BY CLIF GARBODEN

THURSDAY 4

7:30 (2) Basic Black: A Conversation with Robert Honeysucker. The new season for BB starts with host Darren Duarte chatting with operatic baritone Honeysucker, whom you may remember as toreador Escamillo in Boston Lyric Opera’s Carmen on the Common. (Until 8 p.m.)

8:00 (2) Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate. Ray Suarez hosts this year’s collection of cowardly liberals trying to find a centrist line that the rabid right will somehow swallow. (Until 9:30 p.m.)

9:00 (6) Football. The New York Jets (with Vinny instead of Chad) versus the Washington Redskins in real-season play.

9:00 (44) Mystery: The Inspector Lynley Mysteries: Well-Schooled in Murder. Repeated from last week. The first of four new plots taken from the mystery novels of Elizabeth George. Nathaniel Parker stars as an earl-turned-detective who’s forever lording it over his spunky cockney partner (Sharon Small) in crime solving. In this one, a student is killed at a tony prep school. To be repeated tonight at 3:30 a.m. on Channel 44. (Until 11 p.m.)

FRIDAY 5

10:00 (44) Coupling. Another chance to catch this progressively hilarious British sex-com, which has been remade (same stories; American stars) for NBC (debut on September 25). Hard to imagine the Yank version will be funnier than this. (Until 10:30 p.m.)

11:00 a.m. (12) Tennis. The men’s doubles final and the Williams-less women’s semifinals from the US Open. (Until 6 p.m. — with a 30-minute news break at noon.)

SATURDAY 6

Noon (12) Tennis. The US Open men’s semifinals. (Until 6 p.m.)

Noon (6) Football. BC versus Penn State.

Noon (44) Lotsa Lotsa Opera! Opera’s a mixed blessing on TV. On the one hand, we love writing up fractured plot summaries ( " Excuse me, do you remember where I parked my swan? " ), but we hate struggling to spell the names of the principals. Today, there’s lotsa opera on WGBX, and space prevents full plot descriptions, but the limited press information excuses us from spelling anything more difficult than Paolo Gavanelli. Here goes. Starting off, it’s Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow done by the San Francisco Opera (this one aired last Christmas). That’s followed at 3 p.m. by Chuck Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet starring real-life couple Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu (okay, that’s actually harder to spell than Paolo Gavanelli is). At around 4:30 p.m. we head to St. Petersburg’s Maryinsky Theater for the original 1862 version of Verdi’s La forza del destino. After that (long one), at 7:30 p.m., it’s Paolo Gavanelli and Marcello Alvarez singing Verdi’s Rigoletto. And finally, at 10 p.m., we have the Royal Opera House production of Verdi’s Falstaff, with Bryn Terfel and Desiree Rancatore. More on Sunday. (Until midnight.)

1:00 (64) Baseball. The Sox versus the New York Yankees.

2:30 (10) Football. Notre Dame versus Washington State.

3:30 (6) Football. Auburn versus Georgia Tech.

8:00 (2) American Photography: The Developing Image (1900-1934), The Photographic Age (1935-1959), and Photography Transformed (1960-1999). Before there were digital cameras, there was film, and before that glass plates. And for the most part, America’s best photographers made the most out of each technology. This three-parter looks at photo art and science in America and how it influenced all things public and private. Everything that happened before photography pretty much had to be described; since photography’s invention, the past hasn’t seemed so long ago. To be repeated tonight at 1 a.m. (Until 11 p.m.)

8:00 (12) Tennis. The US Open women’s final. (Until 10 p.m.)

8:00 (6) Football. Florida versus Miami.

11:00 (2) In the Life. Something strange has befallen the scheduling of this monthly gay/lesbian/etc. magazine-format show. We suspect that, since ITL’s July edition aired in August, this early-September episode is August’s, in which case the features (focused on AIDS) will include a look back at the introduction of protease inhibitors in 1996, a look at the scarcity of AIDS-treatment drugs across the Mexican border, a profile of black AIDS activist Phill Wilson, and a portrait of HIV-positive and partially blind photographer John Dugdale. (Until midnight.

Midnight (2) Austin City Limits. Featuring music from David Byrne. (Until 1 a.m.)

SUNDAY 7

1:00 (64) Football. The St. Louis Rams versus the New York Giants.

1:00 (12) Football. The Pats versus the Buffalo Bills.

4:00 (64) Football. The Atlanta Falcons versus the Dallas Cowboys.

4:00 (12) Tennis. The US Open men’s final. (Until 6:40 p.m.)

4:00 (44) Lotsa More Opera! We begin with Don Giovanni Unmasked, a reworking of the Mozart story from the point of view of Leporello; Dmitri Hvorostovsky stars. Then at 5 p.m., it’s Plácido Domingo and the Washington Opera doing Jules Massenet’s Le Cid. At 7:30 p.m., they inserted a La Plaza show about fledgling Jossie Pérez prepping to star in Boston Lyric Opera’s Carmen on the Common (to be repeated tonight at 11:40 p.m., and on Channel 2 on Tuesday at 8 p.m.). Then at 8 p.m., we get Bizet’s Carmen, not from the Common but from the BBC, with Anne Sofie von Otter as Carmen and Marcus Haddock as Don José. (Until 11:10 p.m.)

7:00 (6) City Slickers (movie). Billy Crystal stars in this 1991 comedy about a New Yorker who runs off to a dude ranch, where he meets the theatrically overshadowing presence of Jack Palance. (Until 9 p.m.)

7:30 (64) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (movie). Director Ang Lee’s successful bid for The Foreign Movie Americans Actually Liked stars Chow Yun-fat as an ancient Chinese warrior looking for his sword and Michelle Yeoh as the bloodthirsty love interest. (Until 10 p.m.)

