Here are a few programs to look out for in the upcoming week ...
WEDNESDAY 10:30 P.M. Dave Chapelle, Comedy Central. The bright young comic debuts a sketch comedy show, a tough proposition. Many similar programs have struggled, even when they were quite good. In Living Color, The Dana Carvey Show and the serviceable The Downer Channel from last year. Let's hope this young comic will be given a solid shot.
THURSDAY 8 P.M. Biography, A&E. "Colonel Sanders: America's Chicken King." Here's your chance to know the real Col. Harlan Sanders. He spent most of his life bouncing from job to job and collected his first Social Security check before becoming a success. He also never made it past private in the Army. But his chicken recipe hit it big after he was 65. A bit more trivia: The dude who founded Famous Recipe was once business partner of the Colonel, and he also got Dave "Wendy's" Thomas started in the fast food business.
THURSDAY 10:20 P.M. The Office, BBC America. Yet another British series headed for an Americanization. This one looks like a cross between Fred Savage's failed Working, from a few seasons back and the very fine film Office Space.
SATURDAY 8 P.M. Close Encounters of the Third Kind, TCM. A night of sci-fi classics starts off with this 1977 Steven Spielberg film. Richard Dreyfuss has visions of aliens, much to the dismay of his family. Did you know he tested for the part of Han Solo in Star Wars?
SUNDAY 6 P.M. Super Bowl XXXVII, ABC. The Raiders and Bucs meet in San Diego. We've had some closer games the past few years. Look for kickoff around 6:18 p.m. Shania Twain croons at half time.
THURSDAY MIDNIGHT. The Dead Zone, TBS. Fans of USA Network's hit show might be interested in revisiting this 1983 film. The always-wacky Christopher Walken plays the lead.
TUESDAY 6 P.M. Empires of Industry, The History Channel. "Cola Wars." All that talk about Col. Sanders, Famous Recipe and Wendy's might have made you thirsty. Each year, Americans consume more soft drinks than tap water. Available in nearly 200 countries, Coke alone sells one billion bottles, cans and glasses of pop daily, with archenemy Pepsi a close second. Look at the legendary rivalry between these giants in a $100-billion industry built on little more than sugar and water as they battle not just to quench consumer thirst, but for their hearts and minds as well.
TUESDAY 9 P.M. Mostly True Stories: Urban Legends Revealed, TLC. A repeat of a fine program on what's true and what's not in those e-mails you get from time to time. Like the one in which sewer system workers in New York City are confronted with colonies of alligators. Stories like this have been reported since the 1930s with no real evidence of 'gators. A reptile expert explains the actual life cycle of alligators.
NEWS & NOTES: Seth Green (Austin Powers, Buffy The Vampire Slayer) guest stars on That '70s Show on Feb. 26. ... According to Access Hollywood and Zap2it.com, the decision by the Friends cast to return for a 10th season was a last-minute one. There are no atheists in NBC's programming department.
-- P.F. Wilson
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