A&E (Mon., May 31, 8 p.m. ET)
Back in the '80s, when he was modeling Hawaiian shirts on Magnum, P.I., who could have pictured Tom Selleck as Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower planning the Normandy invasion? Yet here he is in this solid World War II drama, giving a surprisingly effective performance.
The actor is 59 now, more than five years older than the Allies' Supreme Commander was in those fateful days of 1944. But let's face it: Even minus his usual mustache and full head of hair, Tom still has it over Ike in the looks department. Fortunately, Selleck isn't going for a physical impersonation. What writer-executive producer Lionel Chetwynd and director Robert Harmon clearly wanted from their star was that he capture the essence of Eisenhower: integrity; determination; lack of pretense; diplomacy with a dash of temper; a focus on the big picture combined with a concern for the individual soldier. Selleck projects these qualities well, and his grin has the full Ike wattage.
Timothy Bottoms, who was locked into imitating George W. Bush in Chetwynd's D.C. 9/11: Time of Crisis, is more convincing here as Gen. Walter Bedell Smith, Eisenhower's self-effacing chief of staff. Also serving capably are James Remar as a calmly can-do Gen. Omar Bradley, Bruce Phillips as Great Britain's temperamental Gen. Bernard Montgomery and Gerald McRaney (whose military background includes Major Dad) as a blustering, disingenuous Gen. George Patton.
Like D.C. 9/11, this is basically a guys-having-meetings movie, and the historical characters are prone to portentous dialogue. But the film holds us, primarily because—as folks said in the 1952 presidential campaign—We Like Ike.
DRAMA
NBC (Mon., May 31, 9 p.m. ET)
"I definitely deserve to fall in love," says Skipper Kress. And he definitely doesn't deserve two hours of prime time.
Skipper (Skip for short) is the bachelor bartender at the center of this limp reality-romance special. Seven women vie for his affection—and do the usual backstabbing—while sharing a house in South Carolina. The gimmick is that Skip has a history with each candidate. "I have been intimate with some of these girls," he announces to the audience. "Whoever I choose agrees that being intimate...is part of a healthy relationship." Well, we're all for good health.
The woman in the most embarrassing position is Skip's old friend Mindy, who wants to be more than a friend. The bachelor subjects her to a test kiss "to see if we have chemistry," and we see the lip action in slo-mo, like a key play in a ball game.
But don't expect a lot of voyeuristic excitement. Most of the show plays like a tired parody of the genre, with much talk of broken hearts and terribly difficult decisions. The only virtue of The One is that it's over in a single night.
REALITY
HBO (Sun., May 30, 9 p.m. ET)
A white doctor and a black lab technician work together at a segregated hospital in the 1940s to devise a groundbreaking form of heart surgery that gives hope to infants critically short on oxygen. It sounds like a true story suitable for the feel-good treatment, but this TV movie elects to be uncomfortably honest instead.
Dr. Alfred Blalock (Alan Rickman, covering his natural English accent with a thick southern drawl) realizes that new assistant Vivien Thomas (Mos Def) has the hands and mind of a surgeon despite his lack of a college education. As Thomas becomes invaluable to him, Blalock does what's necessary to keep the technician by his side, even if that means upsetting racially intolerant colleagues. But when it comes to sharing credit and granting Thomas all due respect, Blalock's liberalism has limits. Rapper-actor Mos Def is effectively understated as an unsung hero, and Rickman ably conveys his character's brilliance and ego.
DRAMA
TCM (Tues., June 1, 8 p.m. ET)
According to this profile, the former Archibald Leach built a facade called Cary Grant and basically lived behind it throughout his Hollywood career. Does filmmaker Robert Trachtenberg provide a window into his subject's soul? Not really. But the documentary does give us a good idea of the work and calculation that went into the creation and maintenance of the Grant persona.
More important, the abundant clips in A Class Apart recall an incomparable star who was equally adept as a screwball comedian and a suave romancer. Costar Eva Marie Saint says here that Grant charged fans 25 cents per autograph during the making of North by Northwest. A little greedy of him, but I'd gladly pay.
DOCUMENTARY
Summer Music Mania (FOX, June 1, 8 p.m. ET)
Newlyweds star Jessica Simpson hosts and sings in a concert special featuring Ludacris and 3 Doors Down.
Summerland (WB, June 1, 8 p.m. ET)
Uh-oh, instant family. Lori Loughlin (Full House) stars in the premiere of this drama series about a single designer who has to raise her late sister's three kids.
Miss Universe (NBC, June 1, 9 p.m. ET)
Those who aren't gorgeous enough get fired. Daisy Fuentes and Billy Bush host Donald Trump's pageant from Quito, Ecuador.
The Ultimate Love Test(ABC, June 2, 10 p.m. ET)
Will four couples stay together? This new reality show finds out by putting temptation in their paths.
Come to Papa (NBC, June 3, 8:30 p.m. ET)
Stand-up joker Tom Papa stars in this series debut as a reporter who'd rather be a comedy writer. Hope the show has a few good ones.
Don't know what to do with yourself in the months between Survivors? Rediscover the landmark show that kicked off the reality-TV era.
SURVIVOR: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (Paramount, $40)
Very early in its debut 2000 season—around the time contestants ate rats—Survivor claimed its place as the most ingenious competition show ever (sorry, Beat the Clock). But watch it again on DVD when you already know who wins? Don't reality TV shows have the shelf life of an avocado? Turns out revisiting naked Richard and the rest of the Pulau Tiga gang is a hoot. Don't bother slogging through all 13 episodes. Skip right to the riveting two-hour finale: Rudy's $1 million immunity slipup, Sue's rats-and-snakes diatribe and Richard Hatch's gleeful villainy—if not his flabby anatomy—are all still compulsively watchable.
Extras: Audition tapes, behind-the-scenes" footage, a dull documentary and commentary from Richard, Rudy and host Jeff Probst, who tells how Richard led a near mutiny after learning the reward for one challenge would be a bottle of beer.
- Contributors:
- Terry Kelleher,
- Alex Tresniowski.
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!
