HBO (Wed., July 10, 10 P.M. ET)
B
It's tough to find better dumb fun than the Tales from the Crypt series. Even a mundane episode, such as this one featuring Malcolm McDowell as a mild-mannered bloodsucker, is still more interesting than the best episode of any network sitcom.
The story is routine. McDowell abhors killing, so he works as a security guard at a blood bank so he can steal his nourishment. George Wendt plays the blood bank manager. It's never hard to see where this story is going, but it's a kick to watch because the humor is so dry and the performances are so enjoyably campy. The show is like a comic book for grown-ups.
Showtime (Wed., July 10, 9 P.M. ET)
Grade: Parents, B—; Letters, B +; Blue Moon, C
This installment of Showtime's series of short film trilogies makes for decent if inconsistent viewing. The first film, Missing Parents, tells of a wayward teen whose parents run away from home to get away from him. It's a unique twist, but the film fails to follow through with a fresh finish.
The last half hour, Once in a Blue Moon, is about a man who wastes his life worshiping an Elvis-like musician and must redeem himself by helping a fallen angel the musician's ghost impregnated. While the story starts out innovatively, it ends up taking itself too seriously.
The middle movie, The Letters from Moab, is by far the best. It stars Corinne Bohrer as a waitress who has a fling with an actor making a film in her southwestern town. (Priscilla Barnes is one of her coworkers.) Trapped in a dreary marriage, she finds strength in the letters the actor writes her. Bohrer's sensitive portrayal of the confused woman and a hopeful ending make this the 30-minute movie to watch.
CBS (Tues., July 16, 9 P.M. ET)
C
So a week went by without a Stephen King novel? Not to worry. The busiest man in the scare business apparently took a day or two out of his schedule to create this new seven-part series, which will move to Thursday nights after this two-hour debut.
The opener involves a chemical plant in upstate New York where an explosion in the lab of a mad scientist (Bill Raymond) contaminates an elderly janitor (Keith Szarabajka) with unknown chemicals. As the janitor grows younger, sinister government officials move in to exploit the incident.
There aren't main king-size chills here, and it's hard to see how this thin premise can remain intriguing through seven more episodes.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
