What's on TV:
Sunday 5/13 Futurama (Fox, 7-7:30 p.m.):
In the season finale, guest star Lucy Liu voices a robot with whom Fry falls in love. The humor revolves around Liu's sharp-tongue character from "Ally McBeal." It's a kick for fans of Matt Groening.
Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story (ABC, 7-9 p.m.):
This Wonderful World of Disney offering is long on schmaltz and short on substance. The best thing about it is Connie Britton as the protective and understanding mother of little Shirley (pretty Ashley Rose Orr).
Saturday Night Live Mother's Day Special (NBC, 9-11 p.m.):
Moms and dads of the boys and girls of "SNL" join them for some delicious romps (and some lame jokes). Some of the sketches are old, some new, but the best part is the opening when the parents sing with the cast.
Take a Girl Like You (PBS, Part 1, 9-10:30 p.m.; Part 2 airs May 20):
It's an odd Masterpiece Theatre - a different world from the polite old world we're used to. But this '50s period piece based on a Kingsley Amis novel reveals a world all but lost today. Schoolteacher Jenny Bunn falls for a rogue - but resists his advances. Men are attracted to her like moths to a flame. But Jenny has her own ideas of a relationship - there's a difference between lust and love. Mature themes.
Tuesday, May 15 Frontline: LAPD Blues (PBS, check local listings):
The Los Angeles Police Department has been in trouble since the infamous Rodney King incident and the mishandling of the O.J. Simpson evidence. But department racism is only part of the story - corrupt cops and criminal involvement with gangster rappers, frame-ups, and an assortment of other brutal acts has put the LAPD under the scrutiny of the judicial system. Excellent investigative reporting makes this dark tale gripping.
Wednesday 5/16 West Wing (NBC, 9-10 p.m.)
A storm, the president's secret, and reelection all loom large in the season finale.
Friday 5/18 Egg: The Arts Show - The Desert (PBS, check local listings):
Las Vegas is trying to change its reputation with art galleries and shows. And in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, people from all walks of life gather for the Burning Man Arts Festival, dedicated to radical self-expression. This sterling series does it again - if only this installment were longer.
(c) Copyright 2001. The Christian Science Monitor
