‘Party’ Wedding Shakes Up Groom
NBC’s Olympics coverage features another tough challenge for the NBA I mean U.S.A. men’s basketball team. The dribbling millionaires take on Lithuania.
Please. If The Dream Team vs. The World were a television series, critics would skewer the writers for failing to come up with a plot. Check out the rest of the action in Atlanta in “Highlights” below.
You want a tense game of one-on-one? Tune in the repeat of “Party of Five” (FOX at 9). The wedding day finally arrives for Charlie (Matthew Fox) and Kirsten (Paula Devicq).
Charlie, who has a remarkable propensity for making bad choices, bolts just prior to the ceremony as he is wracked with second thoughts about the commitment of marriage. Kirsten, left in the lurch, has to decide what to do with her handsome Peter Pan.
Devicq turns in her best performance to date in a memorable episode. It sets up the remaining repeat episodes before “Party” launches it’s third season on Aug. 21.
Highlights
“Summer Olympics,” NBC at 9 a.m. and 4:30 and 9:40 p.m.: On tap are the men’s individual gymnastics final, and swimming, basketball and team equestrian competition. The later evening show will include women’s volleyball, cycling, water polo, weight lifting and cycling.
“Beverly Hills, 90210,” FOX at 8: Kelly (Jennie Garth) is set up for a big letdown when her father (John Reilly) comes to town. And things aren’t getting any better with Colin (Jason Wiles), whom she catches using cocaine again.
It was at about this point in the season that Kelly realized - duh! - that Colin was hopelessly messed up and a sure bet to drag her down with him. The writers couldn’t figure out a convenient way to ditch Colin after he fulfilled his role of getting Kelly addicted.
I would have had him drive off a cliff. Repeat. , “A League of Their Own” (1992), CBS at 8:30: Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Rosie O’Donnell are divine in this entertaining story of the World War II-era women’s professional baseball league. Though it takes liberties with women’s league history, it will keep you cheering all the way.
The baseball comedy offers a pleasant break from Costas & Co. in Atlanta.
“Champs,” ABC at 9:30: Parents may be able to identify with the conflict at the center of this half-hour. Linda (Ashley Crow) has a law school exam on the same night daughter Phoebe (Libby Winters) plays the lead in her school play.
Can this mom be a supermom?
“PrimeTime Live,” ABC at 10: See a unique view of America as reporter Jay Schadler hitchhikes from New England to Los Angeles. Repeat.
Cable Calls
“The Murder of Mary Phagan” (1988), LIFE at 8: This powerful period miniseries won an Emmy for its taut portrayal of a landmark 1913 murder case. Leo Frank (Peter Gallagher), a Jewish factory owner, is charged with murdering a young Atlanta factory worker.
Jack Lemmon is terrific as Georgia Gov. John M. Slaton, who risked his career by reopening what was considered a cut-and-dried case against a “Yankee Jew.”
“All About Eve” (1950), AMC at 7: Easily Hollywood’s best take on Broadway, this witty, well-executed tale stars Bette Davis as an aging star who spares a little kindness on an adoring young actress (Anne Baxter). It’s soon obvious that the starlet aims to outshine her idol.
The marvelous cast includes George Sanders, Gary Merrill, Celeste Holm, Thelma Ritter and Marilyn Monroe.
“Kids” (1995), MAX at 11: Brace yourself for this controversial film about adolescent sex, drugs and violence. Directed by Larry Clark, it’s a frank drama about a sexually predatory teen (Leo Fitzpatrick) and an ex-lover (Chloe Sevigny), who discovers she is infected by the AIDS virus.
The sexual situations are so explicit that some faulted Clark for producing a sex film in the guise of a socially motivated cinema verite drama. Don’t think for a moment that it isn’t based on reality.
Stay with it and you’ll wonder long after whether society has failed these kids or if they were born beyond hope.
Talk Time
“Late Show With David Letterman,” CBS at 11:35: Radio personality Howard Stern and singer Celine Dion.
“Tonight,” NBC at 12:35: Jay Leno monologue.