WORTH NOTING ON TV
MONDAY
Star Trek: Voyager (UPN, 8-10 p.m. - check local listings): Still another ``Star Trek'' spinoff enters the sci-fi universe in the form of this new series premiering on the United Paramount Network, a new lineup of stations, many of them UHF (see story, Page 9).
Set in the 24th century, the new format, with Kate Mulgrew as Capt. Kathryn Janeway in the lead role, focuses on the starship Voyager as it finds itself in space 70,000 light years from home. Somewhat hesitantly, the crew teams with up a former enemy - the crew from a destroyed ship of rebel Marquis - to make its way back.
New characters, an ethnically mixed cast, and an array of new gadgetry are part of the new look of a show in which late ``Star Trek'' creator Gene Roddenberry has had no hand.
In the opener, the Marquis leader accepts the first-officer post, under Captain Janeway, while the two crews relate in ways that range from disputes to romance.
The Puzzle Place (PBS, 8:30-9 a.m. - check local listings): Aimed at the 2-to-6-year-old set, this catchy new series - a mix of live action, puppetry, animation, and other styles - is being billed as TV's first program designed to teach children ``to celebrate diversity.''
A core cast of puppet kids - of many colors and backgrounds - grapples with the puzzles of the world around them through interaction and self-discovery.
America's War on Poverty (PBS, 9-11 p.m.): At a time when federal aid for the poor faces cuts - perhaps big cuts - under the new Republican Congress, this five-hour series takes the long view of poverty in the United States. Produced by Blackside, Inc., the award-winning production team that made ``Eyes on the Prize'' and ``The Great Depression,'' the documentary shows how poor people have fared since the historic ``War on Poverty'' was declared by President Johnson in his 1964 State of the Union address.
The story is told through firsthand accounts from the battlefront - such as anti-poverty programs in Newark, N.J. - as well as by politicians of various stripes.
Please check local listings for these programs.