Rolling Stones perform on ‘Kickoff’
Freddie Prinze Jr. hosts the “NFL Opening Kickoff 2005” (5 p.m., ABC), featuring performances by The Rolling Stones, Green Day, Santana, Trisha Yearwood, Maroon 5 and Kanye West.
If it seems odd that the Rolling Stones should appear here, it’s no stranger than Paul McCartney (“the cute Beatle”) performing last winter at Super Bowl XXXIX.
Those of us old enough to remember the Beatles and the Stones in their heyday are also venerable enough to have watched Super Bowl I back in January 1967.
Following the concert, the New England Patriots (winners of Super Bowl XXXIX) will host the Oakland Raiders (losers of Super Bowl II) in the season premiere of “Monday Night Football” (6 p.m., ABC). Al Michaels, John Madden and Michele Tafoya report from Gillette Stadium.
And speaking of reeling in the years, the clever new soap opera mystery series “Reunion” (9 p.m., Fox) follows a group of high school friends from their graduation in 1986 to the present-day investigation of one of their murders occurring sometime after their 20th high school reunion.
The action begins at the funeral of the unidentified victim, with Detective Marjorino (Matthew St. Patrick, “Six Feet Under”) grilling an unseen character who begins to spill the beans about her small circle of friends.
No sooner can you say “flashback” and we’re back to the era of Wham!, “Back to the Future” and “Papa Don’t Preach.” The gang includes the spoiled rich kid, Craig (Sean Faris), his girlfriend, Samantha (Alexa Davalos) and Will (Will Estes), Craig’s best friend from the wrong side of the cloverleaf. There’s also the gorgeous Jenna (Amanda Righetti), the brainy, nerdy and needy Aaron (Dave Annable) and Carla (Chyler Leigh), a moody, motherless pharmacist’s daughter who always feels like the unpretty, flat-chested girl who’s simply lucky to have any friends at all.
The action on “Reunion” will advance one year with every episode. So next week’s story will unfold in 1987, followed by 1988 and so on, until the mystery is explained in 2006.
This will allow the wardrobe department to ransack several decades’ worth of outfits and should generate quite a “Reunion” soundtrack.
The writers make the most of the nostalgia factor – perhaps too much. It’s frankly a little disconcerting to see characters discuss “St. Elmo’s Fire” in a show that seems to be imitating “St. Elmo’s Fire,” right down to Sean Faris’ Rob Lowe-inspired performance and the show’s theme of teenage nervous breakdown.
The soap opera action begins fast and furious and never lets up. In addition to the murder mystery, “Reunion” kicks off with a crime, a cover-up, a court proceeding gone awry, wrongful imprisonment, infidelity, pregnancy and a visit to an abortion clinic – all in the first 40 minutes! With so much going on, I can’t wait to see what 1987 will bring.
Other highlights
Julie Chen hosts “Big Brother 6” (8 p.m., CBS).
A mystery man (Alec Baldwin) hires Will on “Will & Grace” (8:30 p.m., NBC).
The murderous demimonde of cosmetic surgery on “CSI” (9 p.m., CBS).
On back-to-back episodes of “Scrubs” (NBC), quarantines (9 p.m.), and a fetching bartender (9:30 p.m.).
Jeri Ryan guest-stars on the third-season premiere of “The O.C.” (8 p.m., Fox).
A missing woman leaves a trail of clues pointing to an international cabal on “Without a Trace” (10 p.m., CBS).
Carter will always have Paris on “ER” (10 p.m., NBC.
Cult choice
A naive young man (Brendan Fraser) raised in a Cold War bomb shelter by paranoid parents (Sissy Spacek and Christopher Walken) emerges in modern-day Los Angeles in the 1999 comedy “Blast from the Past” (9 p.m., TBS). Fraser is charming here. His co-star, Alicia Silverstone, is not.
Series notes
Stuck at the “L” word on “Joey” (8 p.m., NBC) … On back-to-back episodes of “Eve” (UPN), too many cooks (8 p.m.), and a substitute salon (8:30 p.m.) … Kryptonite casts a pall over the prom on “Smallville” (8 p.m., WB). On back-to-back episodes of “Cuts” (UPN), three’s a crowd (9 p.m.), and class consciousness (9:30 p.m.) … Andy mulls a job offer on “Everwood” (9 p.m., WB).