In case of angels

The media blitz for the new Charlie’s Angels film due later this fall is in full swing — or should I say jiggle? Like last summer’s Shaft, it will be impossible for the contemporary version to match or even compete with the classic version. But that shouldn’t stop you from brushing up on the original (and subsequent replacement) Angels with the Charlie’s Angels Casebook by Jack Condon and David Hofstede (Pomegranate Press, 336 pp., $19.95). Included with the detailed episode summaries are poor-quality color photos of the Angels in those sexy 1970s-cut bikinis. (Be warned: Farrah Fawcett took the body-image high road on the show and refused to appear in a bikini!) Best of all is Appendix B, which lists each episode in which an Angel wears either a bikini, a swimsuit (one piece presumably) or just a towel. And, apparently, there have already been two Angels remakes — the never-aired “Angels ’88” and “Angels ’89.” It seems we are cursed roughly every 10 years with another appearance of these three little girls who went to the police academy.

Tom A’Hearn pays attention here every other week. E-mail [email protected]