DRAMA
This Masterpiece Theatre miniseries is classy. But, oh, is it soapy.
A sequel to PBS's Forsyte Saga of fall 2002, the three-part, five-hour film is based on To Let, the third volume in John Galsworthy's magnum opus about a moneyed but troubled English family. The story takes place mostly in the 1920s, as 19-year-old Jon Forsyte (Lee Williams) pursues a romance with his fetching, manipulative cousin Fleur (Emma Griffiths Malin) despite the furious opposition of their parents. What the latter-day Romeo and Juliet don't know is that Jon's mother, Irene (Gina McKee), and Fleur's father, Soames (Damian Lewis), had a stormy marriage and a scandalous divorce before Irene went on to become the third wife of Soames's cousin Jolyon (Rupert Graves). Likewise, Irene and Jon aren't aware that Jolyon is gravely ill, though he can scarcely stagger from scene to scene. The Forsytes, you see, are not big on communication.
What makes Series II eminently worth watching is the first-rate cast, led by Lewis as a stiff-necked man whose desperate desire for love finds twisted expression in his outbursts of anger.
USA (Fit, Feb. 13, 8 p.m. ET)
DRAMA
How do you make a quickie TV movie about a murder case that's yet to be resolved in court? You can't come right out and call somebody guilty. You can't show the homicide itself. What if facts emerge to contradict the script?
The Perfect Husband's strategy is to focus on the suspicious behavior of accused killer Scott Peterson (Dean Cain) after his pregnant wife, Laci, disappeared and to dramatize the effect of the case on the California community where the couple lived. Cain, far from his heroic Superman days on Lois & Clark, is effective in a role that calls for ambiguity and a degree of restraint. Unfortunately, too much of the movie is devoted to what the network calls composite characters: the Petersons' married friends Kate (Sarah Joy Brown) and Tommy (David Denman). Kate doubts Scott's innocence; Tommy sticks up for him. The whole controversy puts quite a strain on their relationship. But in this context who cares about their fictional problems?
Syndicated (check local listings)
TALK
"This show is all about the fans," Ryan Seacrest said near the end of the first week of the American Idol host's live daytime venture. Yes, Ryan, we hear them screaming. Not since Arsenio Hall's "dog pound" have studio audiences made their enthusiasm so ear-split-tingly evident. More fans gather on the street outside, adding to the happy din.
Why does the crowd go wild? The new talk show plugs Seacrest's prime-time hit relentlessly, and it's fair to assume that audience members—many of them waving signs—are encouraged to create an Idol-type atmosphere. But maybe they're thrilled just to get free stuff. CDs from Missy Elliott, 24 caps from Kiefer Sutherland, talking key chains from Mr. T—all were accepted with high-decibel gratitude.
Seacrest's interviewing style is as soft as you'd expect, but he shows some appealing self-deprecation. What On-Air doesn't need are Rosanna Tavares's celebrity-news segments, which make Entertainment Tonight look like 60 Minutes.
FOX (Mondays, 9 p.m. ET)
REALITY
Some of these reality-show pranksters protest too much.
"I am absolutely hating this," chums Randi Coy while trying to win $500,000 by convincing her family she's set on marrying an uncouth guy she barely knows. Imagine what she'll say when she learns that groom-to-be Steve Williams is really actor Steven Bailey, whose secret agenda is to push Coy and her family past the point of revulsion. "I almost feel a little dirty...doing this to her," Bailey confides. Money obviously talked louder than their consciences, so spare us the unconvincing qualms.
Presumably the producers wouldn't want us to feel guilty about enjoying the show's sole virtue: Bailey's John Belushi-like gusto as a world-class slob. Coy, supposedly "dying inside," often looks more amused than appalled.
ALL THE RIGHT NOTES
Grammy Awards (CBS, Feb. 8, 8 p.m. ET) Sting, 50 Cent, Alicia Keys and Christina Aguilera perform live in L.A. at the 46th annual bash, which features a tribute to Luther Vandross.
SHE'S WITH HIM
I'm with Her (ABC, Feb. 10, 8:30 p.m. ET) Some couples will do anything for a laugh. Brooke Shields, wife of series co-creator Chris Henchy, guest stars as a failed actress just out of rehab. Henchy appears with her as a fellow game-show contestant.
BACK TO THE SUTURE
Scrubs (NBC, Feb. 10, 9:20 p.m. ET) Michael J. Fox makes a welcome return to TV, guest starring as a surgeon undeterred by his obsessive-compulsive disorder.
MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING
Friends (NBC, Feb. 12, 8 p.m. ET)
In a "supersized" episode that lasts till 8:42—think of the extra fun!—Phoebe ties the knot with Mike (Paul Rudd) in the middle of a blizzard.
- Contributors:
- Terry Kelleher.
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!
