One Night One Star: Usher Live (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET)
Live. 90 Minutes. We all remember Usher's terrific performance at the UPN upfront presentation last May. Since that time, he has been honored with multiple Grammy Awards and his 2004 album "Confessions"
has entered the history books as the year's top-seller. In this live telecast, Usher performs from the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan. Showtime says this will be his only full-length live televised show in 2005. Usher
will perform several songs from "Confessions," including "Yeah," "Burn" and "Confessions Part II." With 1.1 million copies sold during its first week, "Confessions" became the top-selling R&B debut of all
time and has since been certified platinum eight times.
SUNDAY, MARCH 6
The Starlet (The WB, 8 p.m. ET)
Series Premiere. For many journalists in attendance, the biggest star to appear during The WB's day at the recent Television Critics Association tour was Faye Dunaway, an Academy Award winner for her role
in the prescient 1976 drama "Network" and a lead player in many of the best movies of the '60s and '70s, arguably the last great period of American filmmaking. "Network" almost thirty years ago eerily predicted the reality television phenomenon and its wide-ranging impact on the viewing public. Now,
the always-contemporary Dunaway moves front and center as the star of "The Starlet," in which young aspiring actresses compete in challenges with their eyes on the three-pronged prize: a career-making Hollywood contract, a talent deal with The WB and a role on The WB's own "One Tree Hill." Each week
one eager wannabe will be eliminated after Dunaway chillingly utters this series' catchphrase: "Don't call us, we'll call you." Dunaway, Vivica A. Fox ("Kill Bill, Vol. 1") and casting director Joseph Middleton are the judges. Katie Wagner hosts. Although this is the regular time period for "The
Starlet," the second episode of the series will be telecast Tuesday at 8 p.m. Encore performances of each episode will run on Thursdays.
Arrested Development (Fox, 8:30 p.m. ET)
Two episodes. Despite a 2004 Emmy Award as Best Comedy Series and a 2005 Golden Globe Award for series star Jason Bateman, this critics' darling is tanking. Tonight's double play could be this show's last
shot. Julia Louis-Dreyfus returns in both episodes as blind attorney Maggie Lizer, now claiming to be eight months pregnant -- eight months after her one night stand with Bateman's Michael Bluth. Check
out www.saveourbluths.com for information on a grass-roots campaign organized by viewers (rather than critics) to save this ailing show.
Oprah Winfrey Presents: Their Eyes Were Watching God (ABC, 9 p.m. ET)
Premiere. Oprah made a rare appearance at the 2005 Winter Television Critics Association tour to promote this project, her latest film for ABC. Based on the classic novel by Zora Neale Hurston, widely known
by viewers of her daytime talk powerhouse as Winfrey's favorite love story of all time, "Their Eyes Were Watching God" follows a black woman's quest for love, sexual fulfillment and spiritual development during the 1920s. Halle Berry stars. The teleplay was written by Suzan-Lori Parks, the first
African American female playwright to be honored with the Pulitzer Prize. How times have changed: It wasn't that long ago when a project with such significant star power behind it would have been showcased during a network sweeps period.
Deadwood (HBO, 9 p.m. ET)
Season Premiere. As the second season of this relentlessly unpleasant but dramatically compelling series gets under way, the tough-talking residents of the lawless titular mining camp experience major changes, one
that finds Deadwood becoming an official part of the United States. That means the arrival of civilized law and bigger business interests, definite downers for the bloodless bullies who run the territory. Ian McShane continues his Golden Globe-winning portrayal of the appropriately named Al Swearengen, the
outlandishly foul-mouthed, menacing saloon owner who holds Deadwood in his grimy grip. Timothy Olyphant, Powers Boothe and Robin Weigert also star.
In the Womb (National Geographic Channel, 9 p.m. ET)
Premiere. Extraordinary 4-D technology, which significantly enhances the better-known 3-D version, allows for the very detailed exploration of each trimester in the life of a fetus in this remarkable documentary. It includes
moving images few people have ever seen, including the development of the first nerve cells, the formation of the heart, an 11-week-old fetus kicking and a 24-week-old fetus opening and closing her eyes and sticking out her tongue. There is also a segment featuring a rare in-utero operation
to correct a defect in a fetus' diaphragm.
