THE DAILY NEWS WATCH-O-RAMA HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS OF THE COMING TV WEEK.Byline: David Kronke Television Writer ``Celeste Celeste is a woman's first name. Celeste may also refer to: in Music
(ABC Family; 8 tonight) Think: Ink-stained version of ``The Princess Diaries:'' Majandra Delfino plays a young, small-town aspiring journalist who goes to New York, gets a makeover and finds love. Don't think: It's impressive how ``Buffy the Vampire Slayer's'' Nicholas Brendon went directly from cult-TV star to lame cable flicks without bothering with all the failed ego-heavy projects that usually come in between. It's less impressive that this ABC Family film's ``Queer Eye for the Straight Gal'' sequence transforms our heroine from a perky frump frump n. 1. A girl or woman regarded as dull, plain, or unfashionable. 2. A person regarded as colorless and primly sedate. into a streetwalker street·walk·er n. A prostitute, especially one who solicits in the streets. street  walk - the title's echo of ``Sex and the City'' is intentional. In a nutshell: Delfino is charming, even if she looks like the world's first 12-year-old newspaper employee, but this rings as false as a Jayson Blair story, awash in overwhelmed-in-the-big-city cliches, shopping montages, gay stereotypes and utterly predictable plotting. ``High School Reunion'' (WB, Channel 5; 9 tonight) Think: Teen archetypes - jock, homecoming queen, flirt, womanizer wom·an·ize v. woman·ized, woman·iz·ing, woman·iz·es v.intr. To pursue women lecherously. v.tr. To give female characteristics to; feminize. , busybody bus·y·bod·y n. pl. bus·y·bod·ies A person who meddles or pries into the affairs of others. busybody Noun pl -bodies a meddlesome, prying, or officious person , diva, ugly duckling, redneck, a very unfunny class clown and so on - reunite for two weeks in Hawaii. Calculated sparks fly. Don't think: What was the tab for booze on this show? And, I didn't even enjoy my own high-school reunion; why would they think I'd enjoy other people's? In a nutshell: Producer Mike Fleiss seems more intent on manufacturing and belaboring cruel drama - rooming the redneck with the gay guy, trying to alternately patch up and exacerbate the effects of a divorce, reuniting sweethearts and troublemakers - than simply allowing the participants to interact organically. Why he insists on reducing people to cliches is bewildering be·wil·der tr.v. be·wil·dered, be·wil·der·ing, be·wil·ders 1. To confuse or befuddle, especially with numerous conflicting situations, objects, or statements. See Synonyms at puzzle. 2. . Still, some will find the kitsch factor addictive. ``Family Sins'' (CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. , Channel 2; 9 tonight) Think: Kirstie Alley plays a doting dote intr.v. dot·ed, dot·ing, dotes To show excessive fondness or love: parents who dote on their only child. [Middle English doten. wife and mother who suddenly is accused of a series of disturbing crimes, ``Veronica's Closet'' shockingly not being among them. Don't think: Really - do the words ``Based on a true story'' persuade anyone as to a movie's plausibility these days? In a nutshell: Histrionic histrionic /his·tri·on·ic/ (his?tre-on´ik) excessively dramatic or emotional, as in histrionic personality disorder; see under personality. , to put it mildly. You may sympathize with her foster daughter's words: ``I hate you!'' ``Colosseum: A Gladiator's Story'' (Discovery Channel; 9 tonight) Think: ``Gladiator'' without all the sturm und drang Sturm und Drang (sht  rm nt dräng) or Storm and Stress, , with educational pretensions, told through the eyes of the enslaved Enslaved may refer to:
