TV Party for Thursday, June 23rd

We’re going to start your TV Party a little early tonight, because it’s Game 7! Now, I’m not a huge basketball fan, and I don’t care for either the Spurs or the Pistons, but come on…it’s Game 7! This will be the 16th time there has been a Game 7 in the NBA finals, and it’s the first since Houston beat New York back in 1994. So leave work early and head to your favorite sport’s bar to share in the wonder of the NBA. It’s FANNNNtastic!

For those of you who couldn’t care less about professional basketball, how about two hours with author Dan Brown as he explores the theory put forward in his best selling novel “The DaVinci Code?” Running from 8 to 10 on the History Channel tonight, this re-run from last December looks at the novel’s story of the Priory of Scion and the possibility that Jesus and Mary Magdalene married and co-leaders of their movement and that Mary herself was the “Holy Grail” – the vessel said to hold Jesus’ blood, in this case in the form of his child. The show examines both sides of the story – the conventional view of Christianity and the "alternate history" proposed by Brown--so that viewers can decide.

And if that doesn’t float your boat, well, there’s always “The O.C.” on Fox. Two episodes tonight, so you can catch up on all the action at the Bait Shop. In the first episode, “The Second Chance” airing at 8, Summer decides to take an active role in the making of the comic book, but Seth isn't sure he can handle spending that much time alone with her. And at 9 in “The Lonely Hearts Club” Sandy showers Kirsten with valentines to make up for keeping Rebecca's return a secret; Zach, Summer and Seth head to San Diego to pitch their comic-book idea, and, Seth plans to use the trip to get Summer back. Doesn’t Seth know that once Summer leaves you just have to get through the Fall, Winter and Spring before she comes back? Apparently not.

Finally tonight, at 10, it’s time to empty your mind before you go to sleep, and what better way to do that than by spending an hour with the most empty-headed couple on television, Britney and Kevin? MTV is re-running the “reality” show “Britney and Kevin: Chaotic”, and in tonight’s episode Britney and Kevin reveal how they kept their wedding plans secret from fans, friends and family, and those same friends and family reflect on the experience of the wedding and reception. We the viewing audience can only reflect on the fact that these two somehow deserve each other.