New ‘Shining’ Longer But Still Riveting
The great writer-director Stanley Kubrick (“Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”) believed about two hours were sufficient to tell the story of Stephen King’s “The Shining” in his chilling 1980 film.
ABC and King, on the other hand, feel the 1977 best seller deserves six hours - what a time investment.
Sunday, Monday and Thursday at 9 on ABC you can view the eerie story of the haunted mountain resort cut off from civilization by snow. King wrote the script, and Steven Weber (“Wings”) plays Jack Nicholson’s old role of Jack Torrance, a recovering alcoholic and the hotel’s winter caretaker.
Rebecca De Mornay steps into the role of Torrance’s tortured wife, Wendy. (Shelley Duvall had the role in the original.)
The oddest character of all is Torrance’s son Danny (Courtland Mead). He has the power known as the shining, which is explained repeatedly in Part 1.
Admittedly Nicholson’s Jack is far creepier than Weber’s. But in the 1997 version, time is well spent examining a failing relationship and creating horror-movie special effects.
This “Shining” keeps your attention from the start despite the redundancies.
Highlights
“World’s Wildest Magic,” NBC tonight at 8: Gather the family for this magical experience, taped in Las Vegas, Nev.
Some of the memorable moments include Teller - of Penn and Teller - diving into a cement mixer.
“U2: A Year in Pop,” ABC tonight at 10: Tune in for behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the popular rock band U2’s 11th album, “POP.”
“Mad TV,” FOX tonight at 11: Adam Arkin partakes in the spoofs, which include a down-and-dirty sketch titled “Mary Tyler Moore: The Lost Episode.”
Arkin plays Lou Grant as Mary Richards confesses she’s a lesbian.
“3rd Rock From the Sun,” NBC Sunday at 8: Dick (John Lithgow) stands accused of insensitivity and must take sensitivity training in a delightfully hilarious episode. Harry Morgan, Jan Hooks (as Dubcek’s daughter) and Wayne Knight add laughs to the half-hour.
“A Match Made in Heaven,” CBS Sunday at 9: Olympia Dukakis is a dying woman who wants her bachelor son (John Stamos) to settle down and stop playing the field. She plays matchmaker, and the son is off on a blind date with her nurse.
Della Reese steals the show as Dukakis’ longtime nurse-housekeeper.
Cable Calls
“Boxing,” HBO tonight at 7: George Foreman, who’s 48, takes on a 31-year-old named Lou Savarese. This 12-round bout live from Atlantic City, N.J. promises to be full of punches.
“Police,” A&E Sunday at 5: This drawn-out documentary traces the history of law enforcement from colonial days to today. Lots of information is packed into this one. It’s for folks dedicated to learning the history of policing.
Movie Marquee
“The River Wild” (1994), NBC Sunday at 8:30: Members of a troubled family (the matriarch is played by Meryl Streep) try to smooth out some rough edges on a whitewater rafting trip.