The Hartford Courant, Conn., Roger Catlin Column

By Roger Catlin, The Hartford Courant, Conn.

Jul. 28–As if to portray the back story of the fighters abroad so vividly depicted in "Generation Kill" (HBO2, 8 p.m.), the latest in HBO’s Monday night summer documentary series concentrates on what motivates young people to join the armed services in a time of war.

In the case of recruits from tiny Houma, La., it owes a lot to Sgt. 1st Class Clay Usie, one of the most successful recruiters of that region. He befriends, counsels, works out with and generally becomes a surrogate parent for prime candidates.

In "The Recruiter" (HBO, 9 p.m.), filmmaker Edet Belzberg follows his progress with four high school students who, in some cases, defy their parents’ wishes by signing up for the Army. We follow a lot of the training of the new recruits. But because the film has to end some time, viewers, like loved ones, are left to wonder and worry how they’ll ultimately do.

Remote Patrol In a week’s worth of special reports on China in advance of the impending Olympics, "Samantha Brown: Passport to China" (Travel, 8 p.m.) takes another contemporary look at the country as a destination.

One crack in the "High School Musical" machine was seen in the premiere of the reality show spin-off "High School Musical: Get in the Picture" (ABC, 8 p.m.), which finished a paltry third in the ratings with 4 million viewers.

There are just four people left playing "The Mole" (ABC, 10 p.m.). And probably watching it, too.

In the second episode of "Chasing Churchill" ( CPTV, 10 p.m.), Celia Sandys retraces her grandfather’s trips to the U.S. — where Winston Churchill met William Randolph Hearst, Charlie Chaplin — and then traveled to Egypt.

"If there’s anyone who’s a natural for this series, it’s Quentin Tarantino," says the host of "Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence" (TCM, 8 and 10:30 p.m.). So the director of "Kill Bill" and "Pulp Fiction" talks and talks about his favorite movies and presents two unexpected ones: "The Marrying Kind" (TCM, 8:30 p.m.) and "Meet Me in St. Louis" (TCM, 11 p.m.).

It ends the first round of the series, which will return in November with Ed Norton, John Leguizamo, Joan Allen and Richard Gere.

Late Talk David Letterman: Gillian Anderson, Simon Pegg, We Are Scientists. Jay Leno: Julie Scardina, Brendan Fraser, Gnarls Barkley. Conan O’Brien: Kelsey Grammer, Keke Palmer, the Ting Tings. Jimmy Kimmel: Maggie Gyllenhall, Ant and Dec, Minus the Bear (rerun). Craig Ferguson: Eric Idle, Nancy Travis. Carson Daly: Brooke Burns, Shiny Toy Guns (rerun). Stephen Colbert: Toby Keith.

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