MONDAY April 16
7-8PM INTIMATE PORTRAIT: ROMA DOWNEY (Lifetime, TV-PG-L) She was about to pack her bags and head back to Ireland, until she was touched by a hit television series.
8-11PM DAREDEVILS (TLC, TV-PG) An Australian nutjob tries to jump his motorcycle over an airplane in flight. Of course, we'll take that over ''Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles.''
8-10PM RAISING ARIZONA (Comedy Central, TV-PG) You know, we don't much blame Nic Cage for taking a five-finger discount on Huggies 'cause, man, those things are freakin' expensive.
8-9PM DAVID BLAINE FROZEN IN TIME: BLAINE'S CUT (ABC) Ever notice how David Blaine (in this reedited special) kinda looks like Trevor in O-Town? And they've never been seen together, either. Magic?
GIRLS AGAINST BOYS 8-10PM WHEN BILLIE BEAT BOBBY (ABC, TV-14-L) Billie (as in Jean King) may have beaten Bobby (as in Riggs) in the infamous 1973 Battle of the Sexes tennis match, but Ron Silver (left, with Holly Hunter as King) serves up an ace with his goofy portrayal of the aging male challenger in this ABC telepic. There are faults with the movie, to be sure -- including an overabundance of tight close-ups for the match (most likely to mask the actors' real tennis ability) as well as a schlocky girl powerish ending -- but with Silver and Hunter having such a ball, it's hard not to join in the fun. B
TUESDAY April 17
8-9PM BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (The WB) The death of Buffy's mother brings an old friend back to Sunnydale.
9-11PM PASSION & PREJUDICE (USA, TV-14-DS) The tables are turned in this basic cable flick (starring Frances Fisher) about a black ex-con stalked by an upstanding white woman.
SERIES DEBUT 9-10PM ALL SOULS (UPN, TV-PG) Think ''ER'' meets ''The X-Files'' for this new paranormal hospital series exec produced by Aaron Spelling. And then, by all means, think nothing more of it.
10-11PM NYPD BLUE (ABC, TV-14-LV) An officer is shot... down in a blaze of glory! (Sorry, but sometimes when you're feeling the spirit of Jon Bon, you've got to let it fly.)
SERIES DEBUT 8-9PM CHAINS OF LOVE (UPN, TV-PG) From the creative forces behind ''Blind Date'' (cool!) and ''Big Brother'' (yikes!) comes this new reality dating program in which four folks are shackled to a member of the opposite sex for 96 hours. Tonight, a world-class jerk... uh, excuse us, contestant... must choose which woman stays and which ones are whisked away by a delightfully hokey character dubbed ''The Locksmith'' (who looks like a cross between the grim reaper and a Puff Daddy bodyguard). Cheesy? Sure. Demeaning? Perhaps. But hey, we're still laughing. B
WEDNESDAY April 18
9-10PM FELICITY (The WB, TV-PG-DL) It's ''Felicity'''s spring premiere, yet it takes place at Felicity's holiday party. Confused yet?
9-10PM THE WEST WING (NBC, TV-14) Donna loses her underwear (good thing Bubba's not still in office), while Toby gets his hat handed to him by guest star Felicity Huffman. (R)
9-10PM BOOT CAMP (Fox) Have we discussed lately how much drill instructor McSweeney positively RULES!?!
11PM-MIDNIGHT ON THE RECORD WITH BOB COSTAS (HBO, TV-PG) The good news for guest Michael Vick: He's most likely about to become the first pick in the NFL draft, by the San Diego Chargers. The bad news: He's following in the footsteps of Ryan Leaf.
POSITIVELY PECK 8:30-10PM* A CONVERSATION WITH GREGORY PECK (PBS, TV-G) As charming as you'd hope: Director Barbara Kopple (''Wild Man Blues'') captures the octogenarian actor wooing fans, sweetly recalling how he met his wife, and eagerly awaiting the birth of his daughter's baby. The portrait is intimate enough to reveal a man who seems as decent and gracious as ''To Kill a Mockingbird'''s Atticus Finch himself. A -- Gillian Flynn *CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS
THURSDAY April 19
8-11:30PM* SCHINDLER'S LIST (PBS, TV-MA-LV) There are many ways to observe Holocaust Remembrance Day, and sitting down with Steven Spielberg's 1993 gem is surely one of them. *CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS
8-8:30PM FRIENDS (NBC, TV-PG) Ross and the fellas pull a George Costanza, keeping their eyes glued to guest star Denise Richards.
10-11PM 48 HOURS (CBS) An in-depth report on people who doze off right in the middle of something import... zzzzzzz.
10-11PM ER (NBC, TV-PG) It's the big wedding day for Drs. Greene and Corday, but it just wouldn't be ''ER'' unless one of them got tied up by an unlikely medical emergency.
