WORTH NOTING ON TV

February 7, 1995

* TUESDAY

The Nightly Business Report (Public TV stations - check local listings for day and times): Alas, it's tax time again, but in this three-part report, financial author Terry Savage suggests ways to minimize the impact.

Ms. Savage looks over tax laws and discusses alternative ones - some representing radical changes - that Congress is considering. She takes a look at the effects these changes would have on taxpayers and offers ways of preparing for them. Part 2 airs Wednesday, Part 3 on Thursday. * WEDNESDAY

Scientific American Frontiers (PBS, 8-9 p.m.): Chimpanzees can add numbers and do fractions - sort of - according to this edition of the entertaining science series. (It helps, the researchers find, if the ``numbers'' used in chimp math experiments are pieces of fruit.)

To what degree this and similar behavior by chimps and other primates resemble that of humans is a question probed by ``Prime Time Primates.'' Viewers visit not only with chimps but also with rhesus monkeys on the island of Cayo Santiago off the coast of Chile. The monkeys take what appear to be vacations, according to series host Alan Alda - zipping off from the group when the stress level gets too high.

Actions like this - and their basic appearance - is what has always made primates so fascinating to humans, but this program traces some parallels you may find a little startling. * FRIDAY

NBA All-Star Bash (MTV, 11 p.m.-midnight, EST): Even if the National Basketball Association All-Star Game that airs Sunday on NBC isn't basketball that really counts, you may find entertainment value in the live format offered by this pre-game celebration.

With Queen Latifah as host, the show includes performances by such personalities as Boyz II Men, Candlebox, Mary J. Blige, and Shaquille O'Neal. The Orlando Magic's center, Shaq, has been doubling as a rapper and offers ``Nobody'' from his new album ``Shaq Fu Da Returns.'' The show includes interviews with several players in the upcoming All-Star game.

Please check local listings for these programs.