Intervention (A&E, 10 p.m. ET)
Series Premiere. Those who enjoy their reality series with a massive infusion of outsize emotion won't want to miss this one, in which friends, family members and camera crews descend on alcoholics, shopaholics, drug
abusers and others who suffer from life-destroying addictions and push them into seeking treatment. In tonight's premiere, a 27-year-old drug addict, once a White House intern with a promising future, and a 38-year-old cocaine addict who quit his executive-level job, sold his home and cashed in his retirement
fund to support his habit and is now homeless are made to face their problems.
The Long Firm (BBC America, 10 p.m. ET)
U.S. Premiere. Mark Strong gives a standout performance in this four-part British mini-series as Harry Starks, a ruthless gangster
in 1960s London who runs a nightclub, is involved in pornography and racketeering and happens to be gay. Derek Jacobi co-stars as Lord Teddy Thursby, a cash-strapped
homosexual politician with whom Starks forms an unholy alliance.
MONDAY, MARCH 7
The Contender (NBC, 9:30 p.m. ET)
Series Premiere. Originally slated for a November 2004 debut, this perpetually delayed reality series in which 16 professional boxers compete for a shot at $1 million finally arrives on NBC's schedule. After weeks of
requisite eliminations, the two remaining men will box in a live telecast from Caesars Palace on May 24, with the winner receiving the $1 million prize and, presumably, an exciting new life. "The Contender" made news last summer when executive producers Mark Burnett and Jeffrey Katzenberg
appeared at the 2004 Summer Television Critics Association tour and, following the lead of NBC Universal Television Group president Jeff Zucker, accused Fox executives of stealing their idea for a boxing reality show and rushing it onto the air. That series, Fox' "The Next Great Champ," collapsed on
arrival and was shuttled over to the Fox Sports Channel to finish its run. More recently, 23-year-old Najai Turpin, one of the personable young boxers on this series, committed suicide in Philadelphia. It is a tragedy that will no doubt resonate throughout this program, which focuses as much on the
emotional personal lives of the boxers as the pursuit of their professional goals. Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard are co-hosts and mentors to these young men. Tonight's expanded 90-minute premiere will be
followed by a one-hour episode Thursday at 10 p.m. ET. Then, on March 13, "The Contender" will settle into its regular time period, Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.
Inferno II (MTV, 10 p.m. ET)
Season Premiere. The series formerly known as the "Real World/Road Rules Challenge" begins its 10th season. Recent "Real World" roommates Landon, Karamo and Shavonda haven't even left Philadelphia yet (that
happens tomorrow night), but here they are in Manzanillo, Mexico, along with 17 other veterans of the "Real World" and "Road Rules" franchises, ready to compete in grueling physical challenges. The players are
split into two teams: The Good Guys and the Bad Asses. Wonder which one Landon will land on?
Fat Actress (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET)
Series Premiere. If you aren't aware of this new Showtime comedy series then you haven't read a magazine or newspaper or turned on your television during the last few months, because series creator, executive producer
and star Kirstie Alley has been everywhere promoting this show. It's a largely unscripted effort following an overweight Alley's pursuit of love and acting opportunities while trying to lose weight in size-obsessed Hollywood, where thin is in and women who aren't anorexic are considered plump. Alley
was approximately 203 pounds when she began filming this project. In television interviews this week she claims to have dropped 22 pounds since that time with help from the Jenny Craig diet program. Will there be a second season if Alley reaches her goal weight of 140? Not to worry. She
told Matt Lauer on the "Today" show Monday that she wants to be "really promiscuous in the next seven episodes." Think "Slutty Actress." Watch for brief appearances by John Travolta and NBC's Jeff Zucker in this opening episode.
