A fine night for paranoia

TNT offers a double dose of presidential paranoia tonight, courtesy of director John Frankenheimer (whose most recent work, "George Wallace," debuted on TNT last weekend). Both are taut, suspenseful and pretty much guaranteed to hook you, once started, into watching the whole thing.

First up is "The Manchurian Candidate" (8 p.m.-10: 45 p.m.), with Laurence Harvey as a brainwashed Korean War vet with his sights set on the White House. Frank Sinatra is the commanding officer whose brain has been similarly programmed, although perhaps not as well. And Angela Lansbury is the mother of all mothers.

Fredric March is the president in "Seven Days In May" (10: 45 p.m.-1: 30 a.m.), and he's in a heap o' trouble. Seems a nuclear ban treaty he's just signed with the Russians has really ticked off the military -- especially Gen. James M. Scott (Burt Lancaster), head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who conspires with his fellow chiefs to stage a coup d'etat. Kirk Douglas is Marine Col. "Jiggs" Casey, one of the few uniformed friends the president has.

Pub Date: 8/27/97