‘Unsolved Mysteries’ Explores Cloning
I heard a radio disc jockey giving the “Top 10” arguments against cloning. At the head of the list: The All-John Tesh Philharmonic Orchestra.
We kid about cloning, but medical science has made it a serious subject. NBC’s “Unsolved Mysteries” at 8 repeats an unsettling report on cloning the dead.
Interviews with molecular biologist Dr. Lee Silver and ethics professor Dr. Ronald Munson explore the potential upside of using DNA from a dead person to produce an identical human. I feel a mother-in-law joke coming on.
But the imagination runs wild: A dying newborn could be cloned, giving parents a fresh start in place of tragedy. Governments might clone dying leaders - which could be good or bad. How about the plot of Ira Levin’s “The Boys From Brazil,” in which Nazis cloned 94 boys with tissue from the dead Fuhrer?
The report looks at what governments are doing to limit cloning, at the same time that a multimillion dollar research effort refines cloning techniques.
Highlights
“Ordinary/Extraordinary,” CBS at 8: Included is the dramatic comeback story of a Chicago woman who survived a coma and, with her husband’s help, placed among the top finishers of the Windy City’s biggest marathon. Also, a series of basketball stories includes a profile of Guinness Book of World Records all-time free throw champ. Dr. Tom Amberry, 74, a retired podiatrist from Long Beach, Calif., three years ago sank 2,750 consecutive shots!
“Step by Step,” ABC at 8: Carol (Suzanne Somers) arranges a blind date for Jean-Luc (Bronson Pinchot), and the kids turn Carol’s salon into an after-hours “love shack.”
“Millennium,” FOX at 9: Brad Dourif, unparalleled when it comes to playing a disturbed young man, is the suspect in a series of dark and obsessive murders. Repeat.
“Nash Bridges,” CBS at 10: Nash and Joe (Don Johnson, Cheech Marin) are taken hostage when they attempt to stop a fast-moving gang responsible for a string of San Francisco burglaries.
Also, Nash moonlights for an arrogant baseball player (guest star Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants) who is looking for a lost good-luck charm.
Cable Calls
“The Producers” (1968), TMC at 5:50: Mel Brooks fans can plan a night around The Movie Channel’s lineup. Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder portray a theatrical producer and crooked accountant who stage an intentional flop - “Springtime for Hitler” - to scam the Internal Revenue Service. Dick Shawn co-stars as the play’s batty star.
Brooks’ 1977 Alfred Hitchcock spoof “High Anxiety” follows at 7:25, starring Cloris Leachman, Harvey Korman and Madeline Kahn. And at 9, it’s 1995’s “Dracula: Dead and Loving It,” starring Leslie Nielsen vamping as the mysterious and toothsome count.
The later films aren’t endowed with the wit of “The Producers” (which won Brooks a screen-writing Oscar), but they’re filled with enough sight gags and one-liners to top off your week with laughter.
“Fled” (1996), SHO at 8: Laurence Fishburne’s talent is mostly wasted opposite Stephen Baldwin in this unarresting actioner that gets little mileage out of the interracial buddy film motif.
These guys are on the run from the law and Cuban mobsters. Salma Hayek co-stars; Kevin Hooks directed. Flee.
“Biography,” A&E at 9: “Bruce Lee: The Immortal Dragon,” profiles the martial-arts master. Interviews include the late actor’s wife, daughter and brother, and former students Blake Edwards and Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
Talk Time
“Tonight,” NBC at 11:35: Jennifer Aniston (“Friends”), “Magic” Johnson and comedian Carlos Mencia.
“Late Show With David Letterman,” CBS at 11:35: Actor Jay Mohr.
“Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher,” ABC at 12:35 a.m.: William H. Macy, Rita Rudner and Jack Valenti.
“Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” NBC at 12:35 a.m.: Dave Foley (“NewsRadio”), animal expert Clyde Peeling, cyclist Libor Karas and financial analyst Myron Kandel.