Posted on: Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

Tonight's Must-See

"Traffic" (2000), 7 p.m., NBC. Steven Soderbergh is that rare director who can adjust his style for each movie. In the same year he made the bright-looking "Erin Brockovich" and this dark film. Then he switched from gritty to glittery for "Ocean's Eleven." His "Traffic" is a tough ride, but it's worth the effort. It jumps back and forth between barely related stories about drug traffic. Michael Douglas plays the newly appointed U.S. drug czar. Catherine Zeta-Jones, his wife in real life, plays the wife of a crime boss. Most affecting, however, are the actors who were then lesser-known. Benicio Del Toro won a supporting-actor Oscar as a cop surrounded by corruption; Erika Christenson is compelling as Douglas' daughter who is sinking into her own tragedy.

Of Note

"NCIS," 7 and 8 p.m., CBS. Two reruns of this solidly made series run back-to-back. In the first, a Medal of Honor winner confesses to a long-ago crime. In the second, a Navy officer has disappeared.

"Gilmore Girls," 7 and 8 p.m., WB. In a late change, WB has scheduled a quick rerun of the season's final two episodes. In particular, catch the 8 p.m. one, which overflows with witty dialogue. Rory, the well-behaved Ivy Leaguer, has been arrested for stealing a yacht in the season finale.

"The Shield," 7 p.m., FX. Shane, who was on Vic's old team, is eyed warily by other cops. Still, he's needed now in a desperate attempt to catch cop-killers.

"Picture Perfect" (1997), 8 p.m., ABC Family. Jennifer Aniston plays a young, single business executive who wants to seem settled. She invents a boyfriend but must then hire a guy (Jay Mohr) to portray him. There are no surprises here, but it is a pleasant-enough comedy, saved by the endless likeability of Aniston and Mohr.

"House," 8 p.m., Fox. A jazz musician becomes inexplicably paralyzed from the waist down.

"Blind Justice," 9 p.m., ABC. Here's a new episode of this new series, which won't be back in the fall. Others have been critical of letting Dunbar, the blind cop, carry a gun. Now the gun has been stolen and possibly used in a murder.