Yancy Butler

SPECIALS Tom Cruise narrates "Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures" (7:30 p.m. Cinemax), an insightful documentary about the life and work of the late filmmaker who directed "Spartacus," "Lolita," "Dr. Strangelove," "2001: A Space Odyssey," "A Clockwork Orange" and "Eyes Wide Shut." (See related feature, F2.) SERIES Yancy Butler stars in the debut of "Witchblade" (9 p.m. TNT), the new action show about a New York cop who possesses an ancient weapon.

Actress Yancy Butler, who starred in the canceled TNT series "Witchblade," was ordered Monday to enter a substance abuse program after her weekend arrest in Florida on a disorderly intoxication charge. Butler, 33, was taken to jail Saturday after cars had to swerve to avoid hitting her as she wandered in and out of traffic, police said. She was charged with disorderly intoxication and resisting an officer without violence. She previously was arrested Jan.

Actress Yancy Butler, who starred in the canceled TNT series "Witchblade," was ordered Monday to enter a substance abuse program after her weekend arrest in Florida on a disorderly intoxication charge. Butler, 33, was taken to jail Saturday after cars had to swerve to avoid hitting her as she wandered in and out of traffic, police said. She was charged with disorderly intoxication and resisting an officer without violence. She previously was arrested Jan.

It isn't every daughter who can hand out a guest-starring spot on a TV show as a Father's Day gift, but "Witchblade's" Yancy Butler has that kind of clout these days. Her TNT series, whose two-hour pilot notched the best ratings of 2000 for a basic-cable original movie, opens its second season Sunday at 8 p.m. with another two-hour effort, with proud papa Joe Butler turning in a serviceable effort as the grizzled father of a runaway teen.

It isn't every daughter who can hand out a guest-starring spot on a TV show as a Father's Day gift, but "Witchblade's" Yancy Butler has that kind of clout these days. Her TNT series, whose two-hour pilot notched the best ratings of 2000 for a basic-cable original movie, opens its second season Sunday at 8 p.m. with another two-hour effort, with proud papa Joe Butler turning in a serviceable effort as the grizzled father of a runaway teen.

The best thing about this 1994 release are the stunt sky-divers who dive-bomb through the air at speeds of 200 mph. Director John Badham is smart enough to keep the stunt divers at the center of the action. And a good thing too: The script is so preposterously contrived and tone-deaf that any attempt to play it straight would be laughed off the screen. Wesley Snipes, picured with Yancy Butler, plays a U.S. marshal tracking down a team of extortionist stunt sky-divers (Cinemax Wednesday at 10 p.

The new NBC summer series "South Beach" has lots of look, little else. The laborious oversized premiere arrives at 9 p.m. Sunday on Channels 4, 36 and 39, merging a gaggle of music video sensations--mood, mood and mood--with a Florida setting where the haute hip hang out. Hereafter, "South Beach" will air at 9 p.m. on Tuesdays.

"Mann & Machine" is NBC's new clanky klunker, a lighthearted crime series pairing a tough male detective and a fetching female cyborg cop in an hour that aims to be at once funny and compelling. The premiere, at 8 p.m.

Two new action-adventure series, a new comedy and a newsmagazine highlight NBC's summer schedule, the network said Wednesday. One of the action-adventure series, "South Beach," is set in the glamorous South Beach section of Miami and stars Yancy Butler as a beautiful con artist who reluctantly accepts the task of working as an undercover government operative. The show will have a two-hour preview June 6 at 9 p.m. before settling into its regular 9 p.m.

Some comic-book treatments work very nicely, such as the stylish and entertaining "X-Men." Others do not, like the lackluster "Witchblade," a TNT action flick about a sought-after weapon with supernatural powers. Shamelessly aping visuals from "The Matrix," this tedious effort, which can be seen Sunday, centers on Sara Pezzini (Yancy Butler), a surly New York police detective who sets out to avenge the murders of her father and best friend.

SPECIALS Tom Cruise narrates "Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures" (7:30 p.m. Cinemax), an insightful documentary about the life and work of the late filmmaker who directed "Spartacus," "Lolita," "Dr. Strangelove," "2001: A Space Odyssey," "A Clockwork Orange" and "Eyes Wide Shut." (See related feature, F2.) SERIES Yancy Butler stars in the debut of "Witchblade" (9 p.m. TNT), the new action show about a New York cop who possesses an ancient weapon.

Click here to download TV listings for the week of Aug. 5 - 11 in PDF format This week's TV Movies   SERIES The Pioneer Woman: In the season premiere, the ranch workers need to torch two barns. Afterward, they cool down with homemade frozen pops (10:30 a.m. Food). SPECIALS 2012 Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction:   The 2012 class of enshrinees are honored in Canton, Ohio (4 p.m. ESPN). How Will the World End?  Samuel L. Jackson hosts an exploration into how likely a global apocalypse is, from a scientific point of view, in this new special (8 p.m. Discovery)

The best thing about "Drop Zone" are the stunt sky-divers who dive-bomb through the air at speeds of 200 m.p.h. or float together in formation. These jumpers are juiced by pure adrenaline and they juice the audience too. Director John Badham is a techno-whiz at this sort of stuff, and he's smart enough to keep the stunt divers at the center of the action.