CLASH CITY ROCKERS 10-11PM ALL ACCESS: 25 YEARS OF PUNK (VH1, TV-PG) They had last names like Rotten, Hell, Scabies, and Ramone. Of course, they also had first names like Jello, Rat, Stiv, and Handsome Dick. But hip monikers and pockets full of safety pins are just part of the legacy left by punk forefathers like the Clash (left). Join notoriously anarchic VH1 as it salutes the genre's silver anniversary.
FRIDAY April 20
8-9PM DIAGNOSIS MURDER (CBS, TV-PG) Dr. Sloan gets involved in sticky international relations when... wait, this show is still on?
8-9:40PM YOUR FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS (Bravo, TV-R) ...are all sleeping together in this 1998 feature starring Ben Stiller and Amy Brenneman.
8:30-9PM MAKING THE BAND (ABC, TV-PG) An ex-girlfriend must decide whether to board the ''Trevor Train.'' Meanwhile, Jacob proves he's a true rock star by throwing a vintage photo shoot hissy fit.
9-10PM THE FUGITIVE (CBS, TV-PG-LV) Kimble uncovers a witness to his wife's murder but must find a way to lure him offline and to the police.
9-10PM* LAST STAND OF THE TALLGRASS PRAIRIE (PBS, TV-PG) Lyle Lovett hosts this special on the hallowed history -- and grim future -- of ''North America's most endangered ecosystem.'' *CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS
10-11PM BORN IN MY HEART: A LOVE STORY (ABC) You wanna know what ABC really stands for? Adopted Babies Central. At least that's what Barbara Walters found out when she discovered how many of her Alphabet colleagues have also raised other people's children.
10-10:30PM* EGG: THE ARTS SHOW (PBS, TV-PG) John Schabel's ''Passengers'' series is among the airplane related works on display in this week's episode, ''Flight.'' *CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS
LOOK, YOU CARRY HIM FOR A WHILE 9-10PM INSIDE TV LAND: THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW (TV Land, TV-G) ''MTM'' may or may not have been the greatest sitcom ever, but at the very least it made prime time safe for intelligent, socially reflective comedy. However, as writers Allan Burns and James L. Brooks recall, it was almost DOA thanks to a disastrous initial taping. They and the show's inimitable cast members wax nostalgic about a program that, though ostensibly apolitical, was a feminist watershed, and not only because it showed a spunky woman who was successful in the (then) man's world of TV news. More important, perhaps, was Mary Richards' (Mary Tyler Moore, left with Ed Asner and Ted Knight) status as a single yet sexually active prime-time lead character. Pretty revolutionary stuff, as testified to by the likes of Katie Couric, Oprah, and Betty Friedan. One gripe: We're treated to some presumably hilarious outtakes -- precisely the kind of nuggets that fans crave -- but they're obscured behind the end credits. What, I ask, were they thinking? B- -- Mike Flaherty
SATURDAY April 21
6-7:35PM HARD TO KILL (TNT, TV-14-V) The title refers to Steven Seagal -- both the man and his career.
6:05-8PM FIELD OF DREAMS (STARZ!, TV-PG) If you air it, they will watch.
8-11PM LETHAL WEAPON 3 (ABC, TV-14-LV) Outside of Rocky, how many movies with the numeral 3 are really worth your time?
8-10PM BLUE VELVET (IFC, TV-R) Dennis Hopper scares the living bejeezus out of Kyle MacLachlan.
8-11PM XFL CHAMPIONSHIP: THE MILLION DOLLAR GAME (NBC) All good things must come to an end, and evidently that holds true for all bad things as well.
8-9PM WALKER, TEXAS RANGER (CBS, TV-PG-V) Dinner-theater performers wreak havoc on the city (not to mention patrons' stomachs).
10-11:30PM THE THING WITH TWO HEADS (AMC, TV-PG-V) It's the movie that invented the classic ''white racist and black convict sharing the same body'' genre. Plus, it stars football great Rosey Grier!
10-11:40PM NEW JACK CITY (Cinemax, TV-R) Chris Rock smokes rock.
1AM-2AM THE SECRET ADVENTURES OF JULES VERNE (Sci Fi, TV-PG-V) The League of Darkness (which is kinda like the Legion of Doom but without funky villains such as Sinestro and Grodd the Super Gorilla) kidnaps a West Point general.
ANOTHER PLANET CONQUERED 8-9:30PM NICKELODEON'S 14TH ANNUAL KIDS' CHOICE AWARDS (Nickelodeon, TV-Y) Rosie O'Donnell -- that damn woman is everywhere! Hold on, this being a kids' show, we should probably refrain from using words like ''damn.'' (Next time, we promise.) In any event, the multimedia wonder (left) is back hosting this awards program for the fifth time. But as excited as Rosie must be, just imagine the grin on Martin Lawrence's face. His cross-dressing caper ''Big Momma's House'' -- conspicuous in its Academy absence -- is nominated for a whopping three awards. Ah, justice: better late than never.
