‘Business’ a fresh tack on reality shows
“Taking Care of Business” (10 p.m. tonight, TLC) offers a smart variation on the tired – and, to my mind, tiresome – makeover reality genre.
While shows like “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” and “Trading Spaces” offer individuals new looks and enhanced attitudes, “Taking” offers survival tips for struggling small business on the brink of disaster.
In the debut episode, the panel of experts, including a publicist, a retail designer, a management expert and a millionaire entrepreneur, examine the prospects for the survival of The Microchip Cafe in Brooklyn, N.Y.
You don’t have to own a small business to enjoy this series. It’s blissfully free of catty innuendo and subjective notions of what is or is not hip.
Like the first season of “The Apprentice,” this show rewards intelligent viewers with a businesslike respect for common sense.
“Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers” (8 p.m., ABC, tonight) reunites the cast from ‘80s television comedy, including Alan Thicke, Joanna Kerns, Kirk Cameron, Tracey Gold, Jeremy Miller, Ashley Johnson and Chelsea Noble. Gosh, they haven’t been together since “Growing Pains: The Movie” in 2000.
In addition to these sitcom reunions, Kirk Cameron has appeared in the low-budget biblical fantasy thrillers “Left Behind” (2000) and “Left Behind II: Tribulation Force” (2002). Reviews have been less than rapturous.
“Most Shocking: Moonshine Madness” (9 p.m. tonight, CMT) looks at the long, legend-filled history of illegal backwoods distilleries and its place in country music culture. It also discusses how early stock car racers (the grandpappies of today’s NASCAR stars) got their start driving fast cars while delivering hooch and evading authorities.
Do you think you know everything about Britain’s royal family? “The Lost Prince” on “Masterpiece Theatre” (8 p.m. Sunday, KSPS) explores the little-known history of Prince John, the epileptic and mentally disabled brother of Edward VIII and George VI and the uncle of the current queen.
Born in 1905, John was the youngest son of King George V and Queen Mary. Following the attitudes of the day, the troubled boy was sequestered on a private estate, out of the sight of the press and his subjects and often beyond the emotional reach of his family.
A superior film, “Lost” does not dwell on the sentimental aspects of John’s isolation but uses his peculiar outsider status to allow viewers a perspective on Edwardian mores. It also provides a child’s view of Europe’s aristocracy on the eve of World War I, a conflict that would bring abdication and execution to John’s cousins, the Kaiser of Germany and the Tsar of Russia.
“The Lost Prince” is a gorgeous and intelligent film with a superb cast, including Miranda Richardson, Tom Hollander, Michael Gambon and Bibi Andersson. Gina McKee (“The Forsythe Saga”) portrays John’s devoted nanny, Lalla, who provided the only emotional constant in his life.
“Prince” concludes next Sunday.
“Farscape” fans have reason to rejoice. The popular fantasy franchise returns with a two-part miniseries, “Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars” (9 and 11 p.m. Sunday, Sci Fi, concluding Monday).
Newly “re-crystallized” human astronaut John Crichton and his alien lover, Aeryn Sun, hope to concentrate on personal affairs, but an intergalactic war, triggered by their old nemesis Scorpius, keeps getting in the way. Fans will not be disappointed by this re-crystallized four-hour escapade.
Tonight’s highlights
NASCAR racing (4 p.m., NBC).
The Yankees and the Red Sox meet in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series (4:30 p.m., Fox).
Scheduled on “48 Hours Investigates” (10 p.m., CBS): a teen’s murder confession does not ring true.
Gabrielle receives a perfect rose on “Desperate Housewives” (10 p.m., ABC).
Sunday’s highlights
Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (7 p.m., CBS): a profile of a prolific serial killer who may go free; a profile of Ray Charles; a college admissions controversy in Texas.
The Cardinals and Astros meet in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series (4:30 p.m., Fox).
Kyra Sedgwick and Aidan Quinn star in the 2004 drama “Cavedweller” (8 p.m., Showtime), adapted from a novel by Dorothy Allison.
Rob Lowe and Anna Friel star in the 2004 TV romance “Perfect Strangers” (9 p.m., CBS).
Dinner plans survive Mary Alice’s demise on “Desperate Housewives” (9 p.m., ABC).