Steve Irwin and Great Summer TV

The Net
(USA, DEBUTS SUNDAY, JULY 19, 9-10 P.M.; THEN SATURDAYS, 9-10 P.M., BEGINNING JULY 25)

Any series that teams a Melrose sexpot with Rocky Horror's Dr. Frank-N-Furter and the Greatest American Hero in its debut episode is doing something right. This edgy updating of the 1995 Sandra Bullock film—featuring Brooke Langton as the identity-stripped computer whiz, Tim Curry as her online ally Sorcerer, and William Katt guest-starring as a hunted mathematician—makes up for any ho-hum plotting with lots of La Femme Nikita-ish high-tech suspense and rampant paranoia a la The X-Files. "The show is different from the movie," Langton says. "For one thing, Sandra made millions; I'm not making anywhere close to that." But you can bet your megabytes Langton knows the secret to must-see alternative TV. "I was on Melrose," she says. "I know the value of a good catfight, and I'm not ruling them out here." Watch your back, Nikita.—SM

About Books
(C-SPAN2, SATURDAYS, 8-11 P.M.; SUNDAYS, 9-11 P.M.)

Feel guilty about not reading enough? No need to pick up an actual book with all those scary words and pages and stuff. Simply tune in to C-Span2's tele-salon, where noted authors read from their latest works (who knew The Perfect Storm's Sebastian Junger was so darn cute!). The two-year-old series—which will expand to an all-weekend format in September—has other book-related stuff, too: writers' awards shows, speeches from publishing honchos, etc. And all segments are guaranteed to be refreshingly glitz free. In fact, About Books can be as eye glazing as, say, reading The Pilgrim's Progress in the original archaic English. "We do let our programs breathe," says producer Robin Scullin, who adds that, true to C-Span roots, the series can afford to be "wonky" and "boring." Want proof? Catch the net's next visit to, say, San Jose's Computer Literacy Bookshop. It's tedium at its entertaining best.—AJJ

Everyday Elegance With Colin Cowie
(ROMANCE CLASSICS, THURSDAYS, 8-8:30 P.M. BEGINNING JULY 23)

You've gotta love a party planner who makes as much of an effort to pamper himself as he does his guests. Meet Colin Cowie, the merrymaking guru-to-the-stars (he's orchestrated shindigs for the likes of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Aniston, and Kelsey Grammer) and host of Everyday, a televisual confection of practical entertaining tips. Cowie is a fierce proponent of the "Moment" (the 10 minutes or so before company arrives when he props his feet up, places cool cucumbers over his eyes, and remembers that entertaining is about "celebrating life, not impressing anyone. That's just so '80s."). His tips for fabulous fetes range from the refreshing (go ahead, serve takeout) to the ego boosting (use lots of candles; they make everyone look younger), but always emphasize simplicity. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist, darling, to melt some marshmallows and dip fresh fruit into them," Cowie says. "Each idea is about taking great produce and doing as little to it as possible." Thanks to his charming South African accent and camera-ready personality, Cowie makes more than just entertaining look easy. "I'm taking to TV like a duck to water, my dear," he says. That ought to ruffle Martha Stewart's feathers.—SM