THE DAILY NEWS WATCH-O-RAMA HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS OF THE COMING TV WEEK.Byline: David Kronke ``The Bernie Mac <noinclude> Bernard Jeffrey McCullough (born October 5, 1957[1]), better known as Bernie Mac, is a two time Emmy Award-nominated American actor and comedian. Show'' (Fox Channel 11; 8:30 tonight) Think: Fox's hit comedy returns for its third-season premiere - and first episodes without creator Larry Wilmore. Tonight, Bernie is chagrined when his diminutive nephew's (Jeremy Suarez) sport of choice is gymnastics while his wife (Kellita Smith) becomes a rough-'n'-ready soccer coach. Don't think: The show's new tacit message to its former show runner: ``Larry, all is forgiven - please come back!'' In a nutshell: Shaquille O'Neal, in a cameo, is funnier than Bernie tonight - good for Shaq; bad for the show. It and next week's episode miss the smart wit and heart of the show at its best. Here is where the show jumps the Shaq. ``Carnivale'' (HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy ; 9 tonight) Think: Season finale: Ben (Nick Stahl) meets Management in an effort to save Ruthie's (Adrienne Barbeau) life; Sofie (Clea DuVall) and Libby (Carla Gallo) get jiggy; Justin (Clancy Brown) remains creepy; particulars remain murky. Don't think: To quote ``Mystery Science Theater 3000'': They forgot to have things happen. In a nutshell: What the entire season seemed to be working toward - an apocalyptic showdown between Ben and Justin - doesn't happen. The writers needed to take Samson's (Michael J. Anderson Michael J. Anderson (October 31, 1953) is an American actor known for his role as the Man from another place in David Lynch's television series Twin Peaks, notable for being a 'little person'. Anderson was born with a genetic bone condition osteogenesis imperfecta. ) advice and ``shake some dust'' off their musty plotting. ``VH1's Big in '03'' (VH1; 9 tonight) Think: D.L. Hughley hosts another sort of make-believe awards program, honoring the pop-culture year's most celebrated - and most dubious - achievements. OutKast, Shania Twain and Kid Rock perform. Don't think: No drama to who wins: Just pay attention to the opening credits announcing who's appearing. in a nutshell: Hughley's funny, but for such a goofy exercise, there's a surprising amount of political, anti-war material. Was the FBI on hand taking names? ``Richard Pryor: I Ain't Dead Yet, &*%$'' (Comedy Central; 10 tonight) Think: A birthday celebration for Pryor, featuring old performance clips and appearances by Dave Chappelle, Margaret Cho, Jamie Foxx, Whoopi Goldberg, Eddie Griffin, Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, George Lopez, Jennifer Lee Pryor, Jon Stewart and Wanda Sykes. Don't think: Richard should go on ``Carnivale'' and get healed. Then people would get interested in that show again. In a nutshell: Fun for those with Pryor commitments. ``Finding John Christmas'' (CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. Channel 2; 9 tonight) Think: A man (William Russ) wraps his dog in an American flag, gets his picture in the paper, saves a life and inspires a manhunt man·hunt n. An organized, extensive search for a person, usually a fugitive criminal. manhunt Noun an organized search, usually by police, for a wanted man or fugitive Noun 1. when he disappears. Valerie Bertinelli isn't terribly convincing as a good-hearted nurse who believes the guy's her long-lost brother. Don't think: Thank heaven CBS, former home of ``The Reagans'' and Michael Jackson, is around to explain the true meaning of Christmas. In a nutshell: Pure hokum, particularly when the big, bad newspaper editor grouses about the attention the photo arouses then turns on a dime and considers turning him in to a contest. You quickly understand why the Santa played by Peter Falk is so grumpy. ``To Live Is Better Than to Die'' (Cinemax; Monday at 7 p.m.) ``AIDS: A Pop Culture History'' (VH1; Monday at 9 p.m.) ``The Courage to Live: Kids, South Africa and AIDS'' (Nickelodeon, Monday at 9 p.m.) Think: World AIDS Day World AIDS Day, observed December 1 each year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. AIDS has killed more than 25 million people, with an estimated 38. is commemorated with a series of reports and documentaries spanning the globe, from Cinemax's sober, earnest examination of a family amid an epidemic outbreak in rural China to Nickelodeon's Linda Ellerbee heartfelt primer on South Africa, where more people suffer from HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. than anywhere else in the world, resulting in children being orphaned or persecuted for contracting the illness. Don't think: Were it not for VH1, we'd be deprived of the insights of Ashley Judd, Rosie Perez, Sharon Stone, Jane's Addiction and Rob Halford of Judas Priest on the issue, not to mention contextualization Contextualization of language use Contextualization is a word first used in sociolinguistics to refer to the use of language and discourse to signal relevant aspects of an interactional or communicative situation. via lots of lascivious las·civ·i·ous adj. 1. Given to or expressing lust; lecherous. 