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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, August 3, 2006

Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE

"Extreme Makeover" return, 7 p.m., ABC. This reality show faltered in the ratings but produced a hit spin-off, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." Now the original is back for some summer episodes. It aims for the feel-good tone of "Home Edition." One case involves a military wife who became the victim of an overseas war. Going through her husband's laundry, she was bitten by a spider. The after-effects left her face badly scarred. Another involves a deaf man, outgoing and charismatic, who wants to become a public persona for the deaf community. First, he figures he'll need a major makeover, including liposuction, hair replacement and three front teeth. Both go to a Beverly Hills mansion where they bond while going through the procedures. There's also a smaller story about a quick-fix for an aide to the assistant to comedian George Lopez. The main impact, however, involves the two people in the mansion. For tonight, "Makeover" packs the emotional punch of its spin-off.

OF NOTE

"Who Wants to Be a Superhero?" 5 and 6 p.m., and "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace," 7 p.m.; Sci Fi Channel. If you missed last week's premiere, catch the re-run at 5 p.m. It's silly, but fun, as people try to create new characters to be in a Stan Lee comic book. In the first challenge, most of them are so intense that they race right past the real test — a crying girl, looking for her mother. That's followed by a new episode at 6. Then stick around at 7 for "Darkplace," a British show that's often hilarious. Pretending to be a supernatural horror series, it beautifully lampoons the low-budget TV shows and movies of the 1980s.

"Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo" (1999), 5 and 9 p.m., FX. This film got going mainly because people thought it was a funny title. Rob Schneider plays an aquarium-cleaner who wants to moonlight as a prostitute. The film is so-so, but Arija Bareikis is delightful in support. And the title really is kind of funny.

"My Name is Earl," 7 p.m., NBC. This funny re-run starts with a crisis: Joy's kids can't even get into the bad-kids ranch; the people there are still mad at Earl for burning down the barn. As Earl tries to make amends, he learns important things about Randy.

"Big Brother 7: All-Stars" (7 p.m., CBS); "So You Think You Can Dance" (8 p.m., Fox) and "America's Got Talent" (8 p.m., NBC). It's results night again. "Big Brother" drops one person, "Dance" drops two (getting down to the final four) and "Talent" sends one more person to the finals.

"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," 8 p.m., CBS. A woman dies after a fall down a stairs. It seems accidental — except that the widower's first wife died the same way.

"Without a Trace," 9 p.m., CBS. Jack and Vivian suspect that an innocent man was convicted seven years ago.

"Windfall," 9 p.m., NBC. Sean and Tally start to wonder if Zoe might actually be alive.