Blue Glow

Salon's TV picks for Tuesday, Sept. 28, 1999

Published September 28, 1999 4:00PM (EDT)

Fall premiere

Can't get enough "Ally McBeal"? This year's best comedy series Emmy winner gets cut down to sitcom size in Ally (8 p.m., Fox), a reedited version of the show that mixes previous scenes, beginning with the first season, with material rescued from the cutting room floor. Why? Because a half-hour sized "Ally McBeal" will fit better in cable and syndicated rerun.

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Series

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (8 p.m., WB) reruns last year's two-hour season finale in preparation for next week's season opener (and the debut of the spin-off, "Angel"). On It's like, you know ... (8:30 p.m., ABC), Robbie's failed relationship is the subject of a documentary. That '70s Show (8:30 p.m., Fox) begins a new season with the parents acting funny after eating Hyde's brownies. On Will & Grace (9 p.m., NBC), Grace runs against Will for tenant board president and Jack's pet bird is missing. On Judging Amy (10 p.m., CBS), Amy presides over a case involving a comatose child who some believe can perform miracles. Lily and Rick discuss taking their relationship to the next level on Once and Again (10 p.m., ABC)

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Specials

Frontline: John Paul II: The Millennial Pope (check local times, PBS) pieces together a psychological portrait of the complicated leader of the Catholic church. TV Guide's Truth Behind the Sitcom Scandals (9 p.m., Fox) reheats stale gossip about what went on behind the scenes of "Three's Company," "The Brady Bunch" and "The Partridge Family."

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Sports

Baseball:

Braves at Mets (7:05 p.m., TBS)

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Talk

Rosie O'Donnell (syndicated) Sarah Michelle Gellar, Garth Brooks

David Letterman (CBS) Nathan Lane, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris

Jay Leno (NBC) Yasmine Bleeth, Steve Zahn, Smokey Robinson

Politically Incorrect (ABC) Nancy Travis, Bruce Vilanch

Conan O'Brien (NBC) Sarah Michelle Gellar, Garth Brooks


By Joyce Millman

Joyce Millman is a writer living in the Bay Area.

MORE FROM Joyce Millman


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Television