8:00 (10) Whoopi. The pilot edition of Whoopi Goldberg’s upcoming sit-com about a brash and politically incorrect New York hotel manager. Could be good. (Until 8:30 p.m.)

9:00 (2) Mystery: The Inspector Lynley Mysteries: Payment in Blood. Lynley and Havers play Clue — but for real — on Colonel Mustard’s Scottish estate. To be repeated tonight at midnight. and on Channel 44 at 1 and 4 a.m., and on Thursday at 9 p.m. (Until 10:30 p.m.)

12:30 (44) Fiesta in the Sky. Going for the record as the most-often aired public-TV show. Something about hot-air balloons. To be repeated (natch) on Tuesday at 5:30 a.m. on Channel 44. (Until 1 a.m.)

MONDAY 8

8:00 (44) Globe Trekker: Great Festivals. An anthology show, with all the trekkers attending odd and spectacular holiday celebrations around the globe. (Until 9 p.m.)

9:00 (2) The American Experience: The Center of the World. Ric Burns’s typically uneven film documentary about New York, New York: A Documentary Film, continues with an eighth installment covering the 30-year history and sudden destruction of the World Trade Towers. To be repeated tonight at 1 a.m., and on Channel 44 at 3 a.m., and on Thursday at 3 a.m. (Until midnight.)

9:00 (6) Football. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers versus the Philadelphia Eagles.

TUESDAY 9

7:30 (2) La Plaza: Becoming a Diva. Repeated from Sunday at 7:30 p.m.

8:00 (2) Nova: Why the Towers Fell. The fact that the giant airplanes landed in their upper floors isn’t the full story. A look at the American Society of Civil Engineers’ post–September 11 report on the World Trade Center’s construction. To be repeated tonight at midnight. (Until 9 p.m.)

9:00 (2) Art in the 21st Century: Stories and Loss and Desire. The second season for this Emmy-nominated series that looks exclusively at contemporary artists and their work. Guest hosts this season include John Waters, Jane Alexander, Margaret Cho, and Merce Cunningham. More of this on Wednesday. To be repeated tonight at 1 a.m., and on Channel 44 at 1 and 4 a.m. (Until 11 p.m.)

9:00 (44) P.O.V.: Family Fundamentals. Arthur Dong’s documentary about conservative-Christian clans with gay kids. To be repeated tonight at 4 a.m. on Channel 2. (Until 10:30 p.m.)

9:00 (64) The O.C. More tales of life in the Old Country. Bowling champ Falngmn, Onufrius the lion tamer, and the ancient one-eyed basset hound Fluffy scour the grounds of the Radzyminsky Brothers, Borczak & Basinski Circus outside the OC capital city of Dolnth in search of Singredd, Falngmn’s runaway sweetheart. Along the way, they encounter Onufrius’s wife, Floral, and her sister, Doral, who once starred with Onufrius in a high-wire/trapeze act called the Flying Dyfnicks and Fluffy. The five continue the search together. At the edge of the fairgrounds, they come upon a temporary shanty with a hand-scrawled sign reading " Fourtoons Tald " above the jury-rigged door. Falngmn recognizes the handwriting and the unfortunate spelling as Singredd’s, and the search party bursts into the shed to find Magdute, the fortune teller, huddled in the corner with Singredd. " Stay away from her, you beast! " shouts Magdute, to no one in particular. " Father, why did you abandon me? " implores Singredd. " Who is this child? " says Floral suspiciously. " Bruumph, " interjects Fluffy. " She is Ludmilla, my daughter, " taunts Magdute, " and the daughter of Onufrius as well, now called Singredd! " " You cad, " screams Floral. " Darling . . .  " begins Falngmn. " Now I understand, " interrupts Singredd/Ludmilla. " You do?! " asks Magdute. " Yes, " says Singredd/Ludmilla. " I saw you, Magdute, in an old photo of Flying Dyfnicks in Onufrius’s tent. You were the fourth Dyfnick. I was the child in that picture. I am, it seems, the product of an affair between you and Onufrius, who left me in Falngmn’s remote mountain village during the Goat Famine of Aught Five. We are Dyfnicks united once again. " " United, but sad, " says Onufrius. " And confused, " concludes Doral, breaking her atypical silence. " You said you found the child in a kohlrabi patch! " complains Floral. " Now it must be told, " reverberates Onufrius. " I have lied about many things . . .  " (Until 10 p.m.)

3:00 a.m. (2) Soundstage. Featuring music from Chris Isaak and Raul Malo. (Until 4 a.m.)

5:30 a.m. (2) Fiesta in the Sky. Repeated from Sunday at 12:30 a.m.

WEDNESDAY 10

9:00 (2) Art in the 21st Century: Time and Humor. See Tuesday at 9 p.m. To be repeated tonight at 1 a.m., and on Channel 44 at 1 and 4 a.m.

THURSDAY 11

MAGENTA ALERT: September 11 specials could strike at any time on any station today.

7:30 (2) Basic Black: A Conversation with Pedro Noguera. Host Darren Duarte talks with the Harvard education prof about finding and fixing the problems with urban schools. (Until 8 p.m.)

8:00 (2) Frontline: Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero. An old show that re-examines the September 11 terrorist attacks through the prism of individual faith and spiritual groundings. Lots of interviews with survivors and pundits. To be repeated tonight at 1 a.m. (Until 10 p.m.)

9:00 (44) Mystery: The Inspector Lynley Mysteries: Payment in Blood. Repeated from Sunday at 9 p.m.

3:00 a.m. (2) The American Experience: The Center of the World. Repeated from Monday at 9 p.m.

5:00 a.m. (44) Soundstage. Featuring music from John Hiatt, Dar Williams, and Robinella and the CC String Band. (Until 6 a.m.)