‘Friends’ Role Gives Shields Shot At Comedy
The story going around is that NBC was so giddy about Brooke Shields’ performance on the hour-long “Friends” episode following January’s Super Bowl telecast that NBC executives changed their minds and gave her a comedy this fall instead of a drama as previously planned.
How good was she? Let’s review the tape. The episode is repeated in two parts tonight at 10 and next Thursday. It’s the one that also guest-stars Julia Roberts, Chris Isaak and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Shields plays a woman who dates Joey (Matt LeBlanc), but can’t seem to distinguish him from Dr. Drake Ramoray, the dreamy character he plays on “Days of Our Lives.”
You have to admit, it’s a pretty funny turn. Even though it’s an extended gag - and a pretty dumb one - Shields raises laughs from beginning to end.
In “Suddenly Susan,” Shields will play a book editor who finds herself suddenly single after a six-year relationship with her live-in boyfriend. Philip Casnoff (“Sinatra”) plays her boss, and Elizabeth Ashley (“Evening Shade”) will co-star as an eccentric romance novelist.
The series will air in the coveted Thursday time slot between “Seinfeld” and “ER.”
Highlights
“Martin,” FOX at 8: When Cole (Carl Anthony Payne II) loses his job at the airport, Martin (Martin Lawrence) finds a place for him at the station. A big mistake, until Cole books the NBA’s Charles Barkley as a guest on Martin’s show. Repeat.
“The Show,” FOX at 8:30: Daffy Chris Elliott guest-stars as a network censor who makes Wilson (Mystro Clark) determined to break all the rules. But when his mom shows up, he abruptly cleans up his act. Repeat.
“Royce” (1994), ABC at 9: Jim Belushi is a “blue-collar James Bond” in this spy comedy-thriller that was made for cable and probably should have been kept there.
Belushi plays a retired secret agent pressed into service when a U.S. senator’s son is kidnapped by a renegade agent (Miguel Ferrer) who has plans to hijack a trainload of nuclear warheads.
“48 Hours,” CBS at 10: A visit to the Citadel examines life after the media blitz surrounding the ordeal of the South Carolina military school’s first female student, Shannon Faulkner. The hour also includes an interview with Faulkner, who shares new details of her treatment.
Talk Time
“Tonight,” NBC at 11:35: Actor Dennis Quaid, comedian Chris Rock and singer Vince Gill.
“Late Show With David Letterman,” CBS at 11:35: Actor Steve Martin and actor/director Kenneth Branagh. Repeat.
xxxx Cable call “The Caine Mutiny” (1954), TNT at 10:30: Humphrey Bogart renders a tour de force in the fine adaptation of Herman Wouk’s bestseller. Bogie plays Capt. Philip Frances Queeg, the neurotic Navy minesweeper skipper who cracks under pressure.