Stock-car racing has all the elements of movie excitement: Brave drivers, fast cars, heart-pounding excitement and imminent danger. Why then have so many speedway movies been duds? Remember Elvis in "Spinout?" Tom Cruise in "Days of Thunder" ? OK, you'd rather forget.
"Fast Track" (8 p.m., Sunday, Showtime) premieres with a two-hour movie setting the pace for a weekly Saturday series starting Aug. 16. If this pilot is any indication, "Fast Track" is on a slow-motion ride to video oblivion.
The setting is Eagle Ridge Speedway, owned by a sleazy operator Christian Chandler (Duncan Regehr) who cares more about money than the lives of his drivers.
His sister and lawyer, the brilliant and voluptuous Mimi (Brandy Ledford), makes a beeline for the bedroom with the series' hero Dr. Richard Beckett (Keith Carradine).
Beckett is a racing champ-turned-doctor, and now Chandler wants him to be the on-staff physician of the speedway. If that wasn't absurd enough, Beckett has the kind of charm found only in the imagination of Hollywood screenwriters. Everybody loves him. Cops refuse to give him speeding tickets, and women just naturally disrobe when he's around.
And Mr. Carradine is as good as "Fast Track" gets. Mimi's attempts to seduce Beckett involve the most laughably darting eyes since Gloria Swanson made silent movies. If you must watch "Fast Track," watch it for laughs, because as soap opera, it makes "Dynasty" look like "Anna Karenina."
"HBO Boxing After Dark" (11 p.m., Saturday) presents two bouts live from Connecticut's Mohegan Sun Casino. In the main event, South African Philip Holiday (33-0, 16 KOs) battles Los Angeles native "Sugar" Shane Mosley (23-0, 22 KOs). The second bout pits Angel "El Diablo" Manfredy (20-2-1, 22 KOs) against Jorge Paez (59-11-4, 30 KOs). Kids, don't try this at home.
Rock fans everywhere will be happy to see that John Fogerty, formerly of Creedence Clearwater Revival, is performing live for the first time in 20 years on "Hard Rock Live" (8 p.m., Sunday, VH1). For too long, legal problems and other complications kept Mr. Fogerty from performing such songs as "Born on the Bayou," "Fortunate Son," "Proud Mary," "Green River" and other Creedence classics. Now he's back and we all can enjoy his unique sound.
Steve Urkel imitates "Masterpiece Theatre" and narrates a trilogy of love stories on "Family Matters" (8 p.m., ABC, TV-G).
The repeat of "Comedy Club Superstars" (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) features backstage interviews, early performances and some revealing insights about top comedians, including Jerry Seinfeld, Paul Reiser, Tim Allen and Rita Rudner.
Megan Ward stars as a nurse possessed by the spirit of a homicide victim on the repeat of "From the Files of 'Unsolved Mysteries': Voice from the Grave" (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
Alex is reunited with her father (guest star Rod Taylor) in the courtroom when he is hired to defend a criminal boss on a "Walker, Texas Ranger" repeat (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
Bobby accepts a shady loan to save the legal firm, and Eugene defends a woman threatened by her violent estranged husband on a repeat of "The Practice" (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
James Brolin hosts "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction" (7 p.m., Fox, TV-G), an anthology of chilling coincidences and amazing stories. At the conclusion, Mr. Brolin reveals which tales were true.
Scheduled on "60 Minutes" (7 p.m., CBS): a new report on innovative ways to house the homeless population of Times Square; repeat reports on criminals who cross state borders and escape justice; and evidence that racism and fear of racial conflict were a factor in the conviction of two white Detroit policemen.
Scheduled on "Dateline" (7 p.m., NBC): a report on athletes who "choke" under big-game pressure.
Co-hosted by Jack Perkins and former Sen. Bill Bradley, "Biography Presents: Uncommon Americans" (8 p.m., A&E) profiles a former gang member who became a community activist, the founder of a Brooklyn performing arts center, and a Kentucky teacher who inspired a nationwide literacy program.
Even those who find "Touched By an Angel" (8 p.m., CBS, TV-G) cloying might be tempted to check out Delta Burke's performance as a hardened hooker with a drug problem. This special repeat two-part story concludes on the Thursday episode of "Promised Land," with Ms. Burke's real-life husband Gerald McRaney.
Hilary Swank and Charles Esten star in the repeat TV movie "From the Files of 'Unsolved Mysteries': The Sleepwalker Killing" (9 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) about a man who apparently kills his mother-in-law in his sleep.
When a rookie cop (Lori Loughlin) is raped by a fellow officer, she encounters a "blue wall of silence" in the repeat of "One of Her Own" (9 p.m., ABC, TV-14). Martin Sheen co-stars.
All are repeats except "America's Most Wanted."
Jarod bonds with an abandoned baby on "The Pretender" (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) ... Bank robbers hold Dr. Mike, Brian and Katie hostage on "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) ... On back-to-back episodes of "Cops" (Fox, TV-PG), Florida police arrest a felon who lives in a bus (8 p.m.), and search for survivors of the ValuJet crash (8:30 p.m.) ... Mark fills in for the DJ on "Hangin' With Mr. Cooper" (8:30 p.m., ABC, TV-G).
"America's Most Wanted" (9 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) goes inside the hunt and arrest of counterculture guru Ira Einhorn, a fugitive and murder suspect for 18 years ... Gary finds a link between a former customer and the JFK assassination on "Early Edition" (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG).
"Mad TV" spoofs "The X-Files" and the acting abilities of Jim Carrey (11 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
All are repeats.
Ricky and Kaylie take Ben to a family reunion at Disney World on "Second Noah" (7 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) ... Fust discovers that Jared has been hiding a puppy in class on "Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher" (7 p.m., WB, TV-G) ... Wendell gives Nicholas a lesson in put-downs on "The Parent 'Hood" (7:30 p.m., WB, TV-G).
Mary tries to impress the town's upper crust while Sally obsesses about pro-wrestling on "3rd Rock From the Sun" (8 p.m. NBC, TV-PG) ... Bart buys a new dog on a credit-card spree on "The Simpsons" (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) ... Buffy meets Giles, Xander and Willow on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (8 p.m., WB, TV-PG) ... On back-to-back installments of "America's Funniest Home Videos" (ABC, TV-G), amazing uncaged animals steal the show (8 p.m.), and the studio audience votes for the Grand Prize winner (8:30 p.m.).
Cultural misunderstandings abound when Hank meets the new neighbors on "King of the Hill" (8:30 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) ... Jimmy's stock secrets cause office turmoil on "NewsRadio" (8:30 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
Small-town murders lead Scully and Mulder to locals who believe in an ancient killer sea serpent on "The X-Files" (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14) ... Ryan's erratic baseball play gets him in junior college on "Unhappily Ever After" (9 p.m., WB, TV-PG) ... Shawn and Marlon have their doubts about T.C. on "The Wayans Bros." (9:30 p.m., WB, TV-PG).
| -Top- | -Home- | -Digest- | -Index- | -Staff- |  |