54
Reviewed by Charles Taylor
Instead of offering a comic portrait of '70s excess, "54" is a disappointing '90s-style morality tale

Slums of Beverly Hills
Reviewed by Mary Elizabeth Williams
Tamara Jenkins' debut feature is a gritty, nostalgic trip through the wrong side of 90210

Seeing past the "Endless Summer"
By Mark Athitakis
"Endless Harmony" spotlights the Beach Boys' underrated later history
(08/27/98)

"I get cynical"
By David Bowman
Bob Mould talks about the end of Hüsker Dü, the breakup of Sugar and why his upcoming tour will be his "Last Dog and Pony Show"
(08/26/98)

Sharps & Flats
Reviews of new CDs from Elliot Smith, Lauryn Hill, Cracker, James McMurtry and the Headhunters
(08/26/98)

Home Movies
By Charles Taylor
"On Her Majesty's Secret Service": James Bond gets a life
(08/25/98)

American Squirm
By Sarah Vowell
Malcolm MacPherson's updated "Black Box" transcripts give us a grisly idea of what death really sounds like
(08/24/98)

blue glow
SALON'S TV PICKS FOR
WEEKEND, AUG. 28-30, 1998
BY JOYCE MILLMAN

S P E C I A L S

Director Kevin Smith's pre-"Chasing Amy" effort, the 1995 comedy Mallrats (9 p.m. Sat., ABC), has its network TV premiere. Shannen Doherty, Jeremy London, Ben Affleck and Joey Lauren Adams star. Live from Lincoln Center (check local times Sun., PBS) brings the recent Lincoln Center production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, or What You Will into your living room. Helen Hunt plays Viola; the cast includes Paul Rudd, Kyra Sedgwick and Philip Bosco. Nicholas Hytner directs. For those taping at home, it runs three hours. ABC reruns the news special Love, Lust and Marriage: Why We Stay and Why We Stray (9 p.m. Sun., ABC). Rosanna Arquette plays an alcoholic mother fighting to regain custody of her son in the new cable movie Floating Away (9 p.m. Sun., Showtime). She ends up on a road trip with two drifters, played by Judge Reinhold and Paul "Crocodile Dundee" Hogan. Nonetheless, it's supposed to be a drama.

S P O R T S

Baseball:
Braves at McGwire -- er-- Cardinals (8:05 p.m. Fri., TBS; 1 p.m. Sat., Fox; 8 p.m. Sun., ESPN)
Pirates at Astros (8 p.m. Sat., FX)

WNBA Finals:
Houston Comets at Phoenix Mercury, Game 2 (4 p.m. Sat., NBC)

Exhibition football:
Panthers at Steelers (8:15 p.m. Sat., ESPN)

S E R I E S

Law & Order (10 p.m. Fri., NBC) reruns an episode about militia members who declare themselves political prisoners during their murder trial. Saturday Night Live (11:30 p.m. Sat., NBC) reruns a tribute to Chris Farley. If you're a latecomer who has become hooked on the "Brady Bunch" of the '90s, 7th Heaven (7 p.m. Sun., WB), the disturbingly upbeat family drama is now airing episodes from its first season on Sundays, beginning with the pilot. Biography (8 p.m. EDT/9 PDT Sun., A&E) repeats a two-hour profile of Princess Diana on the eve of the anniversary of her death. Dateline NBC (8 p.m. Sun., NBC) also has a Diana-related report about Prince William. And more Diana: The E! True Hollywood Story (8 p.m. Sun., E!) puts its inimitable stamp on things with a two-hour Diana retrospective. La Femme Nikita (10 p.m. Sun., USA) wraps up its season with Nikita caught in a plot to destroy the Section.

T A L K

Rosie O'Donnell (syndicated) Susan Sarandon (rerun)
David Letterman (CBS) Will Smith, Jimmy Buffett from Miami (rerun)
Jay Leno (NBC) Ray Liotta, Brandy
Chris Rock (HBO) Lenny Kravitz
Politically Incorrect (ABC) Howie Mandel, Sophie B. Hawkins
Conan O'Brien (NBC) TBA
SALON | Aug. 28, 1998

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Blue Glow for < href="http://www.salonmagazine.com/ent/glow/1998/08/27glow.html">Thursday, Aug. 27, 1998