Lohan or Mills in ‘Parent Trap’
Tonight’s oddity
“The Parent Trap” (1998, ABC Family) or (1961, Hallmark Channel); both at 8 p.m. This may be the definition of 500-channel overkill: Two versions of the same story air at the same time.
The story has teen twins, scheming to get their divorced parents together. Audiences will probably lean to the newer one, with Lindsay Lohan playing both girls. Still, the older one (with Hayley Mills) was well-made and didn’t need a remake.
Other choices include
“Half Nelson” (2006), 7-9 p.m., Sundance. Ryan Gosling drew praise, and an Oscar nomination, for his work as a dedicated teacher, addicted to drugs.
Gymnastics, 8 p.m., NBC. Here’s the first half of the U.S. women’s gymnastics finals, from Philadelphia. The second half will be Sunday.
“Robin Hood,” 9 p.m., BBC America; preceded by a rerun at 8 p.m. Marian’s double life is over now; she’s living in the forest, as an outlaw. Meanwhile, the bad guys try to find her; they also try to retrieve an incriminating document.
Sunday’s must-see
PBS’ “Masterpiece Mystery” season-opener, “Inspector Lewis: Whom the Gods Would Destroy,” 8 p.m. on KSPS channel 7, 9 p.m. on KCDT 26.
Eight years after the final “Inspector Morse” film was made, the series sort of returns. Morse (played by the late John Thaw) is gone and Robert Lewis – his quiet assistant for 13 years – is in charge.
Lewis (Kevin Whately) has working-guy instincts. That’s clear in this well-crafted episode, in which all the suspects are Oxford grads.
His assistant (Laurence Fox) has a prep-school background. They probe an ugly case, amid quiet, campus beauty.
Other choices include
Gymnastics, 7-9 p.m., (NBC). Here’s the second half of the U.S. women’s finals, in Philadelphia. At stake are spots on the Olympic team.
“When We Left Earth,” 5-11 p.m., Discovery Channel. This excellent, six-hour mini-series wraps up with a look at modern missions, including the international space shuttles.
“The Girl With Eight Limbs,” 9 p.m., National Geographic Channel. With a partly formed twin, a little girl in India was born with extra, nonfunctioning legs and arms. This beautifully filmed (but painful) documentary follows her parents as they consider surgery.