| Paula Abdul |
SATURDAY, MAY 7
Ordinary Miracles (Hallmark Channel, 9 p.m. ET) Premiere. The ageless Jaclyn Smith stars as a lonely divorced judge who decides to take in a troubled and troublemaking 16-year-old girl rather than send her to a juvenile correctional facility. Predictable but pleasing results follow. Corbin Bernsen, Lyndsy Fonseca and C. Thomas Howell co-star.
SUNDAY, MAY 8
The Simpsons (Fox, 8 p.m. ET) "American Idol" winner Fantasia Barino provides the guest vocal in a story about a singing competition known as "Li'l Starmaker" run by Krusty the Clown. Among the coveted prizes: An animated version of the winner appears in an episode of "Itchy & Scratchy." Among Fantasia's competitors: Lisa Simpson, singing a song written by sudden stage-dad Homer.
Elvis (CBS, 9 p.m. ET) Premiere. Indie film favorite Jonathan Rhys Meyers ("Velvet Goldmine," "Bend it Like Beckham") makes a winning leap into mainstream entertainment in the title role of this four-hour bio-pic, which concludes Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. Unlike the many Elvis movies and miniseries of the past, this one was made with the full cooperation and involvement of the Elvis Presley Estate. Perhaps that explains why Part 2 largely excludes the physical and emotional challenges that compromised Presley's legend during the final years of his life. Part 1, on the other hand, is a totally nostalgic treat that reveals much about the music, movie and television industries in the '50s, a simpler era that now seems light-years removed from reality. It also details young Elvis' rise from a childhood of poverty in Tupelo, Miss., to national recognition as the King of Rock 'n' Roll by age 21. Camryn Manheim and Robert Patrick play the loving parents to whom Elvis remained devoted throughout his meteoric career. (Manheim is having a great season: She recently guest starred in one of the funniest episodes ever of CBS' "Two and a Half Men" and is a fearsome force in her guest stint as an explosive studio chief on Showtime's "The L Word.") Randy Quaid plays Presley's legendary manager "Colonel" Tom Parker and Antonia Bernath co-stars as the young Priscilla Beaulieu. There is much to recommend and enjoy about this production, including the use of Presley's actual master recordings throughout. Rhys Meyers, a gifted actor, really knows how to lip sync.
Living With Wolves (Discovery, 9 p.m. ET) Premiere. Husband and wife wildlife filmmakers Jim and Jamie Dutcher spent six years living in a tented camp inside an enclosed 25-acre area in the remote Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho shared only by an assembled pack of five captive wolf pups. The close bonds that formed between humans and animals allowed for this intimate, up-close study of these otherwise tentative, misunderstood animals. "Living with Wolves" is a sequel to the 1997 documentary "Wolves at Our Door."
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MONDAY, MAY 9
Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS, 9 p.m. ET) Fred Willard, Georgia Engel and Chris Elliott return for one last round as the loopy McDougals in the penultimate episode of this soon to be much-missed comedy, in which Robert discovers that Pat (Engel) is concealing a secret from her family. If the Barones must depart, is it possible that the McDougals might live on in a series of their own (with or without guest appearances by "Raymond" cast members)?
Extreme Makeover: Wedding Edition (ABC, 10 p.m. ET) Premiere. The "Extreme Makeover" franchise continues to spread across ABC's prime time lineup, this time providing dream weddings to down on their luck couples. This opening hour -- a guaranteed multiple-Kleenex special -- centers on Kyle, at 33 a four-time cancer survivor, and his true love Carrie, a community activist and marathon runner. They want to get married, but years of chemotherapy have destroyed Kyle's heart and they need to save their money for an eventual transplant. Enter the "I Do Dream Team." Couples who are desperate to marry but are faced with significant money or health problems can plead their cases on abc.com and possibly win a televised ceremony of their own. Among the members of the "I Do" team is carpenter, actor and former Calvin Klein underwear model Joel West.
TUESDAY, MAY 10
The Amazing Race (CBS, 9 p.m. ET) Season Finale. Two Hours. "The Amazing Race" is still television's finest reality series, despite the tedium this season of watching semi-celebs Rawb and Ambuh maneuver their way through the game like backstabbing "Survivor" competitors rather than ordinary folks who play fair. It has also been tiresome watching R&A win prizes almost every time they cross the finish line while so many other first-place winners went without special rewards. Here's some advice for CBS going forward: Do away with weekly prizes for the first teams to arrive at the Pit Stops and drop those non-elimination legs of the race. If a team comes in first during a leg that's reward enough. If a team is last, it's out. Clean and simple. Thank you. End of rant. Tune in tonight and cheer for Uchenna and Joyce. Or Ray and Deana. Anybody other than you know who.
