Posted on: Friday, January 21, 2005
Tube Notes
By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service
Tonight's Must-See
"Monk," 10 p.m., USA Network. After a long pause, this first-class detective show starts the second half of its season with seven new episodes. For fans, the bad news is that Sharona — Monk's friend and assistant, zestfully played by Bitty Schram — is gone. The good news is that "Monk" uses that to build a terrific episode. We see the neurotic Monk (Tony Shalhoub), in deep denial that Sharona is really gone. His scene with his psychiatrist reminds us that series creator Andy Breckman is a veteran comedy writer. And we meet Natalie (Traylor Howard), fighting off a burglar. She has no idea why the burglar was in her home.
Viewers will quickly realize that she's destined to be the new assistant. Like Sharona, she's a single mother. Unlike her, she has a girl — a gender that leaves Monk perpetually flustered. Sharona had a flashy, girly kind of look. Natalie looks briskly confident, the sort of person who could quell a burglar or stand up to a fidgety boss. The actual mystery — trying to figure out why Natalie's home is a target — is so-so. However, the interplay between Monk and his reluctant new aide is first-rate, as usual. "Joan of Arcadia," 7 p.m., CBS. Joan campaigns for the underdog in the school elections. "The Bernie Mac Show," 7 p.m., Fox. Bernie arranges for Bryanna to be in the same school as her older brother. That leads to trouble for both. "Jane Doe: Vanishing Act," 7 and 9 p.m., Hallmark Channel. Lea Thompson plays a cheerful woman with a straight-laced husband, a cheerleader-wannabe daughter and a genius son. None of them realize that she's a former spy. It's sort of a gender flip on Arnold Schwarzenegger's "True Lies" character. This is a character who will be in recurring mystery movies. This opener has a complex mystery (a man disappears from a plane) but needs huge bursts of coincidence. It works only because Thompson and her character are fun to watch. "Battlestar Galactica," 8 p.m., Sci-Fi Channel. In the original version of this series (1978-80), Richard Hatch played Apollo, a noble fighter pilot and son of the captain. Now he guests as an imprisoned rebel. The ship desperately needs his cooperation and that sets up a key meeting with Apollo (now played by Jamie Bamber). They're soon locked in a crisis. It's a tough, taut hour — a reminder that the new "Battlestar" is much better than the original. "Hope & Faith," 8 p.m., ABC. Faith (Kelly Ripa) is still gaga for the neighborhood's former baseball player (Mark Consuelos, Ripa's real-life husband). The biggest hurdle is his former fianc?e (Carmen Electra). "Jonny Zero," 8 p.m., Fox. Last week, we met Jonny (Franky G), a tough guy, fresh from prison. His old colleagues want him to work for them, his parole officer wants him to go straight, and a federal agent wants him to work undercover. Now he has a makeshift detective agency and an unusual request: A relatively innocent young man is heading to prison. Can Jonny smooth the path by talking to the guys inside? "Jonny Zero" keeps us watching only on the strength of its conflicted title character. "Medical Investigation," 9 p.m., NBC. In a rerun, Conner suspects Gulf War syndrome — until the same ailment shows up in several nursing-home patients.
Of Note
