Monday, February 16, 2004

TV's best bets



Gannett News Service

Must-see

Bad Apple, 9 p.m., TNT.

Anthony Bruno's novels offer quirks, twists and surprises. Now one has become an offbeat movie. Our hero (Chris Noth) is an FBI undercover guy with lots of faults. He confuses matters by sleeping with his informant's sister. Noth's boss (Colm Meaney) is married to a philosophy professor (Mercedes Ruehl) who talks at all the wrong times. There is a standard crime story here, including some violence. What makes Bad Apple work, however, is its bizarre humor.

Worth watching

The Fairly Oddparents, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., Nickelodeon. Here is a 12-episode marathon, leading into a hilarious new episode at 8 p.m. Tommy wishes himself into a comic book with his favorite superhero, Crimson Chin (voiced by Jay Leno). The result is a surprising delight, drawn in classic comic style.

Birth Day Live, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., Discovery Health Channel. For 10 hours, this views births live, at hospitals in Orlando, Fla., San Diego, and Baton Rouge, La.

Jurassic Park III (2001),8 p.m., Channels 9, 2. This time, Sam Neill leads an expedition to the island, unaware of how rampant the dinosaurs are.

Fear Factor, 8 p.m., Channels 5, 22. The couples competition concludes.

The Littlest Groom, 8 p.m., Channels 19, 45. This two-week reality show starts with a 4-foot-5 suitor choosing among small women; then tall ones are added.

Everybody Loves Raymond, 9 p.m., Channels 12, 7. Ally wants an expensive dress for her 13th birthday party.

She's Too Young, 9-11 p.m., Lifetime. Raw and disturbing, this is a harrowing portrayal of sex and social diseases among kids not yet old enough to drive. Parts of it seem overwrought, but it is salvaged by the warmth of Alexis Dziena as Hannah and the intelligence of Marcia Gay Harden as her mom.

Crown Heights, 9 p.m., Showtime. Mario Van Peebles and Howie Mandel portray the real-life men - a black and a Hasidic Jew - who fought to bring both sides together after 1991 riots in Brooklyn.

Tomb Raiders: Robbing the Dead, 9-11 p.m., History Channel. This documentary shows what people do to steal antiquities; it also shows the efforts - ancient and modern - to stop them.