TUESDAY, MARCH 8
House (Fox, 9 p.m. ET)
How do you make one of the best new drama series of the season even better? Sign up former "Boston Public" star Chi McBride for a five-episode run as a billionaire businessman who becomes the
new chairman of the board of directors at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital and the instant arch-nemesis of Dr. Gregory House (certain Emmy nominee Hugh Laurie).
Lie Detector (Pax, 9 p.m. ET)
Series Premiere. Here’s a strange choice for family-friendly Pax: A reality series in which people whose honesty has been called into question submit to an on-camera polygraph administered by Dr. Ed Gelb, the world's
foremost polygraph expert -- but only after a candid conversation with Rolonda Watts, the host of the show. First up: Former presidential irritant Paula Jones, who is still determined to prove that Bill Clinton exposed
himself to her in a Little Rock hotel room before he became president. Also, Robert Smitty, the first person to donate an organ to a stranger through an Internet appeal, who has since been criticized for profiting from
the act, seeks to prove that he didn't do it for the money.
Law & Order: SVU (NBC, 10 p.m. ET)
In an extraordinary acting double play, Martin Short follows his recent unforgettable guest appearance as Bluth family friend "Uncle" Jack on Fox' "Arrested Development" with a dramatic role here as a creepy psychic who
offers to help Detectives Stabler and Benson locate a missing 18-year-old girl.
Blind Justice (ABC, 10 p.m. ET)
Series Premiere. Ron Eldard stars as Detective Jim Dunbar, an officer blinded in a shootout who refuses to retire in this
new drama from executive producer Steven Bochco. Marisol Nichols, Rena Sofer, Frank Grillo and Reno Wilson co-star.
The Real World Philadelphia (MTV, 10 p.m. ET)
Season Finale. After six turbulent, trying, tear-filled months, Landon, Muja Star, Shavonda, Willie, Karamo, Melanie and Sarah bid farewell to the City of Brotherly Love, moving no doubt to a future filled
with appearances on other MTV programs (see Monday March 7).
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9
CBS Evening News (CBS, 6:30 p.m. ET)
Twenty-four years to the day that he assumed the position of anchor of the "CBS Evening News," and after the longest run as a network news anchor in broadcast history, Dan Rather appears in that capacity for the
last time tonight. Rather unfortunately leaves his post amid ongoing controversies surrounding false documents used last September in a report about President Bush's National Guard service, but there is no
denying that the man has done a remarkable job during his time at CBS as reporter, managing editor and anchor. Rather will reflect on his years at CBS News in a one-hour retrospective special airing tonight at
8 p.m. ET. He will continue to contribute reports to the network's "60 Minutes" franchise and to CBS News.
American Idol (Fox, 9 p.m. ET)
Live. Two more young men and two more young women will be voted off tonight, leaving behind the top twelve contestants who
will begin competing against each other as of next Tuesday, when the competition begins its exciting final phase.
THURSDAY, MARCH 10
PoweR Girls (MTV, 10:30 p.m. ET)
Series Premiere. Life gets even stranger tonight. Lizzie Grubman, the notorious New York City based celebrity publicist who in 2001 famously backed her SUV into a line of unsuspecting people outside a Long
Island nightclub and then fled the scene leaving behind 16 injured people, debuts as the latest star of a shiny, happy, youth-targeted MTV reality series. In fairness, Grubman served 37 grueling days in prison as punishment for her awful actions, but she doesn't seem to warrant special star-making
treatment from MTV, a network known to occasionally make spectacular bad choices. Nevertheless, this show has promise as a reality version of "Sex and the City." It focuses on the dizzying lives of four single young women who work for Grubman organizing publicity events in Manhattan, Los
Angeles, the Hamptons and Miami for her high-profile clients.
The Hollow Men (Comedy Central, 10:30 p.m. ET)
Series Premiere. Four talented young Englishmen perform sketches, musical numbers and other comedy bits -- often in drag -- in this
fast-paced comedy series that bears a more than passing resemblance to "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and "The Kids in the Hall."
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