What's on TV

PICK OF THE WEEK

The Echo of Thunder

Sunday, April 19

9-11 p.m. (CBS)

TV highlights for the week of April 18-24. All times are Eastern; check local listings.

SATURDAY 4/18

NFL Draft (ESPN, noon-7 p.m.; ESPN2, 7-10 p.m.): Much has changed. Before ESPN, the NFL draft was a simple and cozy affair at a Philadelphia hotel. Now it's live from Madison Square Garden. Continues Sunday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on ESPN, and 1-6 p.m. on ESPN2.

SUNDAY 4/19

People's Century: 1900-1999 (PBS, 9-11 p.m.): This ambitious documentary, a collaboration between the BBC and WGBH/Boston, is attempting nothing less than to make sense of the 20th century. The first two episodes are somewhat dull, but subsequent shows (airing Monday and Tuesday and seven consecutive Mondays beginning May 25) can be fascinating. Interviews with eyewitnesses to historical events, a great deal of archival footage, and a well-written narration help put each major event into perspective. (TV-PG)

The Echo of Thunder (CBS, 9-11 p.m.): Judy Davis may have chopped off her hair to achieve a "country poor" Australian look, but her acting is still the same: compelling and believable. Gladwyn (Davis) and Larry Ritchie (Jamey Sheridan) lead a hard life raising palm trees on a farm in the Australian outback. When her husband goes away on business, Gladwyn is left to take care of their three kids and her husband's long-lost daughter from a previous marriage. The exciting and engaging adventure begins. (TV-G)

Brave New World (NBC, 9-11 p.m.): Intelligent and hip adaptation of Aldous Huxley's classic warning against utopianism. Sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll, genetic engineering, and social conditioning are no substitute for genuine love, creative expression, and individuality in this steamy futuristic tale. The film never warms up because we don't get to know the real hero of the story - the "Savage." And somehow the makers couldn't resist a happy ending. (TV-14)

You're the One (WB, 9:30-10 p.m.): Cynthia Geary of "Northern Exposure" plays a Southern-bred architect and Elon Gold, a Jewish Web-site designer. In the sitcom's debut, the two impulsively get engaged. But their excitement soon dies down when their families meet and meddle in their lives. It starts off with spunk but quickly spirals off into off-color, offensive jokes that will make you want to change the channel. (TV-PG)

MONDAY 4/20

Kelly Kelly (WB, 9-9:30 p.m.): Shelley Long plays an Ivy League professor in this new sitcom. In the opener, when Kelly Novak (Long) decides to marry fire chief Doug Kelly (Robert Hays), she not only adopts his last name, but she also becomes an instant mother of four. A sluggish, predictable plot plus flat dialogue equals an unfunny sitcom. (TV-G)

THURSDAY 4/23

NBA Playoffs: (TBS, 7 p.m.-midnight; TNT, 8 p.m.-1 a.m.): Teams not set at press time.

Mystery! An Unsuitable Job for a Woman: Sacrifice (PBS, 9-10 p.m.): Author P.D. James shows that a woman can be just as good as a man when it comes to detective work. In this three-part series based on the book, twentysomething Cordelia Gray (Helen Baxendale of NBC's "Friends") investigates a college student's suicide. Parts 2 and 3 air April 30 and May 7. (TV-PG)