Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Doomed series still granted airtime

Kevin McDonough United Feature Syndicate

Going … going … gone. Television’s summer is officially under way, giving viewers their final opportunities to catch repeats of the series that won’t be returning next fall.

Friday’s most recent casualties include a once-popular show about God; a comedy once considered so essential to ABC’s future it survived star John Ritter’s untimely death; a military-themed drama with a 10-year track record; the last or at least the latest installment of the most popular sci-fi TV franchise of all time; a rude comedy misfire from “Passion of the Christ” producer Mel Gibson; and an offshoot of the can’t-miss “Law & Order” empire.

It’s now official: Friday nights have become the Bermuda Triangle of television.

So here’s a brief roundup of seven doomed shows airing repeats tonight: The family reflects on the car accident that left Kevin paralyzed on “Joan of Arcadia” (8 p.m., CBS); Cate throws a mortifying prom party on “8 Simple Rules” (8 p.m., ABC); Archer and crew preside over the decommissioning of the Enterprise on the two-hour series finale of “Star Trek: Enterprise” (8 p.m., UPN); the nasty lady next door needs help on “Complete Savages” (8:30 p.m., ABC); a war wound may have come from friendly fire on “JAG” (9 p.m., CBS); Claude makes a lousy match on “Less Than Perfect” (9:30 p.m., ABC); Kibre takes on the vigilante killer of a child molester on “Law & Order: Trial By Jury” (10 p.m., NBC).

Most viewers associate Memorial Day weekend with hot weather, but the folks at the National Geographic Channel have cold-blooded creatures on their minds.

“Dangerous Encounters: Countdown Croc” (9 p.m., National Geographic) follows world-renowned Dr. Brady Barr, the very first expert to catch and study all 23 known species of crocodiles. It’s taken him 15 years of slogging through bug-infested swamps in more than 50 countries to earn his reputation.

“Dangerous” follows him on the last three of his expeditions in China, Borneo and the Philippines, respectively.

Although crocodiles have survived on Earth more than 200 million years, they’ve had a rough time over the past few human generations. Their natural habitats are rapidly disappearing.

“Dangerous Encounters: Bite Force” (10 p.m., National Geographic) offers something you can really sink your teeth into. Who has a more deadly set of jaws: the crocodile, the hyena or the great white shark?

Brady compares the biting, chewing and gnashing styles of the world’s deadliest creatures. He also speculates on just what humans could do if they had the same bone-crushing capacity as some of the other species.

“Small Town Secrets: Bulls, Bullets & Bigfoot” (9 p.m., CMT) celebrates truly weird doings straight out of “Twin Peaks” and “The X-Files.”

Some residents of Washington’s Walla Walla are not only certain that they’ve seen Bigfoot, they claim to have video footage of the camera-shy creature munching on the local shrubbery.

And they’ve got nothing on Soldotna: Some say hundreds of townsfolk have simply vanished from that remote Alaska burg. And just why has West Point, Ky., become the machine-gun capital of America?

Other highlights

Scheduled on “Dateline” (8 p.m., NBC): a wife’s death appears to be accidental until a similar “accident” turns up in her husband’s past.

Renee Zellweger and Jim Carrey star in the 2000 comedy “Me, Myself and Irene” (8 p.m., Fox).

Paul Jr. customizes a bike to honor fallen heroes on “American Chopper” (9 p.m., Discovery).

Gloria Reuben guest-stars on “Numb3rs” (10 p.m., CBS).

Cult choice

Tommy Lee Jones portrays Gary Gilmore in the 1982 drama “The Executioner’s Song” (3:13 p.m., Lifetime Movie Network). Based on a true-crime account by Norman Mailer, “Song” originally was broadcast as a TV miniseries.

Series notes

On back-to-back episodes of “What I Like About You” (8 p.m., WB), the end of the voyage (8 p.m.), and Jesse McCartney croons (8:30 p.m.).

A turkey-stuffing dispute on “Reba” (9 p.m., WB) … Wrecking Charlie’s car on “Hope & Faith” (9 p.m., ABC) … Josh leaves medical school on “Living with Fran” (9:30 p.m., WB).