The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 161

Take a look at what you're missing Usually, I write about one show or movie in this column. This week, I decided to write briefly about four shows four shows you should be watching, but probably aren't Soul Food (10-11 p.m. Wednesdays, Showtime) My wife and I made a pact We have a date every Wednesday at 10 p.m. We turn off the lights. Bring out the scented candles.

Open a bottle of wine and turn on Soul Food. If you're in the mood for romantic and welkrafted stories, look no farther than Show- Ventresca is also a hoot as Darien Fawkes, the reluctant invisible superhero. Instead of making Darien a brooding crimefighter, the writers were wise to make him a wisecracking hipster. What makes The Invisible Man so fun is that the show doesn't take itself too seriously. Yes, Darien works for a top secret intelligence agency.

But ifs a top-secret ramshackle, under-funded intelligence agency. So, check out The Invisible Man. Seeing is believing. Gibrore Girls (8-9 p.m. Thursdays from Feb.

15 on, Channel 41 on Comcast WGN stations on Adelphia, WBZLChannel 39) You gotta feel sorry for Gilmore Girls. First the WB throws it up against powerhouse Friends on NBC. Now CBS is tossing Survivor 2: The Australian Outback in its way. But that won't keep me from watching one of TVs best family shows. This wonderfully earnest drama about the relationship between a mom (Lauren Graham) and her 16-year-old daughter (the delightful Alexis Bledel) boasts some of TVs most heartfelt and real dialogue.

Gilmore Girls really clicks on all cylinders during those awkward dinner scenes with Lorelai's (Gra-. ham) parents, the snooty Emily (Kelly Bishop) and businesscon-sumed Richard (Edward Herrmann). Forget Bufly the Vampire Slayer and Angel, Gilmore Girls is the WB's best show. Bird. I love their complex relationships with their significant others.

I love the caring bond Kenny (Rockmond Dunbar) has with his son Ahmad (Aaron Meeks). I guess you can say I just love Soul Food. Watch it Family Law (10-11 p.m. Mondays, WPECChannel 12, WFOR-Channel 4) When you think compelling law shows, The Practice and Law Order are the first to come to mind. But you may not know that Family Law is just as compelling and often as legally complex as those other two Emmy-winning series.

These do-right lawyers, headed by the idealistic Lynn Holt (Kathleen Quinlan) handle thorny custody cases, represent sleazy pedophiles and wronged prostitutes who sue their boyfriends for palimony. Like The Practice, Family Law is so skilled at examining two sides of a legal coin. If you have any objections, ITl strenuously overrule. Case closed. The Invisible Man (9-10 p.m.

Mondays, Sci-Fi Channel) Some shows really catch you off guard when you thoroughly enjoy them. Take The Invisible Man, for instance. I never imagined I'd love this quirky, fast-paced blend of sinister intrigue and kooky comedy as much as I do. For starters, for a basic cable series, The Invisible Man boasts really cool special effects. Vincent Kevin D.

Thompson Television time's fine drama Based on the hit 1998 movie, Soul Food tells the wonderfully poignant stories of three sisters: high-powered attorney Teri (Nicole Ari Parker), headstrong Maxine (Vanessa Williams) and struggling mom Bird (Malinda Williams). Sad Food is a rarity on TV a successful black drama. Ifs so successful, Showtime has already picked it up for a second season, tentatively scheduled to begin this summer. I love the achingly real chemistry between Teri, Maxine and Sports ratings: down, but not out TV Program details: Program "can't-miss" ratings winners. "With free agency, the other (TV) choices and no real fan loyalty, there's a lot of speed bumps in the road for different sports to figure out," says CBS Sports executive producer Terry Ewert.

And he should know; he's one of the men behind perhaps the only sure bet in sports programming: the Super Bowl, which airs on CBS Sunday. CBS Sports regulars Greg Gumbel and Phil Simms call the game. While mega-sporting events are in no real danger of being dropped from the TV horizon, networks and cable channels are nonetheless concerned. What it comes down to is the idea that "if we don't air it, somebody else will." By Josh Greene Special to The Palm Beach Post Those people who believe television isn't educational need look no further than the lessons learned through last year's biggest televised sporting events. We found out that not many people outside the Big Apple are interested in watching a New York Yankees-New York Mets matchup in the World Series, and that watching tape-delayed Olympic coverage is about as popular as watching The Crocodile Hunter with any host other than Steve Irwin.

In an all-too-familiar scenario for television networks, fewer viewers are tuning in for the sporting events that used to be ming listed herein represents the latest scheduling information available at press time from networks and stations. However, stations reserve the right to make last-minute programming changes. The daily TV page inside Accent provides some late changes announced after TV Post's deadline. VCR Plus codes: For assistance, call (800) 432-1827. For advance schedules (95 cents a minute), call (900) 454-7587..