Here are a few programs to look out for in the upcoming week ...
THURSDAY 8 P.M. Science Mysteries, Discovery. "More Science of Magic." Another look behind the magician's curtain to learn the scientific principles behind grand illusions. Hosted by popular Las Vegas magician Lance Burton (and a native of Louisville, Ky.), viewers watch well-known magicians perform tricks and reveal the science of each illusion. But just when the viewer thinks the secret is revealed, the same trick is performed again and appears to be flawless magic.
THURSDAY 8 P.M. Survivor, CBS. South America this time. To liven things up a bit, they've divided it up into guys vs. gals. NBC will likely be countering with 40-minute installments of Friends, Scrubs and Will & Grace. As if we don't have VCRs.
THURSDAY 10 P.M. The Autobahn, The History Channel. The fabled German highway system that inspired our own interstate highways. But our German friends designed theirs for speed. Explore the fascinating history and current reality of the world's fastest freeway. A project of Third Reich, the Autobahn was known as Adolf Hitler's Road until Germany's defeat in WWII. Reconstructed and extended to more than four times its original size, it has become a symbol of the New Germany as well as a classic tune by Kraftwerk.
FRIDAY 3 P.M. Lizzie McGuire, Disney Channel. Hillary Duff has quietly become the next "it girl" (hate that phrase) for the teen set (hate that phrase, too). Find out what all the fuss is about as you get an 18-episode marathon for Valentine's Day.
Friday 8 p.m. World's Weirdest Performers, Travel Channel. Meet stars for the new millennium. A man stuffs his body through a tennis racket; a woman plays concerto flute through her nose; see a human laser light show; meet a chef who makes and eats a worm casserole; and others with spectacularly bizarre talents. Carrot Top isn't in this. He's on Weirdest Looking Performers.
SATURDAY 6 A.M. Bosom Buddies, TBS. Tom Hanks fans rejoice (and set the VCR). This early '80s sitcom starts a run on TBS. The pilot finds Hanks and Peter Scaleri living in a women-only hotel so they have to go around in drag. Who'd-a-thunk this guy would become America's biggest movie star? Couldn't happen to a nicer guy though ... really.
MONDAY 8 P.M. My Life Is a Sitcom, ABC Family. This has turned out to be quite compelling. Ten families were chosen to have their lives examined by sitcom writers and stars to see whose situation would make a good comedy.
MONDAY 9 P.M. Dashboard Dreams, VH-1. The history of the longtime love affair between Rock & Roll and the car. The special examines why five decades of songwriters have turned to their cars for inspiration and how those fuel-injected anthems shaped our images of independence, fed our need for dangerous speed -- and reflected our desires for sex in the backseat. Get your motor running.
NEWS & NOTES: Though everyone already knew it, WB made it official and has cancelled Dawson's Creek. The two-hour finale runs in May. ... Tough Crows with Colin Quinn has been picked up by Comedy Central and will re-launch on March 10. ... Kelsey Grammar, appearing on The View, said he would like to see Frasier wrap up as most Shakespearean plays do -- with a marriage. He was quick to point out it would not be Roz.
-- P.F. Wilson
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