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TUNE IN TONIGHT THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2008 Hospital documentary tops frisky melodrama By Kevin McDonough Thursday-night audiences remain up for grabs. At least at 10 p.m. Last week, viewers seemed to prefer the hospital documentary series "Hopkins" (10 p.m., ABC) over the alternatives. Tonight, a woman who has made three trips down the aisle awaits a lung donor. It's interesting to see an unscripted film stand out in the ratings. Perhaps enough "Grey's Anatomy" viewers or old "ER" fans were around to make "Hopkins" the winner for the hour. On the other hand, I'm hardly surprised that viewers are not sticking with "Swingtown" (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14), the 1970s melodrama that seems more obsessed with clothes, music, furniture and other period details than credible scripts or three-dimensional characters. Most of these "swingers" are parents of adult children yet still have the bodies of movie stars. Funny, I don't remember that many moms and dads looking that great or having the time and energy to "swing" back during the pet rock era. On the horror series "Fear Itself" (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14), a rookie cop (Elisabeth Moss, who plays Peggy on "Mad Men") babysits a killer at the precinct house. This episode was directed by Stuart Gordon ("Re-Animator"). Also competing at that time is the repeat pilot episode of "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" (10 p.m., Family, TV-14), a melodrama about a teen who finds herself "in trouble" at a high school where the topic of sex appears to be on everybody's minds all of the time. Maybe these are the grandchildren of the folks on "Swingtown." — VH1 Classic celebrates the Fourth of July and America with a three-days of concerts, presented in geographical order from east to west. Today's East Coast offerings include "VH1 Storytellers: Bruce Springsteen" (3:30 p.m., VH1 Classic); "KISS Unplugged" (6 p.m.) and "VH1 Classic in Concert: Poison: Live, Raw and Uncut" (8 p.m.). The music and the venues move west with a Styx concert (11 p.m., Friday); "Soundstage: Tom Petty" (9 p.m., Saturday) and "John Fogerty: The Long Road Home" (6 p.m., Sunday). The summer holiday also recalls summer movie blockbusters from the past. Call it "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" (6 p.m., Spike) or just call it "Star Wars," but this 1977 space fantasy rewrote the rules for summer movies, becoming one of the highest-grossing films of all time. A summer later, "Saturday Night Live" phenomenon John Belushi joined a cast of then unknowns, including Tim Matheson, Tom Hulce, Peter Riegert and Karen Allen to star in the irreverent 1978 comedy "National Lampoon's Animal House" (8 p.m., AMC). Less than a decade later, summer filmgoers turned to more gung-ho fare, flocking to "Top Gun" (8 p.m., Cinemax) starring Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis in a 1986 film from the producers of "Flashdance" and "Beverly Hills Cop" that seemed to capture the Reagan era's patriotic swagger. TONIGHT'S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS — U.S. swimming Olympic trials (8 p.m., USA). — Catherine feels for a young victim of a comedy-club killing on "CSI" (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14,V). — Posh guests gather for Wilhelmina's big day on "Ugly Betty" (8 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG). — Richard Belzer and Steve Schirripa search for talent on the semifinal showdown of "Last Comic Standing" (8 p.m., NBC, TV-14). — "Live From Abbey Road" (10 p.m. Sundance) presents performances by Panic at the Disco, David Gray and Suzanne Vega. — Samantha Brown: Passport to Great Weekends" (Travel) looks at San Francisco (10 p.m.) and Miami (10:30 p.m.). — Tabbi's return ruins Trevor's day on "MVP" (11 p.m., Soapnet, TV-14). CULT CHOICE Before "Best in Show," director Christopher Guest and his comic ensemble company lampooned amateur theater in the 1996 documentary-style comedy "Waiting for Guffman" (7 p.m., IFC, TV-14). SERIES NOTES Regis Philbin hosts "Million Dollar Password" (8 p.m., CBS, r) ... Jeff Foxworthy host "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) ... Lana borrows Clark's powers on "Smallville" (8 p.m., CW, r, TV-PG,D,S,V) ... The competition continues on "So You Think You Can Dance?" (9 p.m., Fox) ... Izzie reveals her feelings about George on "Grey's Anatomy" (9 p.m., ABC, r, TV-14) ... Lucy, the female vampire, strikes on "Supernatural" (9 p.m., CW, r, TV-14,L,V). LATE NIGHT Lara Logan is scheduled on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (11 p.m., Comedy Central, r) ... Piedmont Bird Callers, Sarah Jessica Parker and The Republic Tigers appear on "Late Show with David Letterman" (11:35 p.m., CBS, r) ... Jay Leno hosts Dustin Hoffman, Gordon Ramsey and Flobots on "The Tonight Show" (11:50 p.m., NBC, r) ... Charlize Theron, Guillermo del Toro and We the Kings appear on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" (12:05 a.m., ABC, r) ... Jeff Garlin, Dax Shepard and the Kills chat on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (12:50 a.m., NBC, r) ... Craig Ferguson hosts Virginia Madsen, Darin Strauss and John Hiatt on "The Late, Late Show" (12:37 a.m., CBS, r). Kevin McDonough can be reached at kmcdonough@unitedmedia.com Copyright 2008, United Feature Syndicate, Inc.
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