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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Paranormalist Uri Geller co-hosts "Phenomenon," a new five-week NBC series featuring spellbinding illusions.

DAVE BJERKE | NBC

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"Phenomenon" debut, 7 p.m., NBC. When Ben Silverman took over NBC this year, he brought fresh energy. This guy loves TV; he had already imported foreign concepts, with success ("The Office," "Ugly Betty") and failure ("Coupling"). One of his first steps at NBC was to grab this Israeli concept in which mentalists compete. He hired Israeli star Uri Geller, then lobbied Criss Angel, the hip-looking American, to be the other host. This five-week series will be live, so we can't guarantee anything. Still, we're encouraged by Angel's honesty; he tells us when things are merely illusions and expects the contestants to do the same.

Baseball, 2 p.m., Fox. The World Series used to start on a Saturday, when TV viewership is at its lowest. Now comes a Wednesday start. The Colorado Rockies open on the road, fiercely hot. They've won 21 of 22 games, including eight straight in the tiebreaker and the playoffs.

OF NOTE

"Au Revoir, les Infants" (1987), 2 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. When director Louis Malle was young, his Catholic school hid Jewish boys from the Nazis. Malle turned that into this sweetly crafted film.

"Planet in Peril," 3 p.m., CNN. Here's the second half of the ambitious look at environmental pressures worldwide.

Halloween films. At one extreme is "Halloween" (1978) at 5 p.m. on AMC. With a tiny budget, John Carpenter brilliantly directed an intense horror tale. At the other is "Nature of the Beast" (2007) on ABC Family at 8 p.m.; it's a light and semi-adequate tale of a guy hoping his bride doesn't realize he turns into a werewolf. Somewhere in between is "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993) on the Disney Channel at 8 p.m.; it's an animated musical from Tim Burton.

"Pushing Daisies," 7 p.m., ABC. No one knows if a pilot intentionally crashed his plane. Now Ned must wake him from the dead, briefly, to ask. Meanwhile, his loved one Chuck finds herself fascinated by the lone survivor.

"Bionic Woman," 8 p.m., NBC. Jaime goes undercover as a college student. Jordan Bridges (Beau's son, Lloyd's grandson, Jeff's nephew) plays the teaching assistant she falls for.

"Private Practice," 8 p.m., ABC. Addison is obsessing on Pete (Tim Daly). Meanwhile, Violet (Amy Brenneman) and Cooper (Paul Adelstein) are disrupted when her ex visits the clinic.

"CSI: NY," 9 p.m., CBS. This just-the-facts cop show steps into a high-tech setting. A woman was apparently killed because she resembled a popular avatar; Mac enters a virtual world to investigate.

"Dirty Sexy Money," 9 p.m., ABC. Who is the villain, Nick's employer Tripp Darling (Donald Sutherland) or Tripp's enemy Simon Elder? Tonight, Nick (Peter Krause) meets Simon (Blair Underwood).