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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, July 22, 2008

TUBE NOTES
Tube Notes

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

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Zach Braff wrote, starred in and directed "Garden State."

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TONIGHT'S MIGHT-SEES

"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," 9 p.m., NBC. Most of the stars in the "Law & Order" universe get ignored, especially at awards time. They're good people in bland roles. The exception is Mariska Hargitay, who has just received her fifth straight Emmy nomination for lead actress; she won in 2006. This rerun reminds us why she's often honored. Key evidence in a brutal rape has disappeared. Now a prison guard is the suspect; Olivia Benson (Hargitay) goes undercover as a prisoner.

"POV: 9 Star Hotel," 10 p.m., PBS. Here's a personal and heartbreaking drama, in a no-win situation. After hiring Palestinians to help construct a new city, the film says, Israel changed its policy. It banned Palestinians and did regular police sweeps to take them away. Desperate for jobs, some young men continued to work secretly. Each night, they slipped into the hills, living in makeshift shacks. This film by Ido Haar visits their world. We catch conversations (via subtitles) that are often sweet and boyish. One guy talks about getting engaged; another finds toys in the trash — for his future kids, he says — and plays with them himself. This is not a whitewash: We see one man urging another to steal from his employers. Mostly, however, we quickly like these guys. Then the finale hits hard.

OF NOTE

"Garden State" (2004), 1:15 p.m., IFC (Oceanic Digital Channel 675). Zach Braff did a terrific job of writing, directing and starring in this comedy-drama, which has a few "Graduate"-like touches. Natalie Portman is delightful in support.

"Celebrity Family Feud," 7 p.m., NBC. One round has a battle of reality-show families — the Kardashians against the Deion Sanders clan. The second has Ed McMahon's family feuding against Tiki Barber's.

"Jump In" (2007), 7 p.m., Disney Channel. This is the kind of movie Disney does well. It has an attractive star (Corbin Bleu), lots of upbeat music and ... well, some amazingly skillful people jumping rope.

"NCIS," 7 p.m., CBS. An informant has been killed before anything was revealed. Now the team scrambles to learn what the secret was.

"Reality Bites Back" 7 p.m., and "The Gong Show," 7:30, Comedy Central. These shows premiered Thursday with the loud and witless "Gong Show" first. That might have scared some people away. This time the "Reality" rerun is first. It's quite clever, actually, with Michael Ian Black drolly hosting a takeoff on all reality shows.

"House," 8 p.m., Fox. Dr. House is being pushed to choose his staff. He has the job candidates diagnose a bitter former rock star.

"The Secret Life of The American Teenager," 8 p.m., ABC Family. Amy has lots of frustrations. She likes Ben (who's not the father of her baby-to-be), but he's getting clingy. Also, her parents are fighting.

"Without a Trace," 9 p.m., CBS. A woman vanishes shortly after an office shooting.