BBC presents three '60s spy series

BBC presents three '60s spy series

tv tonight

By Joel Brown

New York Times Syndicate

Summer Fridays require special effort to find something worth watching. But those of you with the BBC America cable channel may have it easy.

Tonight the network kicks off a weekly three-hour Brit-TV wallow, with reruns of three campy 1960s spy series, two of which are classics.

At 8 it's Diana Rigg and Patrick Macnee as Emma Peel and John Steed, aka "The Avengers," and never was there a wittier or better- looking counterintelligence team. They fight mad scientists and other camp baddies while navigating the gulf between swinging London and the staid old British ways.

At 9 it's Roger Moore as free-lance hero "The Saint," which is less fun - no Diana Rigg, for one thing - but entirely serviceable.

And then at 10, they're running Patrick McGoohan as "The Prisoner," a short-lived and surreal brain cramp of a show that people are still debating. McGoohan's a spy who wants out, but by the time the opening credits are over, he's been taken to a creepy little village where it appears he will be kept forever. . . .

All three shows repeat beginning at 11, too.

If you're in the mood for a little more substance tonight - perhaps "Fahrenheit 9/11" has whetted your appetite - scope out the cable section below for three films with current-events angles.

Highlights

"Joan of Arcadia," CBS at 8: Joan joins the yearbook staff. Repeat.

"The Bernie Mac Show," Fox at 8: Back-to-back repeats. Bernie takes a role as a kid-movie bad guy who menaces Bryana's favorite friendly dinosaur. In the second, it's time for "The Talk" with Jordan, so Bernie goes right to the top for advice - Hugh Hefner.

U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials, NBC at 8: From Long Beach, Calif.

"What I Like About You," WB at 8: Holly's love life gets a jolt after Henry dumps her and Vince finds out that she still has feelings for him.

"JAG," CBS at 9: Dean Stockwell is the Navy chief of staff facing war crimes charges after the United States bombs an Iraqi hospital. Repeat.

"The Jury," Fox at 9: Looks like this show is getting punted by Fox, and tonight begins the downfall, with a demotion to a Friday time slot. Tonight's case involves the molestation of a small child, whose testimony may be key.

"Dateline," NBC at 9: A 911 tape is the key piece of evidence in deciding whether a killing is murder or self-defense.

"48 Hours," CBS at 10: The science of better sex.

"Las Vegas," NBC at 10: Cheerleaders, British soccer hooligans and an escaped psycho killer bent on revenge are among the hotel's guests in this repeat.

Family Fare

"The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron," Nick at 8: Hourlong episode finds Jimmy and friends competing to save the Earth from destruction on an alien game show.

Cable Cast

Baseball, ESPN at 4: Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies.

"Bowling for Columbine" (2002), Showtime at 8: Michael Moore's warm-up for "Fahrenheit 9/11" was one of the most successful and most caustic documentaries ever, examining America's gun fixation.

"Three Kings" (1999), TNT at 8: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube are American soldiers during the first Gulf War who try to rip off millions amid the fog of war. But what sounds like an updating of "Kelly's Heroes" (1970) also asks tough questions about U.S. involvement in the region.

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