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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

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TONIGHT'S MUST SEE

"Invasion" debut, 9 p.m., ABC. A savage storm batters little Homestead, Fla. Stick around, though. "Invasion," filmed long before Hurricane Katrina, has rich depth. Writer-producer Shaun Cassidy (whose wife is from Homestead) offers layers of destruction. There is the storm and divorce and maybe some aliens. All swirl together in the year's best new show. Cassidy — yes, the former pop star — is a wonderful writer and has the brilliant Thomas Schlamme ("West Wing") directing. Eddie Cibrian stars as a park ranger divorced from a doctor and married to a TV reporter. He has two kids and a goofy brother-in-law who imagines an alien invasion. Or is he imagining? This is the kind of show that mixes fantasy and intelligence in all the best ways.

OF NOTE

"America's Next Top Model" season opener, 4 p.m., UPN (KIKU). Twiggy was once the consummate emaciated model. Now — in a world with people way too twiggy — she's the judge.

"The Apprentice: Martha Stewart" debut, 7 p.m., NBC. Does the world really need a second "Apprentice"? Does it need one? We're not sure. But a day before the Donald Trump edition, this one stars the most omnipresent ex-con since G. Gordon Liddy.

"Destination Lost" and "Lost" season opener, 7 and 8 p.m., ABC. First comes a chance to catch up, a sampling from the first year of this fascinating show. Then the new season starts. What will the castaways find when they open the hatch?

"TV Land Confidential," 7 p.m., TV Land. This half-hour breezes through the history of shows that switched or masked an actor because of illness, pregnancy or whatever. It's quick and mildly interesting.

"E-Ring" debut, 8 p.m., NBC. This is a terrific hour, with all the movie values you expect from producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Taylor Hackford ("Ray"). Benjamin Bratt plays an Army major accustomed to action. He's new to the Pentagon, where he has a quirky colonel (Dennis Hopper), a sharp-tongued aide (Aunjanue Ellis) and an instant crisis.

"American Masters: Lucille Ball: Finding Lucy," 9 p.m., PBS. This splendid 2000 documentary ignores Lucille Ball's formative years. But it is a rich portrait of her career, with lots of clips and interviews.