Stardate 06.24.01: Summer Arrives

WHAT'S ON THE TUBE

BLAIR WITCH and FREAKYLINKS fans, take note: the SECRETS OF THE DEAD series on public television kicks off its second season with "Witches' Curse," in which modern science probes past supernatural-themed mysteries. This week, a behaviorist from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute suggests among other things that the 19 witches hanged in Salem in 1692 were wrongly accused because their hallucinating victims may have accidentally ingested the fungus from which LSD was derived some 250 years later. Trippy! Check your local public television stations for air times.

At 9:00 on the WB, ANGEL reruns "Reprise," giving our hero a chance to send bad lawyers straight where they deserve to goto Hellwhen Wolfram & Hart brings in a "senior partner" from the depths. If you prefer extraterrestrial drug dealers to urban vampires, Sci Fi will show the Dolph Lundgren movie I COME IN PEACE at the same time.

James Marsters as the Buffy loving vampire Spike

© 1999 Warner Bros.

This is the night for new WITCHBLADE episodes on TNT at 9:00. In "Diplopia," Sara and Jake investigate the murder of a Soho art dealer who may have ties to the Witchblade. Meanwhile, Fox returns DARK ANGEL to its rerun slot with "Rising," in which genetically altered Red soldiers kidnap Original Cindy with the hope of attracting Max and her potentially life-saving DNA. UPN once again will show back-to-back SEVEN DAYS episodes at 8:00 and 9:00, while Sci Fi offers another Dolph Lundgren movie, RED SCORPION.

Prime time kicks off with double VOYAGER reruns on UPN. First, Jeri Ryan does a hilarious turn playing the Doctor inside Seven's body in "Body and Soul" at 8:00, then Janeway negotiates to save the ship from "The Void" at 9:00. Over on The WB, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER features one of this season's best reruns, "I Was Made to Love You," in which Buffy decides to go on a date with Glorious Ben, while a robot programmed for irrevocable passion searches for her missing boyfriend. On Sci Fi, check out John Carpenter's remake of THE THING at 9:00 to see an alien engage in disgusting torture of scientists in Antarctica.

It's Halloween at 9:00 on the WB, as CHARMED reruns "All Halliwells' Eve" and sends Prue, Piper and Phoebe back to 1670 to protect an unborn child. But if you caught this episode during the season, you may want to take a break from genre to see Cher's cameo on NBC's WILL AND GRACE, which also features a guest appearance by THE PRACTICE's Camryn Manheim as Psychic Sue.
Otherwise, it's a great night for movies. At 8:00, AMC is showing Hitchcock's THE BIRDS, the classic thriller that makes people fear pigeons. If you have Disneychannel on cable, you can catch a science fiction double feature with the kids, HONEY, WE SHRUNK OURSELVES and INNERSPACE. Or if you want to be thrilled, TNT is showing I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, followed by JOHNNY MNEMONIC, in which Keanu Reeves gets chased by thugs who covet the chip in his head. At 9, Sci Fi will show TREMORS 2: AFTERSHOCKS, which makes man-eating worms seem hilarious.

Sci Fi's hottest night features a new episode of INVISIBLE MAN. In "Brother's Keeper" at 8:00, Darien has the memories of his dead brother placed in his own mind in the hope of finding a way to remove the Quicksilver implant. At 9:00 on FARSCAPE (this year's Saturn Award-winner for Best Syndicated Series), the crew of Moya is "Losing Time" when parasitic Energy Riders try to plant themselves inside their bodies. Then at 10:00, Showtime launches Season Eight of STARGATE SG-1.

Or it's another good night for cable movies. Cinemax shows X-MEN at 9:00. FX airs STARSHIP TROOPERS at 8:30, which should thrill both fans of intergalactic arachnids and people who didn't get enough Dina Meyer in JOHNNY MNEMONIC the night before. TNT reruns WOLF, Jack Nicholson's wonderful turn as a hairy predator when the moon gets full.

Didn't get enough werewolves last night? Well, take heart: at 8:00, the Cartoon Network is showing SCOOBY-DOO AND THE RELUCTANT WEREWOLF. But most fans would rather be watching Sci Fi, which will show the modern classic BLADE RUNNER at 7:00, followed by ALIEN at 9:30.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER makes an encore appearance at 8:00 on the WB. In "The Real Me," Dawn's meddling interferes with Buffy's vendetta against ditzy gang leader Harmony. In the same time slot, Fox reruns THE SIMPSONS' "Homr," in which Bart's dad must choose between scientifically enhanced intelligence or popularity and charm. An hour later on THE X-FILES, Doggett learns "Patience" when Scully tries to convince him a giant bat-like creature has committed murder.

Movies? For those missing Hercules and Xena, Sci Fi has CLASH OF THE TITANS at 5:30. At 9:00, the network will play the 1984 feature film version of DUNE. Many fans prefer the longer mini-series adaptation, but the movie was directed by David Lynch and stars Patrick Stewart as well as Kyle MacLachlan, so if you've never seen it before, it's well worth checking out.

Rerun doldrums continue in the U.S., with new material primarily airing on cable. Still, it's worth checking the far ends of the channel-changer. Summer's a good time to catch up on syndicated shows such as EARTH: FINAL CONFLICT and SHEENA, both of which had pretty solid seasons last year. This week on ANDROMEDA, Dylan discovers that a warship in love can be a dangerous thing in "The Mathematics of Tears."

If you'd like to know how the special effects and Lara Croft's costumes were tailor-made for Angelina Jolie, look for THE MAKING OF 'TOMB RAIDER' on Showtime several times this week. If you're looking for martial arts excitement, the USA network is having a prime-time action-fest this week that includes two Dolph Lundgren movies, then Jean-Claude Van Damme's SUDDEN DEATH, LIONHEART, DESERT HEAT, STREET FIGHTER and KNOCK OFF, the latter two back-to-back on Saturday night.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Yancy Butler stars as the comic book turned TV heroine Witchblade

© 2001 Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.