Olympic champs relax with ‘Gala’
Tonight’s must-see
Olympics, 8 p.m. to midnight, NBC. Now for some fun. The gymnastics medals have been handed out; the winners can relax and give a “Champions Gala.”
That will be in tonight’s first hour. If it’s like the Winter Olympics gala, it will be fun – no rules, just some lithe, little people putting on a show.
That will be on tape, but other moments are live. There’s BMX racing (9-11 p.m.) and the championship game (11 p.m.) in women’s beach volleyball.
Tonight’s must-see
“The Cheetah Girls” (2003), 7-9 p.m., Disney Channel. The buildup starts. The first two “Cheetah” films air today and Thursday; then the new one is on three straight nights.
This first one is pretty bad. The pop music is fine, but the dialogue is arch and artificial. But it was the start of a flood of musicals that have caused the Disney Channel to soar.
Things got better with the second “Cheetah,” zestfully directed in Spain by Kenny Ortega. The new one, filmed in India, has a weak script, but a vibrant look and sound.
Other choices include
More Olympics. On NBC, that’s 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and 12:35-2 a.m. On cable, it’s 2 a.m.-noon on USA Network, 5 a.m.-5 p.m. on MSNBC, 5-8 p.m. on CNBC and 6-8 p.m. on Oxygen.
“CNN Presents,” 8-11 p.m., CNN. With the convention season starting soon, CNN has back-to-back profiles. John King reports “McCain Revealed” at 8 p.m., Suzanne Malveaux reports “Obama Revealed” at 9:30.
“Bones,” 8 p.m., Fox. Brennan’s father (Ryan O’Neal) is charged with murder. Her colleagues squirm as they have to give testimony.
“Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” 9 p.m., Fox. Cameron has been accused of betrayal; John disagrees.
“Criminal Minds,” 9 p.m., CBS. Last week’s rerun showed the diner confrontation between Gideon (Mandy Patinkin) and a serial killer (Keith Carradine). Now the killer is back, Gideon’s girlfriend is dead … and both men are suspects. To find them, the team has to prepare a profile of their boss.
“CSI:NY,” 10 p.m., CBS. Some dead sharks – and a dead salesman – wash up on shore.