Survival Tale Could Have You Jumping Ship
Mel Harris, John Schneider and Dana Ashbrook co-star in this fact-based survival tale spun around a shipwrecked, pregnant deckhand (Harris).
The three set sail on a yachting adventure in the repeat of 1993’s”Desperate Journey: The Allison Wilcox Story” (ABC Sunday at 9).
Before you can say “shipwrecked,” Hurricane Bob starts tossing the tiny ship around. As you might guess, the provisions in the life raft are few, opening the door for much finger-pointing and arguing. Unlike similar shipwrecked movies (usually TV offers up one per season), these folks aren’t held together by family bonds.
They dislike each other, and never reconcile despite the predicament. Harris’ Allison Wilcox is not only pregnant, but she recently recovered from leukemia. You can imagine her anger and willingness to express it.
The slinging of insults and bickering become tiring awfully fast here. You may consider avoiding getting shipwrecked with this crew. Better yet, catch a “Gilligan’s Island” repeat. Now that’s being shipwrecked in style.
Highlights
“Who Makes You Laugh? 2,” ABC tonight at 9: Comedians reveal who made them laugh first, and how thrilled they are now to be getting the last laugh in this repeat. You’ll hear from Tom Arnold, Janeane Garofalo, Jay Leno, Richard Lewis, Whoopi Goldberg and Dave Thomas.
“The Practice,” ABC tonight at 10: The highly acclaimed legal series steals material from the O.J. Simpson civil trial and tobacco industry law suits. Bobby prepares for a civil case involving a man who killed his former girlfriend; Lindsay steps up the firm’s battle with the tobacco industry and her former professor.
“Saturday Night Live,” NBC tonight at 11:30: Chris Rock hosts. The Wallflowers are the musical guest. Repeat.
“America’s Funniest Home Videos,” ABC Sunday at 8 and 8:30: You can catch back-to-back repeats of the series, hosted by Bob Saget. In the first half-hour, audiences in Cleveland and Albuquerque join with the Los Angeles studio crowd to choose the $100,000 grand prize winner. Included is a look at international home videos.
At 8:30, a pillow fight at 30,000 feet is the main attraction. Also, a father of the bride models a bikini tuxedo.
“Murder in the First” (1995), NBC Sunday at 8:30: A youth’s cruel treatment in Alcatraz comes to the attention of a lawyer (Christian Slater). The lawyer and convict (Kevin Bacon) forge a relationship in this unusual look at brutality in prisons in the 1930s and ‘40s. This is a powerfully engrossing true story that is as well acted as it is written.
“Judith Krantz’s ‘Dazzle”’ (1995), CBS Sunday and Tuesday at 9: You remember this formulaic sudser starring Lisa Hartman Black. She plays a top photographer who must save her father’s California ranch from predators.
She uses more than flashbulbs to save the ranch. Can you guess her method? It involves self-pity, being victimized and finally fighting back at the right moment. Those who saw it the first time were not dazzled. Repeat.
Cable Calls
“A Very Brady Sequel” (1996), HBO tonight at 9: Carol and Mike Brady aren’t married? They have been living in sin, according to this comedy, anyway. Carol’s believed-dead husband (Tim Matheson) shows up alive and well, and causes a Brady-style crisis.
The superficial ‘70s family faces some tough choices and re-evaluates relationships in this lightweight tale that’s corny and campy. It’s hard to resist so much kitsch rolled up into one package.
“Ira Gershwin Centenary Concert: Who Could Ask for Anything More?,” A&E tonight at 7 and 11 London’s Royal Albert Hall is the setting for this tribute to lyricist Gershwin. The main highlight is Lorna Luft’s rendition of “The Man that Got Away,” a song made famous by her mother, Judy Garland.
“Elvis Meets Nixon” (1997), SHO Sunday at 9: Did Elvis and Nixon have much in common? Although it’s hard to believe, this knee-slapping spoof, filled with Elvis and Nixon in-jokes, draws many parallels between the two.
Inspired by the 1970 meeting between the two, the black comedy touches on their paranoia, conservative politics and strange eating habits (Nixon’s love for cottage cheese and ketchup; Elvis’ chocolate and donut obsession).
The events leading up to the meeting are told tongue-in-cheek. Dick Cavett narrates. There are a lot of off-the-cuff vignettes including one where Elvis (Rick Peters) ventures into the “real world” sans his famous entourage.
Of note is his visit to Sunset Boulevard where he certainly doesn’t receive royal treatment. Rather he’s received like a has-been whose records have been put in record stores’ oldies bins next to Pat Boone’s. Bob Gunton is a hoot as Tricky Dick.
Parents’ pick
“Going Wild! With Jeff Corwin,” DIS Sunday at 7: Here comes yet another wild animal show. This one has Jeff Corwin spanning the globe to study critters. In the premiere episode, he frolics with crocodiles, panthers and coral snakes in the Everglades.
Movie Marquee
“With Honors” (1994), NBC tonight at 9: Joe Pesci and Brendan Fraser try their best to make this sentimental tale a success, but ultimately fail because of a lackluster script. It never builds sympathy for Pesci as a homeless man who forces Harvard student Fraser to take a long, hard look at his superficial existence.