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Veronica Mars (UPN, 9 p.m. ET) Season Finale. Last week we learned what really happened to Veronica on the night she was drugged and date raped. Tonight we learn who killed Lilly Kane. Next fall we learn how this engaging series will continue without its two most compelling central mysteries. That's somewhat troubling, because "Veronica Mars" is at its best when it plays like a continuous mystery novel, which is most of the time. If this show were to be made available on DVD sooner rather than later, potential new fans might find it and get hooked over the summer.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 11
Elvis (CBS, 8 p.m. ET) Conclusion. The concluding two hours of CBS' "Elvis" maxi-movie deal with the Priscilla years. See Sunday, May 8 for further details.
Jack & Bobby (The WB, 9 p.m. ET) Season Finale. The freshman series flagged by Jack Myers Entertainment Report last fall as the best new series of the 2004-05 season has been something of a disappointment, never quite living up to the glorious promise of its premiere episode and, at midseason, relying on one too many WB teen drama riffs to attract attention. Rock bottom ratings all season won't do much to increase its chances for renewal, but the WB could do (and has done) much worse, so how about it, folks? "Jack & Bobby" deserves another shot, if only because it was scheduled opposite "Desperate Housewives" for the first half of the season and "American Idol" during the second. Is that any way to treat a top-quality, thoughtful, sometimes profound drama? If this is the end of "Jack & Bobby" it's going out on top, with Gore Vidal, Norman Lear, Tim Robbins and Lou Diamond Phillips as guest stars. It's an emotional story in which Jack finally meets his father and viewers learn more about the adult fates of the title characters.
THURSDAY, MAY 12
Joey (NBC, 8 p.m. ET) Season Finale. NBC brings the first season of its sorry "Friends" spin-off to a close with two original episodes. In the first, Joey's girlfriend Sara (Madchen Amick) wants to move in with him, his friend and neighbor Alex (Andrea Anders) realizes she has feelings for him, and Gina (Drea de Matteo) confronts bombastic Bobbie (Jennifer Coolidge) about her attraction to young Michael (Paulo Costanzo). In the second, the budding relationship between Joey and Sara hits a snag and Gina meets Michael's new girlfriend. Better Joey should just bolt this batch of bores and hightail it back to New York City before season two gets underway. Matt LeBlanc stars.The O.C. (Fox, 8 p.m. ET) One week before the premiere of the sixth and final "Star Wars" movie (actually the chronological third in the series) George Lucas, the creator of that awesome franchise, turns up on "The O.C." for a chat with Seth. Seems George is impressed with a graphic novel Seth created and wants to have dinner with the boy. As luck would have it, dinner with George must happen on the very same night Seth is supposed to take Summer to the prom. Ya' know, this show is fun and all, but maybe one reason it isn't a true phenomenon is because it's just so hard to relate to these particular kids' particular problems.
ER (NBC, 9:59 p.m. ET) The Good-Bye Noah Wyle Countdown continues as Carter goes to Paris for a soulful reunion with Kem (Thandie Newton).
FRIDAY, MAY 13
Elvis, by the Presleys (CBS, 8 p.m. ET) Premiere. CBS follows its two-part movie about Elvis Presley with this documentary special, featuring interviews with Priscilla Beaulieu Presley and Lisa Marie Presley, Presley family home movies, rare television performances and photographs from the Presley archives.
Star Trek: Enterprise (UPN, 8 p.m. ET) Series Finale. Two Hours. The fifth series in the multiple-decade spanning "Star Trek" franchise signs off tonight, leaving fans without an original "Star Trek" series for the first time since "Star Trek: The Next Generation" debuted in 1987. Two original "Enterprise" episodes air tonight, but it's the second, the actual finale, that's a must-see. It features the return of Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis as their "Next Generation" characters, Commander William Riker and Lt. Commander Deanna Troi, respectively. Also, Brent Spiner makes a brief vocal cameo as the voice of his "Next Generation" character, Data.
NASCAR Drivers: 360 (FX, 10:30 p.m. ET) Season Premiere. The second season of FX's reality series about the personal and professional lives of the stars of NASCAR focuses on Rusty Wallace, Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch.