‘Dateline’ examines news decisions

Thanks to extensive news coverage, we’ve all followed the sad, shocking stories of Laci Peterson, Natalee Holloway, Jennifer Wilbanks and Tamika Huston. Stop right there. Just who is Tamika Huston?

“Dateline” (8 p.m., NBC) takes a long-overdue look at network and cable news’ obsessive coverage of missing-persons stories and why the subjects almost always seem to be attractive, female and white.

Correspondent Josh Mankiewicz recalls the case of Tamika Huston, who went missing under suspicious circumstances last year. She was young, beautiful and middle class.

Her aunt Rebekah Howard, a public relations executive, worked exhaustively to bring Tamika’s story to the local and national news, but she got nowhere.

Could it be because Tamika is black?

“Dateline” explores journalistic culture and the decision-making process that results in the focus on some individuals while thousands of other missing-persons stories never get a single mention on national television.

Go ahead, have that 10th cup of coffee. You’ll want to stay up late tonight.

“Midnight Movies” (midnight, Encore) celebrates the brief heyday of alternative movies screened in the wee hours for hip young filmgoers one distributor described as “an audience of ironic insomniacs.”

According to “Midnight,” the phenomenon began almost by chance in 1970 when New York’s Elgin Theater showed the surrealistic, violent Mexican western “El Topo” only at midnight. An “El Topo” cult emerged almost entirely by word of mouth.

“Midnight” explores the appeal of George Romero’s politically charged gore fest “Night of the Living Dead”; John Waters’ joyously filthy “Pink Flamingos”; Perry Henzel’s “The Harder They Come,” the film that introduced millions of college students to reggae culture; the horror spoof-musical “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”; and David Lynch’s nightmarish “Eraserhead.”

A product of the political and cultural tumult of their times, midnight movies petered out in the 1980s as old movie theaters gave way to multiplexes and videotapes offered audience the chance to watch films at home.

And perhaps most fatally, the audience for midnight movies found itself older, settled down and gainfully employed – three major impediments to watching films until 3 or 4 in the morning.

Although the midnight movie phenomenon vanished, much of the spirit of the genre has been absorbed by mainstream culture: Romero’s zombies clearly inspired Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video, David Lynch has gone on to make TV shows and a film for Disney, and Waters’ 1988 comedy “Hairspray” became a hit Broadway musical.

Other highlights

A train heist is more complicated than it seemed on “Firefly” (7 p.m., Sci Fi).

A fake ID’s fateful consequences on “Veronica Mars” (8 p.m., CBS).

On two episodes of “Hope & Faith” (ABC), maternal instincts (8:30 p.m.), and Dixie Carter (“Designing Women”) and Hal Holbrook (“Evening Shade”) guest-star (9 p.m.)

On four episodes of “Arrested Development” (Fox), Michael protects his father’s secret (8 p.m.), holiday merrymaking (8:30 p.m.), corporate softball (9 p.m.), and thawed assets (9:30 p.m.).

Colin Farrell stars in the 2001 Western “American Outlaws” (8 p.m., UPN).

The Warren Brothers appear on “Barely Famous” (8 p.m., CMT).

An engineering student’s suicide seems suspicious on “Numb3rs” (10 p.m., CBS).

Scheduled on “20/20” (10 p.m., ABC): People try to tell the difference between real and fake gold and between premium vodka and the cheap stuff. Also, the health claims of green tea.

Lee conspires to free the imprisoned president and resist martial law on “Battlestar Galactica” (10 p.m., Sci Fi).

Adrian discovers that there is no vacation from crime on “Monk” (10 p.m., USA).

Cult choice

A slacker is shocked into action when his London neighborhood is overrun by zombies in the deadpan 2004 satire “Shaun of the Dead” (8:15 p.m., Cinemax).

Series

E-mails to Europe on “8 Simple Rules” (8 p.m., ABC) … Ben works too hard on “What I Like About You” (8 p.m., WB).

Jeff, Bill and Larry portray each other on “Blue Collar TV” (8:30 p.m., WB).

Tommy Hilfiger hosts “The Cut” (9 p.m., CBS) … Cheyenne strays on “Reba” (9 p.m., WB) … House-sitting on “Less Than Perfect” (9:30 p.m., ABC) … Riley wants kids on “Living with Fran” (9:30 p.m., WB) … A 40-year-old case on “Crossing Jordan” (10 p.m., NBC).