Gannett News Service

Must see

Olympics opening ceremony, 8 p.m. to midnight, Channels 5, 22.

The pageantry and spectacle comes before the sweat and strain begins.

Tonight, the parade of nations reaches the Athens stadium. The torch returns to Greece where all of this began.

Expect NBC to make rich use of the Greek settings and history. Bob Costas, whose grandparents emigrated from Greece almost 90 years ago, is the host.

Worth watching

Send Me No Flowers (1964), 6 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. Doris Day and Rock Hudson had a pleasant string of romantic comedies, each with a sharp script and nimble direction. Here are three of them, as part of a 24-hour Doris marathon. The talented Norman Jewison directed Flowers. Lover Come Back (8 p.m., 1961) has great support from Tony Randall. Pillow Talk (1959, 10 p.m.) has an Oscar-nominated script.

AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Songs, 8-11 p.m., Channels 12, 7. As the Olympics begin, other networks are stepping aside. Here is a rerun from earlier this summer. Experts selected the 100 best songs in movie history. John Travolta hosts.

The George Lopez Show, 8 p.m., Channels 9, 2. George finally gets a chance to go to Disneyland. First, however, he confronts his mother who never took him there.

Cop Land (1997), 8 p.m., Bravo. This intense, well-acted film is set in a New Jersey town where many New York City policemen live while claiming New York residences. It's a testosterone-filled place where the local sheriff (Sylvester Stallone) is overwhelmed. Now an Internal Affairs cop (Robert De Niro) investigates. The superb cast also includes Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, John Spencer, Janeane Garofalo and Annabella Sciorra.

A Bug's Life (1998), 8 and 9:40 p.m., Disney Channel. While the grown-ups are watching the Olympics or Cop Land, their kids can rewatch this animated delight. Dave Foley voices the mild-mannered hero who must save his ant colony. Kevin Spacey is the villain, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is the romantic interest and Richard Kind brings strong comedy moments.

Hope & Faith, 9 p.m., Channels 9, 2. Tom Arnold guests as the long-lost husband of Faith (Kelly Ripa).

Stargate SG-1, 9 p.m., Sci Fi. Teal'c is stuck in a virtual-reality trap. Others try to get him out.

Stargate Atlantis, 10 p.m., Sci Fi. Sheppard tries to save young people who plan to kill themselves, to avoid the Wraith.

Nighty Night, 10 p.m., Oxygen. There is a thin line between great humor and going too far. This episode skids back and forth as Jill (Julia Davis) keeps abusing the wheelchair-bound Cath, so she can spend time with her husband. It's beautifully played and, sometimes, quite funny.