WORTH NOTING ON TV

* TUESDAY

Election Night Coverage (C-Span, 10 p.m.-12 a.m. E.T.): Includes simulcast of WWBT in Richmond, Va., and WNBC in New York. r WEDNESDAY

The Nanny (CBS, 8:30- 9 p.m.): What do you get when you mix a brassy but likable young woman from Queens, N.Y., with a wealthy man and his three children? A new sitcom called ``The Nanny.'' In tonight's premiere episode, cosmetics saleswoman Fran Fine (Fran Drescher) knocks on the door of the Sheffield mansion. When she overhears that the man of the house, Maxwell (Charles Shaughnessy), needs a new nanny, she offers her services, and he reluctantly hires her. Fran's frank and unconventional personality stirs up the proper, somewhat stodgy household. She lends a different kind of nurturing to the three children: a shy 14-year-old girl, a mischievous boy of 10, and a complicated six-year-old girl. Despite her gaffes, Maxwell decides she may not be all that bad for his children. Other characters include an outspoken, somewhat sassy butler and Maxwell's stuck-up business partner/girlfriend. The writing is clever, and the lines and characters are actually funny - an unusual combination in many sitcoms these days.

Scientific American Frontiers (PBS, 8-9 p.m.): Alan Alda hosts this monthly series (October through February) that introduces viewers to new developments in the world of science. This segment examines the latest scientific advances in Germany. Alda rides the Autobahn on a computerized ``self-driving'' vehicle; follows a husband and wife who are trying to uncover the mysteries of stork migration from a 14th-century castle where some of the birds nest; investigates what to do with the 2 million air-polluting, plastic-body Trabant cars manufactured in East Germany; and shows why the dragonfly is considered the world's most incredible flying machine.

Please check local listings for these programs.