Cable TV Offers Some Highlights And Lowlights This Week

Cable TV is offering some real highlights and some real lowpoints this week. One if the best promises to be the 2 hour season opener for THE CLOSER. This excellent police drama is more than well acted and well written. It's cable TV at it's very best. This is a must see event.

A far weaker entry is THE LIBRARIAN: RETURN TO KING SOLOMON'S MINES, an obvious RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK ripoff starring former ER star, Noah Wyle. Wyle is one of few high points in this blatant ripoff, with his usual pleasant and engaging personality caught up in a story not as nearly as good as INDIANIA JONES sagas by any means. Some silly special effects, that seem like childish HARRY POTTER ripoffs like a flying sword and harp only add to the silly nature of this so-so adventure drama that caught me fighting sleep by 45 in. Another computer-generated sequence with ghosts appeared to be the worst cheap re-enactment of another scene from RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK that was memorable by comparison. Why attempt a scene so similiar to another in a far better film with a far smaller budget was only to invite a losing proposition comparison. Watch this if you wish, but be warned. Like the first LIBRARIAN from 2004 this film is disappointing, and only a little better than the first if that's saying much.

Two other cable TV comedies offer a little promise including the cruely funny comedy 10 ITEMS OR LESS, a tasteless grocery store comedy on at 11PM , and MY BOYS, another interesting comedy featuring the great comic Jim Gaffigan. This looks promising enough to watch at least once.