What's on TV
Friday 2/8
Winter Olympics (NBC, 8 p.m.): Athletes from more than 80 nations gather for the Opening Ceremony at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. (For more TV times and coverage, see pages 8 and 9.)
The Middle Passage (HBO, 10:05-11:25 p.m.): In honor of Black History Month, this grim movie tells the story of a slave ship and the horrors that awaited innocent African tribesmen and women on the high seas. It is told in voiceover by a dead slave who haunts the ocean route along which he died. Warning: The descriptions of suffering are vivid.
Guilty Hearts (CBS, 9-11 p.m., Part II airs Feb. 13, 9-11 p.m.): Treat Williams stars as a doctor who murders his wife when he falls in love with a discontented housewife (played with inventive skill by Marcia Gay Harden). It feels like a melodrama, but it makes moral sense in the final hour when Harden's character refuses to be intimidated by the doctor or the members of the church who turn on her in support of the doctor.
Zoot Suit Riots (PBS, 10-11 p.m., check local listings): This outstanding documentary, part of the American Experience series, offers revelations about the so-called Zoot Suit Riots. In 1942, wartime and racial tensions made Los Angeles a dangerous place for Mexican-Americans. When a young Latino was murdered and another arrested, Latinos took to the streets. To stop the riots, servicemen were banned from Los Angeles, and the colorful zoot suits (with high-waisted, baggy trousers and long, draped coats) of Latinos were banned, too.
A Huey P. Newton Story (PBS, check local listings): Spike Lee directs this astonishing docudrama, based on a stage performance by actor-writer Roger Guenveur Smith. This brilliantly made and performed work brings the leader of the Black Panther Party of Self Defense into vivid focus.
A Charlie Brown Valentine (ABC, 8-8:30 p.m.): In this all-new Charlie Brown special, poor Charlie realizes he has never received a single Valentine. As the gang writes original messages for Valentine's Day, Charlie discovers the humanity of his beloved little red-haired girl.
