Posted on: Saturday, March 26, 2005

Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

Tonight's Must-See

"Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie" debut, 7 p.m., ABC. Laura Ingalls Wilder was 65 when she dug into her frontier childhood to write the first of her "Little House" novels. Translated into 21 languages, the books also were the basis of "Little House on the Prairie," an NBC series that aired during the 1970s and featured Michael Landon as director and star. CBS has had huge ratings with two movies about Wilder. Now ABC — under the "Wonderful World of Disney" banner — has this new miniseries. After tonight's opener, it will continue to air over the next four Saturdays. No show can be expected to match the potency of Landon who played Charles, the father, and Melissa Gilbert, who played his daughter Laura. Cameron Bancroft does fine here in Landon's old role. So does Kyle Chavarria, now 10, who plays Laura. The real strength of this version, however, is its production values. Filmed in a relatively untouchedsection of Calgary, Alberta, it gives us the feeling of a family plunging into the unknown. "Little House" spans the emotions, from warmth and love to adventure and fear. This is an important tale being retold.

Of Note

"LAX," 7 p.m., NBC. A message from a plane says it's been hijacked. A pilot soon says it was all a mistake, but the airport managers (Heather Locklear and Blair Underwood) aren't sure. They go into emergency mode.

"Law & Order: Criminal Intent," 8 p.m., NBC. In this rerun, a plastic surgeon and two contact-lens sales people have been killed. Police wonder if it's a vendetta against altering looks.

"Desperate Housewives," 9 p.m., ABC. There's finally a new episode coming Sunday. To warm up, here's a rerun; Lynette's father-in-law (Ryan O'Neal) visits and soon his deep flaws are revealed.

"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," 9 p.m., NBC. In a rerun, Ming-Na ("ER") plays someone going undercover after a relative is held hostage by a human-smuggling ring.