SUNDAY April 22
5:30-7:20PM THE SECRET OF MY SUCCESS (TNT, TV-14-DS) One of about a zillion films in the 1980s to use that ''Oh Yeah'' song by Yello.
6-8:10PM TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (Turner Classic Movies, TV-G) It's one of those rare instances where it's tough to say ''The book was better.''
7-9PM HOUSEGUEST (The Movie Channel, TV-PG) Honey, quick, that Sinbad movie is on!
7-9PM LADIES AND THE CHAMP (ABC, TV-G) Don King, watch your back (and your hair while you're at it). Marion Ross and Olympia Dukakis are making moves into the boxing arena.
8-10PM AU PAIR II (Fox Family, TV-PG) It's a sequel to the cable pic where a millionaire and his nanny fell in love. And, apparently, they still are.
8-9PM EMERIL: 1000 SHOWS AND COUNTING (Food Network, TV-G) Wait, somebody's counting?
8-9:30PM BEYOND THE SUMMIT: THE EVEREST ENVIRONMENTAL EXPEDITION (Outdoor Life Network, TV-G) It's a documentary on efforts to clean up Mount Everest. It's narrated by Sharon Stone. We're pretty sure she wasn't there doing the actual cleaning though.
8-8:30PM THE SIMPSONS (Fox, TV-PG-V) This ep featuring a smitten Comic Book Guy is definitely not deserving of ''worst episode ever'' honors. (R)
8-10PM VARIAN'S WAR (Showtime, TV-PG) William Hurt portrays Varian Fry, the man who in the 1940s helped rescue European artists from Nazi rule.
8:30-9PM MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE (Fox, TV-PG-V) Reese and Malcolm play the suck up game for an extra concert ticket.
9-10PM GIA: THE E! TRUE HOLLYWOOD STORY (E!, TV-14) Not the only fashion model to get mixed up in drugs, but certainly the most notorious.
9-10PM MEET THE PANDAS: WASHINGTON'S NEW POWER COUPLE (Animal Planet, TV-G) Well, we are paying $10 million for Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, so you might as well at least get this measly special out of it.
9-11PM AGATHA CHRISTIE'S MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (CBS, TV-PG-LV) Alfred Molina gets his mustache waxed to play Hercule Poirot in this new adaptation mixing murder and luxurious high-speed travel.
9-10PM THE SOPRANOS (HBO, TV-MA) Anthony Jr. gets in hot water when he's pinched for vandalizing his school's swimming pool. Meanwhile, Tony looks to take a car saleswoman out for a test-drive.
9-11PM THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL ADVENTURE RACE: NEW ZEALAND (Discovery Channel, TV-PG) It's like the Eco-Challenge, but without that affable Mark Burnett. (Concludes April 23)
10-11PM JUST, MELVIN: JUST EVIL (HBO, TV-MA) Director James Ronald Whitney profiles a man responsible for molesting nine people -- his grandfather.
SERIES DEBUT 10-10:40PM COUPLING (BBC America, TV-14) The producers of ''British Men Behaving Badly'' bring you this brand-new series about British men (and women) behaving horny.
10-11PM BANDS ON THE RUN (VH1) If Cleveland rocks, then how come the streets all seem empty when the bands go out to promote? Plus, one of the groups plays to an audience of one. Ouch!
SERIES DEBUT 8-8:30PM UNDERGRADS (MTV) We're happy to report that MTV's new animated series about a quartet of college freshmen is not blatantly annoying. In that respect it has already succeeded where so many other prime time cartoons have fabulously failed. But while it lacks much of the cringe inducing forced irreverence that mars most ''Simpsons'' followers, it's also not so clever (or funny) that it warrants much additional attention. The series (created by 22-year-old Pete Williams, an MTV contest winner) follows the exploits (and sexploits) of four college freshmen: There's the jock, the nerd, the hunk, and the loner. What ensues is a trail of dude oriented mayhem and mishaps, like streaking, pledging fraternities, and pulling pranks on resident advisers. You know, just the kind of stuff that makes you happy to be a graduate. B-
SERIES DEBUT 8-10PM NERO WOLFE (A&E, TV-PG) Doesn't an Oscar winner like Timothy Hutton (left) have anything better to do than executive producing, directing, and starring in a basic cable series? Speaking in ridiculously affected cadences more suited to an ''SNL'' parody, the ''Ordinary People'' star hogs the screen as Archie Goodwin, a sidekick to the titular New York City detective. A skilled character actor, Maury Chaykin (''Dances With Wolves,'' ''Entrapment'') somehow makes Wolfe -- a man of gargantuan appetites -- seem smaller-than-life. The post-WWII period piece's two-hour opener, in which Nero and Archie investigate J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, is based on one of Rex Stout's best-selling mysteries, but NBC's 1981 William Conrad series captured the books' spirit better than this toothless ''Wolfe.'' C -- Bruce Fretts