Don't think: The title's British spelling is going to trip up kids in future quizzes. In a nutshell: An odd hybrid - is it a documentary heavily dependent upon re-enactments and dramatizations, or an action flick narrated by a history professor? Battles are coordinated by Andreas Petrides, who also choreographed the swordplay in ``Gladiator.'' ``Johnny Cash in San Quentin'' (Trio; 9 tonight) Think: A heretofore unseen 1969 sequel to the Man in Black's legendary Folsom Prison concert. Don't think: The security Johnny goes through at the prison is more lax than at airports today. In a nutshell: Cash's spirited, good-humored performance highlights this fascinating time-capsule document. ``This Just In'' (Spike TV; 10:30 tonight; also Tuesday at 10:30 p.m.) Think: HBO's ``K Street'' as a cartoon: The week's events and political issues are discussed by an animated curmudgeon cur·mudg·eon n. An ill-tempered person full of resentment and stubborn notions. [Origin unknown.] cur·mudg . Don't think: Isn't Andy Rooney close enough to a cartoon character already? In a nutshell: Since the shows are produced the week they're aired, only a sample clip was available for screening. But it's safe to say those who think Dennis Miller was funnier as a liberal probably won't have much use for this. And those who think he's improved as a conservative may enjoy it. ``Balseros'' (Cinemax; Tuesday at 6 p.m.) Think: Oscar-nominated documentary about those who, after Castro allowed them to do so for a brief time in 1994, fled Cuba for America on makeshift rafts. Don't think: It's all Hollywood's fault - if they quit making entertainments glamorizing America, fewer refugees would want to come here. In a nutshell: Disparate fortunes await the seven balseros - or rafters - the film examines, from heartwarming to heartbreaking. Good soundtrack, too. ``Kenny vs. Spenny'' (GSN; Thursday at 10 p.m.) Think: Two childhood pals - one attitudinal (Kenny Hotz), one long- suffering (Spencer Rice) - engage in a series of silly, prank-filled contests. Don't think: Not a good idea to begin with a sleepy, low-impact contest to see who could stay awake longest: Clearly, viewers won't be winning this one. In a nutshell: Kenny and Spenny's antagonistic relationship is undeniably entertaining, as are the humiliations at the end of the episodes for the loser. Competitions vary in inventiveness, however, and there's a lot of padding in the episodes. ``My Sexiest Mistake'' (Oxygen; Saturday at 8 p.m.) Think: A lonely romance novelist (Sabrina Lloyd) with writer's block recruits a gigolo gig·o·lo n. pl. gig·o·los 1. A man who has a continuing sexual relationship with and receives financial support from a woman. 2. A man who is hired as an escort or a dancing partner for a woman. to get her creative juices flowing. Complications, naturally, ensue. Don't think: If one is referred to as someone else's ``sexiest mistake,'' does the good part of that description outweigh the bad part? In a nutshell: Maybe the title's a typo typo - typographical error and they meant ``My Sexist Mistake.'' Mildly amusing, strikingly shallow. ``The Iceman Iceman Body of a man found sealed in a glacier in the Tirolean Ötztal Alps in 1991 and dated to 3300 BC. It has revealed significant details of everyday life during the Neolithic Period. Cometh'' (Trio; Saturday at 8:30 p.m.) Think: American Film Theatre's presentation of Eugene O'Neill's epigrammatic ep·i·gram·mat·ic also ep·i·gram·mat·i·cal adj. 1. Of or having the nature of an epigram. 2. Containing or given to the use of epigrams. epic about a charismatic motor mouth (Lee Marvin) who disabuses his fellow drunks of their already dim ``pipe dreams'' in a Skid Row bar. Jeff Bridges, Frederic Marsh, Robert Ryan and Bradford Dylan do strong work in this underappreciated, long-unseen 1973 classic directed by John Frankenheimer. Don't think: ``Death is a fine long sleep and I'm damn tired - it can't come too soon for me,'' drawls Ryan's drunken character amid the most articulately despondent drunks you'll ever see. ``Cheers'' this ain't. In a nutshell: Time to resuscitate this film's reputation. One of the week's few true must-sees. David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) ``HIGH SCHOOL REUNION'' (2 -- color) ``CELESTE IN THE CITY'' |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion