What's on TV:Shows worth noting for Mar. 31 - Apr. 6

Saturday 3/31

NCAA Basketball Tournament, Final Four. (CBS, Arizona vs. Michigan, 5:42 p.m.; Duke vs. Maryland, 8:07 p.m.): Duke is a strong contender to win the tournament, but will Maryland pull an upset?

Sunday 4/1

The Essentials (TCM, Sundays beginning tonight at 6-8 p.m.): Hosted by writer-director-actor Rob Reiner, this series presents "the films that define what it means to be classic." First up: "Citizen Kane."

Masterpiece Theatre: Wives and Daughters (PBS, check local listings): As charming and intelligent as a Jane Austin story, this marvelous Elizabeth Gaskell tale follows the life of young Molly Gibson, daughter of a country doctor, as she graces the lives of those around her with feisty resolve.

Eco-Challenge: Borneo (USA, 8-9 p.m., continuing April 2-4): This mini-series combines the extreme social experiment of Survivor-style reality TV with extreme sport. Notwithstanding its cheesy narration, this race over the toughest terrain in the world can be absorbing.

Soldiers in the Army of God (HBO, 10-11:15 p.m.): Documentary about the most extreme wing of the anti-abortion movement, a group that advocates killing abortion providers. Members of the group tell their story in their own words. Frightening and revealing.

Tuesday 4/3

Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood (AMC 8-10 p.m.): The most expensive movie ever made was plagued with disasters. This engaging documentary takes us through every single one of them - and how this flop changed Hollywood forever.

Wednesday 4/4

American High (PBS, check local listings): This excellent documentary series returns, following the lives of high school students who videotape their lives along with a film crew. The kids are all different, and their problems are complicated. But each of their stories is worth hearing.

Thursday 4/5

Mystery! Second Sight (PBS, check local listings, part II concludes April 12): Detective Chief Inspector Ross Tanner (Clive Owen) is back with three new two-part cases. The detective may be going blind, but he sees through alibis and lies. The first of the series, "Hide and Seek," which involves reopening a closed murder case, is complicated, clever, and poignant.

(c) Copyright 2001. The Christian Science Monitor