Unsolved Mysteries

Fox's look at a host of man-made disasters fails to mention some of the worst."Unsolved Mysteries" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- Robert Stack & Co. look into the death of rapper Tupac Shakur and try to figure out just who was behind it. Also on tap: an update on Marshall M. Kirkpatrick and Samuel L. Glover, two Finksburg men who jumped bail in 1994 after being charged with sexually abusing boys who lived in their foster care. The men were captured in January, shortly after their case appeared on "Unsolved Mysteries."

Admitted con man and ex-fugitive Salvatore P. Spinnato finally showed up in Baltimore County Circuit Court yesterday -- eight months late for his trial on charges that he kidnapped, assaulted and falsely imprisoned his ex-wife's boyfriend.Spinnato, arrested two weeks ago in Texas, appeared in jeans, leg chains and tasseled loafers as judges in separate hearings revoked his bail and rescheduled his trial for next month.His original trial -- scheduled for Jan. 21 -- was put off when Spinnato "absconded from the state," said prosecutor Mickey J. Norman.

An old friend returns to NBC, after far too many weeks away."NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" (6 p.m.-7 p.m., MPT, Channels 22 and 67) -- When MPT officials Wednesday announced plans for a half-hour public affairs show to debut in September, details were skimpy, save to say it would be patterned after this. See what we're in for. PBS."Unsolved Mysteries" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- In a repeat from November, Robert Stack and Co. look at the death of Ruxton resident Susan Hurley Harrison, whose marriage NBC describes as resembling "The War of the Roses," the 1989 film in which Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner portray a couple for whom agreeing on a divorce is the least of their problems.

One of Baltimore's least savory characters gets himself introduced to the public at large tonight, while the folks at "Homicide" wrap up the season with what promises to be a pretty moving farewell to one of their own."Unsolved Mysteries" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- Baltimore's own Salvatore Spinnato, a con man extraordinaire and favorite topic of Sun columnist Dan Rodricks, gets a chance to shine in the national spotlight. He's quite a guy it's not everybody who can get himself kicked out of the Federal Witness Protection Program.

NBC is turning its women loose on Monday night, scheduling four sitcoms with female lead characters in an effort to knock some of the wind out of perennial ratings king "Monday Night Football" on ABC.Playing the traditional role of the ratings champ, NBC yesterday became the first of the five networks to announce its fall lineup. The schedule includes eight new series (bringing back TV veterans Kirstie Alley, Tony Danza and Fred Savage) and a handful of old shows in new places. It doesn't include eight canceled series, chief among them the veteran "Unsolved Mysteries."

ABC reshuffles the deck, moving a bunch of shows to new times. Is this another example of rearranging furniture on the Titanic?"Unsolved Mysteries" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- The Bobby Fuller Four was riding high with "I Fought the Law" when Fuller was found dead, slumped over the wheel of his mother's car. The coroner ruled suicide, but others are convinced he was murdered (which is why the case is being reviewed on a show about mysteries). NBC."Boy Meets World" (8: 30 p.m.-9 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2)

A local missing persons case that's been lying fallow for more LTC than two years is spotlighted on "Unsolved Mysteries" tonight."Family Matters" (8 p.m.-8: 30 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2) -- It's tough having kids, as Harriette and Carl discover when parental duties keep them away from the big New Edition concert. But maybe all is not lost. ABC."Unsolved Mysteries" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- Susan Hurley Harrison of Ruxton has been missing for more than two years, and police still don't have a clue as to what happened to her. "Unsolved Mysteries" looks at the case tonight.

For those who don't plan on watching basketball"Roseanne" (6 p.m.-6: 30 p.m., WTTG, Channel 5) Here's your chance to see Roseanne in the days when she had a last name. In the series pilot, Roseanne Barr plays Roseanne Conner, who has to somehow deal with the tendency of her daughter Darlene (Sara Gilbert) to bark in school."Unsolved Mysteries" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) Is Gettysburg still overrun with the ghosts of the thousands of soldiers who died there in 1863? Could be NBC."Muppets Tonight" (8: 30 p.m.-9 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2)

Elvis how that man could eat. Watch Cinemax tonight and be reminded."Unsolved Mysteries" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- Segments include a survivor of the Oklahoma City bombing searching for the men who rescued him. NBC."Due South" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WJZ, Channel 13) -- A train carrying Fraser and a bunch of his fellow Mounties is hijacked, and it's Leslie Nielsen to the rescue. CBS."Law & Order" (10 p.m.-11 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- McCoy (Sam Waterston) argues that a man convicted of killing an undercover detective be sentenced to death.

Disney, Schmisney. Tonight, the real "Hunchback(s) of Notre Dame" come(s) to TCM."Unsolved Mysteries" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- Segments include a look at the case of Nancy Manni, who drowned while a student at the Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship in Piney Point, Md. NBC."The X-Files" (9 p.m.-10 p.m., WBFF, Channel 45) -- Are gargoyles coming to life and turning murderous? Could be Fox."Firing Line" (9 p.m.-11 p.m., MPT, Channels 22 and 67) -- Debate centers on whether corporate downsizing is a question of greed or of survival and prosperity.

