Blue Glow

Salon's TV picks for Monday, Aug. 7, 2000

By Joyce Millman

Pages 1

Aug 7, 2000 | Series

Biography (8 p.m., A&E) has a new profile of Tammy Faye Bakker. Don't know who she is, kids? Well, before "Big Brother," there was "The PTL Club," the original dysfunctional chuckleheads on parade reality series, with the added fun of yahoo evangelism. Tammy Faye was Brittany. Ray and Debra present "Rashomon"-like conflicting versions of their "can opener fight" on a rerun of Everybody Loves Raymond (9 p.m., CBS). Danny Glover hosts the new series Courage (9 p.m., Fox Family), which profiles real people who've overcome adversity or performed acts of heroism. The West Wing (10 p.m., NBC) pops up with a bonus episode this week, a rerun of the pilot. It features an unforgettable last-act entrance from Martin Sheen's President Bartlet, who tells off some strident pro-lifers in no uncertain terms.

Specials

First Lady Abigail Bartlet -- I mean, Stockard Channing -- stars in the new cable movie The Truth About Jane (9 p.m., Lifetime), about a mother struggling to accept her teenage daughter's lesbianism. RuPaul has a supporting role. But then, doesn't RuPaul have a supporting role in every TV movie about mothers struggling to accept their kids' coming out?

Sports

Baseball:
Braves at Reds (7:30 p.m., TBS)

Talk

Rosie O'Donnell (syndicated) James Van Der Beek, Robin Williams (rerun)
David Letterman (CBS) Tom Selleck, Jordan from "Big Brother"
Jay Leno (NBC) Keanu Reeves, Venus Williams
Politically Incorrect (ABC) John Waters, Patricia Hearst

Recent Stories

Bedtime for "Gonzo"
Alex Gibney talks about his Oscar-winning "Taxi to the Dark Side" and his new look at Hunter S. Thompson, American hero. (Plus: Audio podcast.)
On the dopeness of "The Wackness"
In this interview and podcast, director Jonathan Levine talks about how Holden Caulfield met Rudy Giuliani and Biggie in the heartbroken, heat-stricken New York summer of 1994.
Japanese film's not-so-new new wave
Asia's greatest cinema power never really lost its mojo. But 10 years after Kurosawa's death, Japanese movies are hotter (and weirder) than ever.
Good night and good TV
"The Newsroom" does for the talking heads what "The Office" does for cubicle dwellers -- and may be the funniest TV show ever made about the news business.
"Hancock"
This story of a seriously flaked-out superhero shows us the limits of Will Smith's superpowers.

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