ALSO TODAY There's Something About Mary By Charles Taylor The scatological brothers Farrelly try their grubby hands at romantic comedy Close encounters By Joyce Millman MTV's "FANatic" helps fans invade their favorite stars' space RECENTLY IN ENTERTAINMENT Pi Reviewed by Laura Miller An arty mix of math and migraines (07/16/98) The Latin invasion By John Milward A "midrocker" finds reason to learn how to really dance (07/16/98) Back is beautiful By Erin J. Aubry The cultural significance of Jennifer Lopez's abundant butt (07/15/98) Sharps & Flats Reviews of new music by the Beastie Boys, BR5-49, Primus, Baaba Maal, Shirley Horn and Ernest Ranglin (07/15/98) Home Movies By Charles Taylor "Matador": Almodóvar's paean to sex, violence, passion and death (07/14/98) BROWSE THE TV ARCHIVES COLUMNS FEATURES ILLUSTRATION BY KATHERINE STREETER

blue glow SALON'S TV PICKS FOR WEEKEND, JULY 17-20, 1998 BY JOYCE MILLMAN S P E C I A L S Need a Ben Stiller fix after seeing his new movie, "There's Something About Mary"? His 1994 comedy Reality Bites (9 p.m. Sat., ABC) is a sweet tale of recent college grads (Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Janeane Garofalo) whose lives don't turn out as planned. Garofalo is tart as usual, and Stiller (who also directed) is a hoot as the villain, a music video channel executive. Supermodel Naomi Campbell puts on a benefit fashion show in South Africa in the arch documentary Fashion Kingdom (10 p.m. Sat., VH1), which was directed by Douglas Keeve, who did the Isaac Mizrahi movie "Unzipped." Martin Scorsese's Casino (6 p.m. Sun., USA) gets its first non-premium-cable airing. Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone star in this mob tale set in Vegas. The four-part Savage Earth (check local times Sun. and Mon., PBS) gives you plenty of footage of earthquake, volcano and tsunami destruction. The new cable movie Thirdspace: A Babylon 5 Adventure (8 p.m. Sun., TNT) stars Bruce Boxleitner, Claudia Christian and other cast members of the sci-fi series in a story about a deadly alien artifact found in deep space. Joanne Whalley-Kilmer has the title role in the 1994 miniseries Scarlett (9 p.m. Sun. and Mon., CBS), a sequel to "Gone with the Wind." Timothy Dalton plays Rhett. S P O R T S Baseball: Brewers at Braves (7:35 p.m. Fri., 1:05 p.m. Sun., TBS) Orioles at Angels (10 p.m. Sat., FX) Dodgers at Cardinals (8 p.m. Sun., ESPN) WNBA: Houston Comets at Los Angeles Sparks (9 p.m. Fri., Lifetime) New York Liberty at Phoenix Mercury (4 p.m. Sat., NBC) Sacramento Monarchs at Phoenix Mercury (8:30 p.m. Mon., ESPN) Goodwill Games: (8:05 p.m. Sat., 2 and 8 p.m. Sun., 8:05 p.m. Mon, TBS) S E R I E S Lisa takes a frightening bus ride downtown on a rerun of The Simpsons (8 p.m. Sun., Fox). Hank's irascible father moves in after a fight with his wife on a rerun of King of the Hill (8:30 p.m. Sun., Fox). The X-Files (9 p.m. Sun., Fox) reruns the one where Scully probes deaths from a fast-acting biotoxin while Mulder infiltrates a militia planning a terrorist attack. The new series The Net (9 p.m. Sun., USA) debuts. Brooke Langton takes over the Sandra Bullock role in this TV version of the movie about a computer expert whose identity is erased by high-tech terrorists. Another new cable series, Sins of the City (10 p.m. Sun., USA), stars Marcus Graham as a Miami police detective forced to resign in disgrace, who becomes a private eye with an interest in the seedy. On a rerun of Everybody Loves Raymond (8:30 p.m. Mon., CBS), Raymond goes on a citizen's patrol with his brother the cop. Ally McBeal (9 p.m. Mon., Fox) reruns the one where Richard is caught cheating on the Whipper with Janet Reno. On a rerun of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (9 p.m. Mon., WB), the gang's nightmares start becoming a reality. T A L K Rosie O'Donnell (syndicated) Fri.: Clips from last season (rerun); Mon.: Penny Marshall David Letterman (CBS) Fri: Gabriel Byrne, Tricky with P.J. Harvey; Mon.: James Caan Jay Leno (NBC) Fri.: Pamela Anderson; Mon.: Natasha Richardson Conan O'Brien (NBC) Fri.: Chris Elliott; Mon.: Denis Leary, Mary Lou Lord (rerun) SALON | July 17, 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Blue Glow for < href="http://www.salonmagazine.com/ent/glow/1998/07/16glow.html">Thursday, July 16, 1998

ALL TIMES ARE EDT UNLESS NOTED. CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS.