What's on TV
Saturday 6/15
Stranded (Hallmark Channel, 9-11 p.m.; June 16, 9-11 p.m.): Johann David Wyss's 1813 classic, "The Swiss Family Robinson" has been updated and made politically correct. It's still a good yarn. What this production needed, though, was more character development and more details about surviving in a tropical paradise. A family is shipwrecked on a wonderful island, and the family must adapt to the luscious vegetation and the less-appealing vermin. Danger and conflict come in the form of pirates. Decent family fare.
Crime and Punishment (NBC, 10-11 p.m.): Dick Wolf, the producer of "Law and Order," takes on the reality of the courtroom in this new summer series.
American Icons: West Point (Travel Channel, 9-10 p.m.): The academy's bicentennial celebration offers interviews with General Norman Schwartzkopf and the project executive for the original building of the World Trade Center. The behind-the-scenes documentary begins with 6:30 a.m. reveille and ends with taps.
Stage On Screen: The Women (PBS, check local listings): It's a hit on Broadway mainly because the actresses are brilliant. But the revival of the play by Clare Boothe Luce, though witty, is far from wise. Upper-class women treat each other like dirt, gossip mercilessly, and allow themselves to be used by men. It may have been written by a woman, but apparently she didn't do much for her gender.
State v. (ABC, 10-11 p.m.): The five-part series gives us a closer, maybe too real, sense of our justice system. ABC news senior legal correspondent Cynthia McFadden narrates the stories behind five criminal cases as they proceed through the system.
Odyssey 5 (Showtime, 10 p.m.-12 midnight): The season première of this riveting sci-fi series is splendid so far the best of summer TV. Five astronauts see the earth explode from space, and are losing oxygen themselves when they are rescued by an alien. Well-written and beautifully produced, it explores the genre with earnest invention. Some gratuitous nudity and adult situations mar this gripping drama that might otherwise have been suitable for families with older children.
