Tube Notes
By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service
TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE
"Justice," 7 p.m., Fox. As the Fox network tried to salvage its crumbling lineup, it had to decide what to keep. At first, "Vanished" was going to get this Friday spot. Then Fox switched: The final "Vanished" hours will air only on myspace.com/vanished. Instead, this goes to "Justice," from "CSI" producer Jerry Bruckheimer. The show follows a big-money law firm then shows if the defendant is really guilty. The clients are usually rich, but this week's episode is a detour: Tom (Kerr Smith) persuades people to defend the firm's security guard, who faces overwhelming evidence that he killed his wife.
OF NOTE
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (2001), 7:30 p.m., ABC Family. Here's the first of the Potter epics. The movie bogs down later, but the early part is magical.
"The Polar Express" (2004), 7 p.m., ABC. Robert Zemeckis, a brilliant director of such live-action movies as "Back to the Future," inexplicably decided to use a technique that turns real people into digital animation. This movie, about a boy's trip to the North Pole, looks wonderful in 3-D Imax. It's probably still interesting on a smaller screen, but you'll start to notice that there is a flat, uninvolving feeling to the characters and story.
"Ice Wars: USA vs. The World," 7 p.m., CBS. These popular specials pit the scores of four U.S. skaters against four from other countries. The U.S. team has Brian Boitano, Michael Weiss, Angela Nikodinov and Rory Flack Burghart; the world has Oksana Baiul, Alexei Yagudin, Kurt Browning and Shizuka Arikawa.
"Ashley Judd & YouthAIDS: Confronting the Pandemic," 8 p.m., TLC. On World AIDS Day, this documentary shows actresses Ashley Judd and Salma Hayek visiting the YouthAIDS group in Central America.
"Las Vegas," 8 p.m., NBC. Delinda has been kidnapped. Her dad and boyfriend have 12 hours to steal $50 million from the casino; if they fail, she'll be buried alive.
"Numb3rs," 9 p.m., CBS. A stolen masterpiece leads investigators to the issue of art that was looted by the Nazis.