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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, August 1, 2008

Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Pierce Brosnan, right, is Thomas Crown in "The Thomas Crown Affair." Rene Russo costars as Catherine Banning.

United Artists Pictures

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TONIGHT'S MUST-SEES

"The Thomas Crown Affair" (1999), 6 and 8:30 p.m., Bravo. "Thomas Crown" drew heat from people who preferred the 1968 original. Still, this version is a pleasure. John McTiernan, the director of "Die Hard" and "The Hunt For Red October," gave it a sleek look. And Rene Russo is there, giving Pierce Brosnan an impressive costar.

"Soundstage," midnight, PBS. Matchbox Twenty seems like a made-for-TV group. Its singer, Rob Thomas, delivers personal, emotional music. So this intimate setting is ideal. The group goes back a dozen years to such early hits as "Long Day" and "3 AM"; it also does "How Far We've Come," which reached No. 11 on the Billboard charts. In some of the better moments, it does familiar songs on unfamiliar instruments. There's even a harp being strummed in the middle of a rock concert.

OF NOTE

The 33rd Annual Queen Lili'uo-kalani Keiki Hula Competition, 6:30 p.m., KITV. The hula kahiko competition is in the spotlight, with hula 'auana tomorrow night at 6 p.m.

"The Fog" (2005), 7 p.m., Fox. Here's another remake that was criticized by fans of the original. Maggie Grace ("Lost"), Tom Welling and Selma Blair star in this story of a coastal town in terror. John Carpenter's 1980 original was terrific.

"Numb3rs," 8 p.m., CBS. A former hit man has volunteered to help authorities; Don is skeptical.

"Dog Whisperer," 7 p.m., National Geographic. This new hour (surrounded by reruns) finds the ideal reality-show heroine. She's 16, with a great name (Bree Justice), a cute face and a cause — helping abandoned dogs. She's seeking a last-minute reprieve for a condemned dog that often goes on the attack. It's an involving story with an exceptional ending.