What's On
PICK OF THE WEEK
My Fair Lady
Thursday, Nov. 28, 7:30-11 p.m. (CBS)
TV highlights for the week of Nov. 24-30. All times are Eastern; check local listings.
SUNDAY - 11/24
Maverick (NBC, 8:30-11 p.m.): Director Richard Donner's 1994 remake of the beloved TV series stars Mel Gibson as cardsharp Bret Maverick, who encounters ever-more improbable obstacles on his way to a big poker match on the Mississippi River. Likable performances carry a rather flimsy plot. Jodie Foster and James Garner, who created the original character, are around to make certain things get out of hand.
In Cold Blood (CBS, 9-11 p.m.): Truman Capote's grim "nonfiction novel" about the murder of a Kansas farming family in the 1950s is a bit of an odd choice for Hallmark Hall of Fame. The miniseries faithfully follows Capote's chronicle of the Clutter family and the two ex-cons (Eric Roberts and Anthony Edwards) who kill them for a nonexistent safe full of cash. Like the book, the miniseries resonates with the criminal stupidity of the murderers and the shocking pointlessness of their crime. Part 2 airs on Tuesday.
MONDAY - 11/25
The Selling of Innocents (Cinemax, 11 p.m.-12 midnight): This compelling documentary looks at India's child sex trade. (See review above.)
TUESDAY - 11/26
Moesha (UPN, 8-8:30 p.m.): A pre-Thanksgiving road trip strands Moesha (Brandy Norwood) and her pals.
Frasier (NBC, 9-9:30 p.m.): Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) heads to Boston for Thanksgiving - with the rest of the family in tow - to help Lilith (guest star Bebe Neuwirth) get their son admitted to a private school.
Home Improvement (ABC, 9-9:30 p.m.): Race-car drivers Mario and Michael Andretti and a special dream sequence with "Rudolph"-style animation figure into the Thanksgiving festivities for Tim (Allen).
WEDNESDAY - 11/27
E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial (TNT, 8-10:30 p.m.): The 1982 movie that gave aliens a good name. Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Henry Thomas as the boy who befriends a stranded space creature.
National Geographic's Inside the White House (PBS, 8-9:30 p.m.): Actor Morgan Freeman narrates this entertaining tour of the White House and its history. The program uses a visit by Russian President Boris Yeltsin as a vehicle to show what goes on behind the scenes at the two-century-old building. Interspersed with the preparations are historical looks at the first home.
Maya Lin: a Strong Clear Vision (PBS, 9:30-11 p.m.): Freida Lee Mock's Academy Award-winning documentary about the designer of the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial traces a decade in the work of Maya Lin.
THURSDAY - 11/28
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (NBC, 9 a.m.-12 noon): "Today" show personalities Katie Couric, Willard Scott, and Al Roker host the live annual event.
Dr. Suess' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (TBS, 8:05-8:35 p.m.): All the Whos down in Whoville - the tall and the small - lose everything when the mean Grinch comes to town and takes it all.
My Fair Lady (CBS, 7:30-11 p.m.): Audrey Hepburn looks more "loverly" than ever in the broadcast premire of the newly restored version of the Oscar-winning musical.
FRIDAY - 11/29
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (CBS, 8-9 p.m.): If you don't happen to recall the most famous reindeer of all, this musical classic can help you out. The longest-running annual special features stop-action animation and narration by Burl Ives.
The Science of Star Trek (A&E, 9-10 p.m.): A new "Star Trek" movie, "First Contact," hits theaters Nov. 22, and the following Friday A&E airs this program that aims to explain all the fancy words and workings of the popular sci-fi show. Clips from "Star Trek" are woven together with comments from scientists such as Stephen Hawking on matters of time travel and virtual reality.
*Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, "What's On" will run next Wednesday, Nov. 27.