonight. We find that Alex (Shannen Doherty) really is a schemer after she tries to get control of Frankie's club.

"Will & Grace," 8 and 8:30 p.m., NBC. Up for a partnership in his law firm, Will tries to impress his boss (Lily Tomlin) at a dinner. He's not sure whether to bring his boyfriend, Vince. Meanwhile, Grace is at the same party. That's followed by a rerun in which Kristin Davis of "Sex and the City" plays Vince's platonic friend in a relationship similar to Will and Grace.

"Without a Trace," 9 p.m., CBS. When a prisoner disappears during a staged fight the warden feels he schemed the breakout. The guy's sister isn't so sure because he was scheduled for release in two weeks.