Tuning in: On TV this week.
Monday Feb 28
Summerland (The WB, 9-10 p.m.): This family soap, now in its second season, is in the same genre as "7th Heaven" (but with fewer clothes). Lori Loughlin plays Ava Gregory, a young career woman who inherited three kids when her sister and brother-in-law were killed. Surf's up as Aunt Ava struggles to discipline her defiant nephew, who ditches class for the lure of the waves.
Independent Lens: Sisters of '77 (PBS, check local listings): In 1977, a historic National Women's Conference took place in Houston. Neither racial nor class differences stopped the participants from sorting through all their various "issues" to hammer out a Plan of Action. This fiery documentary examines the struggle to solve problems of equal pay, minority rights, workplace discrimination, and other issues.
redesign (HGTV, 8:30 p.m.): This new series features Kenneth Brown, a designer whose approach to helping people make over their homes sometimes begins with ditching objects they love most.
Law and Order: Trial by Jury (NBC, 10-11 p.m., followed with a second episode in its regular 10 p.m. time slot on Friday): Actor Jerry Orbach (who died in December) appears in the first two episodes of this L&O spinoff, which is just as as enthralling as the others in the franchise. Orbach's final performances as investigator Lennie Briscoe are fine indeed. In the first episode, a Broadway producer murders a sweet actress with a checkered past. The detectives know "who dunnit," but have a hard time proving it. The writing is tight, the acting is powerful (Bebe Neuwirth shines as prosecutor Tracey Kibre), and the storylines are transfixing.
