‘Crocodiles’ Offers Lots To Chew On
NBC’s “Last Feast of the Crocodiles” at 8 offers an opportunity to understand the delicate balance of nature by observing life in and around an African watering hole.
The leading characters in this life-and-death drama are the deadly crocodiles. But as you’ll see, they have an odd relationship with the largest of the watering hole’s residents, a herd of hippos.
Filmmakers David and Carol Hughes have captured behaviors never before documented. You’ll see the crocs and hippos living in near perfect, sometimes playful, harmony.
Scientists can’t explain why they get along so well together or how either benefits from the peaceful relationship.
The latest National Geographic telecast, filmed in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, records the struggle for life among impalas, baboons, warthogs, lions and an assortment of birds who interact with resident predators.
As the dry season continues, the watering hole becomes a muddy puddle, forcing the hippos to move on or die along with many other animals. Crocodiles survive by burrowing into the muddy banks.
You won’t be disappointed by this superb nature special.
Highlights
“Ellen,” ABC at 8: Posing as a witness in Spence’s (Jeremy Piven) mock trial, Ellen (Ellen DeGeneres) loses her notes and wings her testimony. No one is funnier than Ellen when she’s trying to talk her way out of a jam.
“The Louie Show,” CBS at 8:30: Louie’s (Louie Anderson) involvement in Curt (Bryan Cranston) and Sandy’s (Laura Innes) marital problems put him in hot water with Curt. But it gets him in worse trouble with his new boss (guest-star Mo Gaffney).
“Grace Under Fire,” ABC at 9: The comedy takes up the issue of fair treatment of people who are HIV-positive when Grace (Brett Butler) defends a school janitor (guest star Robert Klein) about to be fired because he is infected with the AIDS virus. The trouble is, he’s most unlikable.
“Championship Ballroom Dancing,” KSPS at 7: It’s the 15th anniversary of public television’s coverage of the colorful event. You’ll see the 1995 competition as well as highlights of the past 15 years. Juliet Prowse and Ron Montez host the 90-minute-long broadcast.
“The Naked Truth,” ABC at 9:30: Nora (Tea Leoni) gets a promotion that suddenly makes her the boss over her trio of co-worker friends (Jonathan Penner, Mark Roberts, Darryl Sivad). George Hamilton has a cameo.
“The Greatest Shows You Never Saw,” CBS at 10: When you see a bad show on television, you may sometimes wonder, how bad was the stuff they turned down? Find out in this collection of highlights from never-broadcast pilots.
Included is Louis Gossett Jr. in “Fuzz Brothers,” Bette Davis in “Madame Sin” and Leonard Nimoy in “Baffled.” Also, “Crossroad Avenger,” directed by legendary B-movie director Ed Wood.
“Law & Order,” NBC at 10: A deadly gas attack that kills 20 people in a New York subway appears to be racially motivated. In this unique crossover of two crime series, Baltimore detectives from “Homicide: Life on the Street” show up, suspecting that a similar crime in their city five years earlier was the work of the same person or persons.
The dramatic conclusion airs on “Homicide” Friday at 10.
Cable Calls
“American Justice,” A&E at 6 and 10: “The Chicago Mob” chronicles organized crime in the Windy City from Al Capone to Sam Giancana to the recent trial of racketeer Gus Alex, who was brought down by his associate and mob rat, Lenny Patrick.
“Rediscovering America With David Hartman,” DISC at 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.: Hartman travels to Canada’s Yukon Territory to tell the story of the great North American gold rush in “Klondike Fever.”
xxxx NORTH IDAHO MARINE ON ‘DATELINE’ “Dateline NBC,” NBC at 9: Scheduled is an interview with Marine Lance Cpl. Zachary Mayo, who fell from a U.S. aircraft carrier and survived for 36 hours in the Arabian Sea. Mayo is from Osburn, Idaho.