WATCH-O-RAMA THE HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS OF THE COMING TV WEEK.Byline: David Kronke ``Jane Goodall's When Animals Talk'' (Animal Planet; 8 tonight) Think: The legendary primatologist slums a little bit here, with a sort of sentimental and kind of rambling documentary about how animals communicate - with us, and with each other. Don't think: Some of the people interviewed here about their absorptive relationships with their pets are, um, obviously crazy. Which would seem to diminish the film's arguments a bit. In a nutshell: ``Turn that nonsense off!'' my dog told me, ``and get a tennis ball and let's go outside and play!'' Who am I to argue? ``Inside the Mafia'' (National Geographic; 9 p.m. Monday and Tuesday; also 7 p.m. June 19) Think: Erstwhile ``GoodFella'' Ray Liotta narrates this documentary miniseries about the mob, both its home office in Sicily and its American franchisees, and its secret rituals and public sins. Don't think: The Mafia's lucrative business of smuggling smuggling, illegal transport across state or national boundaries of goods or persons liable to customs or to prohibition. Smuggling has been carried on in nearly all nations and has occasionally been adopted as an instrument of national policy, as by Great Britain heroin into the U.S., Liotta tells us, represents one of the first examples of globalization globalization Process by which the experience of everyday life, marked by the diffusion of commodities and ideas, is becoming standardized around the world. Factors that have contributed to globalization include increasingly sophisticated communications and transportation . Wonder what Thomas Friedman would have to say about that. In a nutshell: Quite the violent lot. Much familiar information, kind of talky talk·y adj. talk·i·er, talk·i·est 1. Talkative; loquacious. 2. Containing or given to too much talk: a talky, boring play. , but intermittently fascinating look at the Cosa Nostra, with interviews with Joseph Pistone (aka Donnie Brasco) and Henry Hill (Liotta's real-life character in ``GoodFellas''). ``The Shield'' (FX; 10 p.m. Tuesday) Think: The season finale finds Vic (Michael Chiklis) trying to torpedo Aceveda's (Benito Martinez) iffy if·fy adj. if·fi·er, if·fi·est Informal Doubtful; uncertain: an iffy proposition. [From if. deal with Mitchell (Anthony Anderson). But has Rawlings (Glenn Close) done her job too effectively for her own good? Don't think: With creator Shawn Ryan off to do a series with David Mamet for CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. (gee, if only that show had a little testosterone in its creative team), this feels suspiciously not like a season finale but a series finale: There's not much in the way of a cliffhanger cliff·hang·er n. 1. A melodramatic serial in which each episode ends in suspense. 2. A suspenseful situation occurring at the end of a chapter, scene, or episode. 3. here. In a nutshell: A solid ending to an uncommonly good season. ``Reno 911!'' (Comedy Central; 10 p.m. and midnight Tuesday; also 10 p.m. and midnight Thursday, 12:30 a.m. Friday, midnight Sunday) Think: Season three opens with our disgraced crime-fighting heroes doing prison time. They manage to get out, but that doesn't mean life gets better for the bunch as they re-acclimate to society as carnies, mall security guards and ``American Idol'' aspirants. Don't think: The guy who got them off the force is considered a bad guy. Of course, he killed a lot of hookers, but still, it seems there would be mitigating circumstances. In a nutshell: Why would these guys even want their old jobs? As life gets worse for Vegas' little sister, it gets better for the show's fans. Next week's denouement de·noue·ment also dé·noue·ment n. 1. a. The final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot. b. is equally inspired. A future ``Mister Rogers'' parody gets even more demented (house cats, beware). Terrific nonsense. ``Buggin' With Ruud'' (Animal Planet; 8 p.m. Wednesday) Think: A man and his insects: New Zealand entomologist Ruud Kleinpaste gets very excited about bugs, which he frequently allows to crawl all over him. Don't think: The end result, ostensibly, is your own nauseous nauseous /nau·seous/ (naw´shus) pertaining to or producing nausea. nau·seous adj. 1. Causing nausea. 2. Affected with nausea. edification ed·i·fi·ca·tion n. Intellectual, moral, or spiritual improvement; enlightenment. Noun 1. edification - uplifting enlightenment sophistication . In a nutshell: Mild fun if you easily get queasy QUEASY - An early system on the IBM 701. [Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959)]. at the sight of bizarre life forms. ``The Buzz on Maggie'' (Disney Channel; 8 p.m. Friday; thereafter, 5:30 p.m. Fridays) Think: A 'tween fly girl (voiced by Jessica DiCicco) has the same woes as her human counterparts - wanting to be considered mature without actually behaving that way, etc. - although her regular diet of rotten foodstuffs foodstuffs npl → comestibles mpl foodstuffs npl → denrées fpl alimentaires foodstuffs food npl → is considerably gnarlier (unless one considers Hot Chee-tos). Don't think: Ruud Kleinpaste is probably the only adult who would love hanging with Maggie and her pals. In a nutshell: Best gag is the bugs' oft-appalling hygiene. Kids might find this fly - which probably isn't contemporary slang, but little kids won't know that - while parents will find it akin to the pesky persistent whine of a gnat hovering before one's face. ``Ray Romano & Kevin James: Making the Cut'' (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 p.m. Saturday; also June 23, 27, 29 and 30) Think: Home movies from the buddy comics/inveterate golfers and their participation in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Tournament. Don't think: So much for farewells: ``Everybody Loves Raymond'' signed off May 16, and Romano's back on TV a mere month later. In a nutshell: Fans of the two should enjoy this intimate, occasionally funny, portrait of their friendship and obsession with golf. Its efforts to wring melodrama on whether the guys make the cut is a little indulgent, however. David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: ``THE BUZZ ON MAGGIE'' |
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