Blue Glow

Salon's TV picks for Tuesday, May 18, 1999

Published May 18, 1999 4:00PM (EDT)

Series

On the season finale of King of the Hill (8 p.m., Fox), Peggy tries to liven up the Hills' marriage with a little sky diving. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (8 p.m., WB) begins a two-part season finale in which Buffy must stop the mayor's ascension, timed to coincide with Sunnydale High's commencement ceremony. Only Faith stands in her way. See ya, Faith. Bender finds religion -- Robotology -- on the season finale of Futurama (8:30 p.m., Fox), which also features the Beastie Boys' heads in jars. Home Improvement (8:30 p.m., ABC) sets up next week's series closing episode with a cliffhanger involving big changes for the Taylors. Haiti Lady puts a curse on Thurgood in the season ender of The PJs (9 p.m., Fox). Felicity (9 p.m., WB) suspects Meghan's witchcraft when her relationships with Noel and Ben get all topsy-turvy. NYPD Blue (9:30 p.m., ABC) closes the season with a 90-minute episode (note the earlier start time) in which Sipowicz's inability to control his temper threatens both the Cullinan case and his marriage. Dateline NBC (10 p.m., NBC) shows us why tickets to big concerts and sporting events are so hard to get.

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Specials

The miniseries Joan of Arc (9 p.m., CBS) concludes. Don't expect a surprise ending. The American Experience (check local times, PBS) wraps up its two-part profile of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. On the eve of the opening of "The Phantom Menace," the special Thumb Wars (9:30 p.m., UPN) parodies "Star Wars" with Luke, Leia, Darth Vader and the rest of the characters played by thumbs. It was written by Steve Oedekerk ("Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls"), which explains a lot.

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Sports

NHL playoffs:

Avalanche at Red Wings, Game 6 (7:30 p.m., ESPN)

NBA playoffs:

Knicks at Hawks, Game 1 (8 p.m., TNT)

Trail Blazers at Jazz, Game 1 (10:30 p.m., TNT)

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Talk

Rosie O'Donnell (syndicated) Liam Neeson, Vanessa Marcil

David Letterman (CBS) Keri Russell, Aretha Franklin

Jay Leno (NBC) Samuel L. Jackson, Heidi Klum

Charlie Rose (PBS) Ruth Reichl, E. Annie Proulx

Politically Incorrect (ABC) From London: Roger Daltrey, Helen Baxendale

Conan O'Brien (NBC) Shannen Doherty, Timothy Dalton


By Joyce Millman

Joyce Millman is a writer living in the Bay Area.

MORE FROM Joyce Millman


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