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NBC May Have A Treasure In New 'Crusoe'

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Published: October 17, 2008

So many younger viewers don't know the original story of Robinson Crusoe that NBC's reworking of the Daniel Defoe tale will seem more like a rip-off of "Pirates of the Caribbean" than messing with a classic.

And although the new "Crusoe" doesn't explore the book's themes of self-reliance, repentance from sin and Colonial Imperialism, it's entertaining as light escapist fare on a Friday night.

No heavy lifting is required to appreciate this lighthearted action series that debuts with a two-hour special beginning at 8 tonight.

"Crusoe" stars hunky actor Philip Winchester ("Flyboys," "The Patriot") as a 16th century British nobleman shipwrecked on a tropical island while his family is in peril back in England.

In the premiere, we learn that Crusoe has been on the island long enough to build a treetop estate with all sorts of bamboo and coconut gadgets that put to shame anything the professor did on "Gilligan's Island." Like an Old World MacGyver, Crusoe has booby-trapped the island to ward off pirates and the occasional visiting headhunter.

In the 1719 novel, Crusoe lords over his black "man servant," whom he names Friday. In the TV version, Crusoe and Friday are close buds. Friday, a reformed cannibal, is equally as clever and cunning as Crusoe.

On the first adventure, they must outwit a band of pirates who have come in search of buried treasure. One of the cutthroats is a wench who ripped out the eye of the last bloke to hit on her.

"That sounds grim," says the virtuous Crusoe.

"For HIM, yeah," snaps one of the pirates. "It was very entertaining for the rest of us."

The action drags whenever the story flashes back to Crusoe's life before he was shipwrecked and he was being wowed by his bride, Susannah (Anna Walton), and hoodwinked by his evil uncle Jeremiah (Sam Neill).

BOB HITE'S BACK: He's back in the saddle again, literally. Former News Channel 8 anchor Bob Hite has written and produced an hourlong special, "Florida Cowboys," that airs at 7 p.m. Saturday on WFLA.

Hite, who retired in November after 30 years at the station, is dividing his time between homes and production studios in Colorado and Florida.

His "8 Country Special: Florida Cowboys" looks back at the history of Florida's cattle industry, which dates to the 1500s when Spanish explorers brought in what would be known as "the Cracker cattle and horses."

"Florida has some of the largest cattle ranches in the world," says Hite, who keeps busy with numerous freelance productions.

Hite profiles a Florida cattle family that goes back nine generations. He also visits working cowhands who still ride the Florida scrublands from the Everglades to the state line.

Hite says he was almost run down by an amorous bull that wasn't ready to be corralled. "His horns caught a seam of my jeans, but I got away," he says.

"SNL" UPDATE: Josh Brolin, who nails George W. Bush in Oliver Stone's new "W." biopic, is the host of "Saturday Night Live" this week. Look for Brolin to do George in a skit or two.

"SNL" producer Lorne Michaels says he still expects presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama to be on the show before the election.

Next week's guest host is Jon Hamm (Don Draper on "Mad Men"). Hamm stars in the upcoming remake of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (Dec. 12).

Ben Affleck is the guest host for the Nov. 1 "SNL" (the last one before the election). "American Idol" winner David Cook is the musical guest that night.

CNN COMEDY: Political humor is hot this season, so CNN is adding "D.L. Hughley Breaks the News" at 10 p.m. Oct. 25. The weekly topical talk show will be hosted by comic Hughley.

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