2. Exciting sexual desires; salacious. [Middle English, from Late Latin lasc images edited together breathlessly. In a nutshell: With these and other reports on Monday (including a special ``Oprah''), the glut could unfortunately diminish the impact of the better of these specials. ``Comfort and Joy'' (Lifetime; Monday at 8 p.m.) Think: Superficial workaholic work·a·hol·ic n. One who has a compulsive and unrelenting need to work. (Nancy McKeon) wrecks her Jag and gets clonked on the head on Christmas Eve and wakes up to find herself with a junky station wagon, a husband (Steven Eckholdt) and family; the season's true meaning is eventually revealed. Don't think: If Jesus knew his birth would've inspired so many lachrymose holiday films, here's betting he would've waved the Wise Men off. In a nutshell: Not as wry as the musical score thinks it is. Sort of Capra-in-reverse; call it ``It's a Miserable Life.'' ``Life After War'' (Sundance Channel; Monday at 9 p.m.) Think: Former National Public Radio reporter Sarah Chayes, who quit her job to help the victims of the war in Afghanistan, is profiled. Don't think: This is going to make me feel bad for sitting around the house perfecting my PlayStation prowess and eating Whoppers
Whoppers are chocolate-coated malted milk balls produced by The Hershey Company. . In a nutshell: An absorbing portrait of a reporter who, feeling constrained by the level of reportage Americans are willing to accept on the war on terrorism Terrorist acts and the threat of Terrorism have occupied the various law enforcement agencies in the U.S. government for many years. The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, as amended by the usa patriot act , discovered a more constructive way to help a beleaguered be·lea·guer tr.v. be·lea·guered, be·lea·guer·ing, be·lea·guers 1. To harass; beset: We are beleaguered by problems. 2. To surround with troops; besiege. people. ``Word of Honor'' (TNT TNT: see trinitrotoluene. TNT in full trinitrotoluene Pale yellow, solid organic compound made by adding nitrate (−NO2) groups to toluene. ; Saturday and Dec. 7 at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.; also Dec. 19, 20 and 21) Think: A fictionalization fic·tion·al·ize tr.v. fic·tion·al·ized, fic·tion·al·iz·ing, fic·tion·al·iz·es To treat as or make into fiction: "has fictionalized his people and their town, but we know they are real" of Sen. John Kerry's tragic Vietnam story: A massacre in the heat of battle returns to haunt a successful businessman (Don Johnson) as the Army considers whether to try him for murder and his family is flayed in the media. Don't think: Even though the soldiers in the unit made a pledge not to disclose what happened in that fateful battle, it's just a matter of TV-movie time before the truth comes out. In a nutshell: Johnson's solid in a departure for him in this faintly implausible but impassioned melodrama, while Jeanne Tripplehorn is less convincing as a JAG officer. Sharon Lawrence is the dutiful du·ti·ful adj. 1. Careful to fulfill obligations. 2. Expressing or filled with a sense of obligation. du wife who gets the tremulous tremulous /trem·u·lous/ (-u-lus) pertaining to or characterized by tremors. trem·u·lous adj. Characterized by tremor. chestnut line: ``I'm scared.'' ``Evenhand'' (Sundance Channel; Saturday at 9 p.m.; also Dec. 8, 10, 14 and 19) Think: Indie-film look at mismatched beat cops in a small Texas town, handing out plush animals to kids who witness their arrests. Don't think: ``Reno 911!: The Motion Picture.'' In a nutshell: Occasionally hilariously deadpan, albeit vaguely aimless. Bill Sage is very funny as the bad cop to Bill Dawes' good cop. If Wes Anderson's ``Bottle Rocket'' had been about small-potatoes policemen rather than crooks, it might've been a little something like this. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) BERNIE MAC AND JEREMY SUAREZ, ``THE BERNIE MAC SHOW'' (2) WILLIAM RUSS, ``FINDING JOHN CHRISTMAS'' |
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