Tracey Lynn Kirkpatrick would be 37 today, a wife and mother, perhaps, and maybe an attorney. Instead, she is mourned by her parents, her family and friends. Twenty years after her murder, she is also never far from the minds of the Frederick police investigators, who have worked since March 15, 1989, to solve the mystery of her violent death. The Kirkpatrick family and Frederick police marked the anniversary of Tracey's killing with a brief vigil last night at the Westridge Shopping Center, where she was stabbed to death at 17. Police hope that fresh attention to the cold case might finally bring them the final clues they need to bring the killer to justice.

Stars & Stripes Forever: The History, Stories, and Memories of Our American Flag, by Richard H. Schneider. William Morrow, 191 pages, $14.95. An unabashedly sentimental flag-waver, Schneider has put together a book that will charm and enlighten anyone with a shred of romantic patriotism. It begins with a serious but fast-moving history of the flag, its conception and employment -- delving into a dozen controversies and unsolved mysteries. It is followed by a compilation of anecdotes, verses, tributes and vignettes.

Is it possible to be a normal kid who just happens to be in show business? The answer is yes, at least for 13-year-old identical twins Curtis and Keith Garcia of Perry Hall. The eighth-graders recently came home from Los Angeles, where they spent six weeks shooting Eulogy, in which they star as the sons of Ray Romano of Everybody Loves Raymond fame. The film, which also stars Debra Winger, Rip Torn, Monica Potter and Hank Azaria (The Simpsons), is slated to hit theaters in October. The black comedy is about three generations of a dysfunctional family gathering for the funeral of a family patriarch.

Unsolved Mysteries of History: An Eye Opening Investigation into the Most Baffling Events of All Time, by Paul Aron (John Wiley & Sons, 225 pages, $14.95) Anecdotal, by definition, this provocative little volume contains 25 chapters of six to a dozen pages, each devoted to a "mystery" -- an event, a process or a phenomenon that remains in doubt despite wide interest. Subjects range from "Who Built Stonehenge?" through "Why Did Mayan Civilization Collapse?" and "Who Was King Arthur" to "Was Gorbachev Part of the August Coup?"

It was a celebrated case from the outset. A bubbly, blond 15-year-old bludgeoned to death in a gated enclave of mansions and manicured lawns in Greenwich, Conn. The primary suspects, the boys across the street, were the sons of wealth and privilege and the nephews of Ethel Kennedy. For nearly 25 years, the slaying of Martha Moxley remained one of the thousands of unsolved crimes in America. But as most of the others languished in dusty police files, celebrity kept this case alive. Celebrities and Moxley's mother, Dorthy, a dignified, genteel woman who patiently persisted, held the spotlight on the teen-ager's slaying.

Admitted con man and ex-fugitive Salvatore P. Spinnato finally showed up in Baltimore County Circuit Court yesterday -- eight months late for his trial on charges that he kidnapped, assaulted and falsely imprisoned his ex-wife's boyfriend.Spinnato, arrested two weeks ago in Texas, appeared in jeans, leg chains and tasseled loafers as judges in separate hearings revoked his bail and rescheduled his trial for next month.His original trial -- scheduled for Jan. 21 -- was put off when Spinnato "absconded from the state," said prosecutor Mickey J. Norman.

One of Baltimore's least savory characters gets himself introduced to the public at large tonight, while the folks at "Homicide" wrap up the season with what promises to be a pretty moving farewell to one of their own."Unsolved Mysteries" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- Baltimore's own Salvatore Spinnato, a con man extraordinaire and favorite topic of Sun columnist Dan Rodricks, gets a chance to shine in the national spotlight. He's quite a guy it's not everybody who can get himself kicked out of the Federal Witness Protection Program.

NBC is turning its women loose on Monday night, scheduling four sitcoms with female lead characters in an effort to knock some of the wind out of perennial ratings king "Monday Night Football" on ABC.Playing the traditional role of the ratings champ, NBC yesterday became the first of the five networks to announce its fall lineup. The schedule includes eight new series (bringing back TV veterans Kirstie Alley, Tony Danza and Fred Savage) and a handful of old shows in new places. It doesn't include eight canceled series, chief among them the veteran "Unsolved Mysteries."

An old friend returns to NBC, after far too many weeks away."NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" (6 p.m.-7 p.m., MPT, Channels 22 and 67) -- When MPT officials Wednesday announced plans for a half-hour public affairs show to debut in September, details were skimpy, save to say it would be patterned after this. See what we're in for. PBS."Unsolved Mysteries" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- In a repeat from November, Robert Stack and Co. look at the death of Ruxton resident Susan Hurley Harrison, whose marriage NBC describes as resembling "The War of the Roses," the 1989 film in which Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner portray a couple for whom agreeing on a divorce is the least of their problems.

Fox's look at a host of man-made disasters fails to mention some of the worst."Unsolved Mysteries" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- Robert Stack & Co. look into the death of rapper Tupac Shakur and try to figure out just who was behind it. Also on tap: an update on Marshall M. Kirkpatrick and Samuel L. Glover, two Finksburg men who jumped bail in 1994 after being charged with sexually abusing boys who lived in their foster care. The men were captured in January, shortly after their case appeared on "Unsolved Mysteries."