Tuning in: On TV this week.

Friday March 4

Monk: Mr. Monk and the Kid (USA, 10-11 p.m.): The finale of the third season is a "must see." For Monk fans, it's a rich payoff for loyal viewing, and for casual viewers, it's a window on the best the show has to offer. When a toddler wanders off from his foster mother in the park, he finds a gruesome relic of a possible murder. Called in to solve the case, Mr. Monk finds deep paternal feeling abruptly surfacing.

Oprah Winfrey Presents: Their Eyes Were Watching God (ABC, 9-11 p.m.): Based on the novel by Zora Neale Hurston, the film is more than a love story. It is about the nature of love between equals - what it is and what it is not. The screenplay is lovely, the cast strong, and the sentiments powerful. Halle Berry stars. (See story, page 13.)

Biography: Hunter S. Thompson (The Biography Channel, 9-10 p.m.): The father of "Gonzo journalism," Thompson was the quintessential antiestablishment writer. He eschewed the tradition of objective reporting and became part of the stories he wrote. This documentary - assembled a year before his passing last week - glosses over the most egregious elements of his career, but offers a fairly balanced view just the same.

Blind Justice (ABC, 10-11 p.m.): Blinded in a shootout, New York Detective Jim Dunbar doesn't want pity, he wants to prove himself on the job. He first wins over his new partner and then tracks a serial killer in the first episode. Whether or not the premise is plausible seems less important than the idea that a disability does not make a bright cop less of a man - or less of a cop.