‘Summerland’ relies on unlikely plot
June 1 seems like a good day to start thinking about summer.
You can tune in to “Summerland,” a new Family Fare drama that has its two-hour premiere on the WB at 8.
This is one of those plots that happens all the time in TV and movies but almost never in real life.
Lori Loughlin is the ambitious California fashion designer who inherits three kids when her sister and brother-in-law die in a car crash. (Expect the parents to be forgotten by week 5, if it lasts that long.) Any resemblance to the current Kate Hudson movie is strictly coincidental.
Or you can tune in to Fox’s two-hour “Summer Music Mania” concert at 8, tape-delayed from Arizona, with Jessica Simpson and her little sister Ashlee, pop rockers Rooney and Three Doors Down, and hip hop from Ludacris, the Black Eyed Peas and more.
It sounds more summery than the orphans show, when you get right down to it.
Highlights
“8 Simple Rules,” ABC at 8: Repeat called “The Story of Anne Frank and Skeevy” involves a school play.
“Navy NCIS,” CBS at 8: Repeat looking into drug abuse aboard ship.
Pageant mania, NBC at 8: First a “Fear Factor” repeat with six Miss USA contestants as the victims, er, players. Then at 9 it’s the 2004 Miss Universe Pageant, with hosts Daisy Fuentes and Billy Bush and musical guest Gloria Estefan. Bonus: It’s tape-delayed from Quito, Ecuador.
“I’m with Her,” ABC at 8:30: Repeat. Alex is offered a musical, but she doesn’t know she can’t sing. Who’s going to tell her?
“The Guardian,” CBS at 9: Repeat about an apparent fertility clinic error, when a white woman gives birth to a black child.
“Less Than Perfect,” ABC at 9:30: Repeat. What’s up with Carl and Claude’s friendship? Word around the office is that it’s something more.
“Peter Jennings Reporting: LAPD,” ABC at 10: This special follows the gang unit as it tries to maintain order, and a new chief tries to restore the embattled department’s reputation and effectiveness.
“Judging Amy,” CBS at 10: Repeat about a custody case involving teen parents, one of them Amish.
Cable Cast
NBA basketball, ESPN at 5: Indiana Pacers at Detroit Pistons, in Game 6, if necessary.
“Cary Grant: A Class Apart,” TCM at 5 and 9: Co-stars and ex-wives look at the art and life of the great star.
“The Grifters” (1990), WE at 6: Anjelica Huston and John Cusack star as mother and son con artists in this terrific, twisted modern noir that also stars Annette Bening. Stephen Frears directed from Jim Thompson’s pulp novel.
“Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” Bravo at 10: Brandon and David B. get makeovers on this new episode.
“The Shield,” FX at 10: Chickens are coming home to roost. And that’s a bad thing if you operate the way the Strike team does.