What's On TV

saturday 10/9

netaid (VH1, 2-10 p.m.): Top pop artists perform at benefit concerts telecast live from London, Geneva, and East Rutherford, N.J., to battle world poverty (see story, page 19).

SUNDAY 10/10

Masterpiece Theatre - Aristocrats (PBS, check local listings): It may be a true story (based on the history of the Lennox family), but it plays like exciting fiction. The 18th-century saga, of four sisters (great-granddaughters of Charles II) who lived in the English court of George III, proves to be devilishly intriguing. Well made, beautifully written and performed. Continues Oct 17 and 24.

In the Wild: Lemurs With John Cleese (PBS, 8-9 p.m.): In this funny and insightful journey, Cleese travels into the jungles of Madagascar to learn about the funny creatures who are in danger of extinction. Cleese is entertaining, but the lemurs steal the show.

Millennium (CNN, 10-11 p.m.): The news channel circumnavigates history on a 1,000-year voyage. The 10-hour series has one theme for each century: sword, axe, stirrup, scythe, sail, compass, telescope, furnace, machine, and globe. Continues on consecutive Sundays through Dec. 12. Pictured at right is a mosque in Mali (see story, this page).

Biography of the Millennium: 100 People 1,000 Years (A&E, 8-10 p.m.): Harry Smith hosts this two-part countdown of the 100 most influential people of the last 1,000 years. Concludes tomorrow.

MONDAY 10/11

My Little Assassin (Lifetime, 9-11 p.m.): Inspired by actual events, a beautiful American woman, Marita (Gabrielle Anwar), falls in love with Fidel Castro (Joe Mantegna) and is eventually enlisted to kill him. The drama is mildly engaging, but Mantegna is miscast and the movie would have been stronger if it knew what point of view to take.

PICK OF THE WEEK

TUESDAY 10/12

Major League Baseball (NBC, 8-11 p.m.): Great pitching defined the regular season. But as the seven-game pennant series begins today, the fastball and the curve ball must go hand in glove with hits and homers.

WEDNESDAY 10/13

American Photography: A Century of Images (PBS, 8-11 p.m.): If a picture is worth a thousand words, a good picture is worth a whole chapter in history. This vivid three-hour documentary focuses on photography's role as a recorder of events and human emotions.

THURSDAY 10/14

Mystery! (9-10 p.m.): Helen Baxendale returns as private eye Cordelia Gray in a new episode of "An Unsuitable Job for a Woman." In the two-parter, "Living on Risk," Cordelia is inexplicably pregnant and becomes involved in an art-theft case. Too many characters and a weak plot bring down what is usually a strong show. Second part airs Oct. 21.

(c) Copyright 1999. The Christian Science Publishing Society