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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

‘Stritch’ will elicit mixed emotions



 (The Spokesman-Review)
Joel Brown New York Times Syndicate

HBO has pushed the season finale of “The Sopranos” back to next week. Perhaps it thought a bunch of whacking was inappropriate for Memorial Day weekend.

But the cable channel has some of the weekend’s best viewing choices anyway.

“Elaine Stritch: At Liberty,” on HBO tonight at 8, profiles the gravel-voiced Broadway actress on and off stage as she performs her Tony-winning hit one-woman autobiographical show.

The great D.A. Pennebaker and his creative team (“Don’t Look Back,” “The War Room”) made the film as their first project for HBO.

We see Stritch singing Broadway hits, dishing about stars such as Marlon Brando and Ethel Merman, and relating her own struggles with booze and bad relationships, even when her career was at its height.

It’s funny and sad, often at the same time. And Stritch is one of a kind.

Then on Sunday, at 9, HBO offers “Something the Lord Made,” a based-on-fact drama from the Jim Crow South.

Alan Rickman stars as the white surgeon, Mos Def is the black lab technician, and together they take on “blue baby” syndrome, a congenital and often fatal heart defect.

But still they must fight through racial pressures that divide them and kept Mos Def’s character from becoming a doctor himself.

Joseph Sargent of “Miss Evers’ Boys” (1997) directed.

Highlights

NHL Finals, ABC tonight at 5: How excited do you think ABC programmers were when they found out that the two teams would be the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Calgary Flames? Game 3, from Calgary.

“Ali” (2001), CBS tonight at 8: Will Smith stars in Michael Mann’s heated biopic of the Greatest.

Leftovers, NBC tonight at 8: Two episodes of the second and, trust me, final season of “The Restaurant,” which no one ordered, plus a “Law & Order” repeat.

“MAD TV,” Fox tonight at 11: Repeat with Margaret Cho and music from Macy Gray.

“Saturday Night Live,” NBC tonight at 11:30: Repeat with Ben Affleck and N.E.R.D.

NASCAR racing Fox Sunday at 2: It will go round in circles or, technically, ovals at the Nextel Cup Coca-Cola 600, live from Concord, N.C.

“60 Minutes,” CBS Sunday at 7.

“Dateline,” NBC Sunday at 7: Two hours.

“Cold Case,” CBS Sunday at 8: Repeat reopening the case of a boy found dead in a snowdrift in 1980.

“Line of Fire,” ABC Sunday at 9: ABC burns off a couple of episodes of the short-lived series about feds and crooks, with Leslie Bibb, Leslie Hope and a terrific performance from David Paymer as an oddball crime boss.

“Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997), CBS Sunday at 9: Pierce Brosnan and Michelle Yeoh pursue mad media mogul Jonathan Pryce in this James Bond outing.

“Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” NBC Sunday at 9: Repeat. When a promising high school basketball player disappears, the detectives find a link to gamblers and college recruiters.

“Crossing Jordan,” NBC Sunday at 10: Repeat. Jordan’s quest for her mother’s killer leads her to the trunk of an abandoned car and the 23-year-old skeleton of a Boston detective.

Family Fare

How about a little Memorial Day-appropriate family viewing on PBS Sunday?

“The National Memorial Day Concert,” KSPS Sunday at 7: Ossie Davis hosts on the Capitol lawn, the National Symphony performs, and Tom Hanks and Alison Krauss are on hand too. What could be more American than that?

“A Testament to Freedom,” KSPS Sunday at 8:30: Documentary on the new World War II monument in Washington.

Cable Cast

“Reservoir Dogs” (1992), Bravo tonight at 8: Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am — Quentin Tarantino’s perfect, nasty film.

The brutal scene making use of a certain 1970s AM radio hit is unforgettable. With Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth and many more.

Also on Bravo, at 12:30 a.m., Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” (1975), which ain’t half bad either, especially for the beginning of summer. “Jaws” also airs Sunday at 9.)

“Bowling for Columbine” (2002), TMC tonight at 8: You can’t see Michael Moore’s controversial new “Fahrenheit 9/11” yet, but you can check out his docu-screed about America’s obsession with guns.

Some of it’s very funny, but Moore is unsparing, and there’s security camera footage from the Columbine massacre included, too.

NBA playoffs, TNT tonight at 5:30: Los Angeles Lakers at Minnesota Timberwolves, Game 5. Pregame show at 5.

“A Guy Thing” (2003), Showtime Sunday at 7:15: Jason Lee and Julia Stiles star in this romance disguised as, well, a guy comedy. He’s the groom who wakes up after his bachelor party in bed with the bride’s cousin. Selma Blair also stars.

NBA playoffs, ESPN Sunday at 5: Detroit Pistons-Indiana Pacers, Game 5.

“Killer Crocs of Uganda,” MSNBC Sunday at 8: This “National Geographic Ultimate Explorer” premiere looks at the hunt for man-eaters near Lake Victoria.