BY CLIF GARBODEN

NEW YEAR’S DAY 1

12:30 (10) Football. West Virginia versus Maryland in the Gator Bowl.

1:00 (6) Football. Purdue versus Georgia in the Capitol One Bowl.

1:00 (44) Globe Trekker Marathon. Ten treks for last season. (Until 11 p.m.)

4:30 (6) Football. USC versus Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

7:30 (2) Basic Black: Bobby McFerrin’s Master Class. Happy Bobby teaches a group of subjects to groove. (Until 8 p.m.)

8:00 (2) Great Performances: From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2004. Once again, Walter Cronkite heads into darkest Austria for this annual festival. Riccardo Muti conducts the Vienna Phil through a lot of Strauss and a lot of stuff you’d mistake for Strauss if nobody told you different. Plus, in a nod to the local chamber of commerce, a tour of the Albrecht Dürer exhibit at Albertina Museum. (Until 9:30 p.m.)

8:30 (5) Football. Miami versus Florida State in the Orange Bowl.

FRIDAY 2

2:00 (64) Football. Oklahoma state versus Mississippi in the Cotton Bowl.

8:00 (6) Football. Kansas State versus Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.

8:00 (2) Now with Bill Moyers. As usual, we don’t have the topic for tonight’s show. Just wanted to note that Moyers has taken on a helper — business reporter David Brancaccio, of Marketplace fame. To be repeated tonight at 2 a.m. on Channel 44. (Until 9 p.m.)

12:30 a.m. (2) Masterpiece Theatre: The Forsyte Saga, part two. Repeated from last week. Irene and Bosinney carry on under the disapproving eye of Soames. Damian Lewis stars. To be repeated on Saturday at 7 p.m. (Until 1:30 a.m.)

2:30 a.m. (2) Fiesta in the Sky. The most-aired/least-watched half hour of television since the test pattern. As the hot-air balloon descended, the bleach-blonde Russian defector said to the astronaut, " Do you like my shoes? They are Italian. " (Until 3 a.m.)

SATURDAY 3

1:00 (6) Basketball. The Philadelphia 76ers versus the San Antonio Spurs.

4:30 (6) Football. NFL Wildcard playoff game.

8:00 (2) The American Experience: War Letters. An old show based on Andrew Carroll’s book War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars, which compiles messages from various fronts since the Revolution. " Dear Mom, Get me out of here . . . " (Until 9 p.m.)

8:00 (6) Football. NFL Wildcard playoff game.

8:00 (10) Heartbreakers (movie). Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt team up as a mother-daughter con-artist team — Sigourney marries rich men; Jennifer gets them into bed; a messy (and profitable) divorce ensues. Hardly a strong plot line, but, according to the " user submitted " review on the Internet Movie Data Base, there’s an unexpected twist. To quote: " But as fate, luck, chance, or what-have-you would have it, at that moment the IRA steps in and not only wipes out their bank account, but hands them a bill for back taxes that far and away exceeds the amount already confiscated. " Does Gerry Adams know about this? (Until 11 p.m.)

9:00 (2) The Perilous Fight: America’s World War 2 in Color: Infamy and Battlefronts. Martin Sheen narrates this recap of the Second World War illustrated with color footage. Until recently, we all thought WW2 was fought in black and white, but apparently the military covered it extensively in blood-red, white, and blue. (Until 11 p.m.)

Midnight (2) Austin City Limits. Featuring music from the Jayhawks and the incomparable Gillian Welch. (Until 1 a.m.)

SUNDAY 4

1:30 (12) Basketball. Illinois versus Mississippi State in women’s NCAA play.

4:30 (12) Football. NFL Wildcard playoff game.

5:00 (44) Quo Vadis? (movie). Peter Ustinov as Nero steals this show — which is no mean feat considering he’s rivaled by a cast of 30,000 extras, choreographed fight scenes, lengthy chariot chases, gruesome lion attacks, city-destroying fires, and an ancient-Roman wardrobe that approaches turning this Christians-versus-Romans epic into a parody of a drag show. Ustinov’s pathetic warbling (Nero thought himself a lyricist — with a lyre) alone is worth the price of admission. Robert Taylor stars as a pagan soldier who falls for a Christian lass (Deborah Kerr) in this 1951 Mervyn LeRoy adaptation of the novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz. (Until 8 p.m.)

8:00 (2) Nova: Mars: Dead or Alive. You probably didn’t hear it land, but just today, our most sophisticated Mars-rover ever touched down (if everything went as planned) on that Red Planet. Nova covers the development of this craft (called Spirit) that’s bound to find those little green men if they’re really there. An updated edition of this program will air on Tuesday at 8 p.m. To be repeated tonight at 2 a.m., and, on Channel 44 at 3 a.m. (Until 9 p.m.)

8:00 (6) Football. Oklahoma versus LSU in the Sugar Bowl.

8:00 (44) Gaslight (movie). Charles Boyer is a psycho husband with a plan to drive his wife, Ingrid Bergman, nuts. Atmospheric and famous. From 1944, and directed by George Cukor. Co-starring Joseph Cotten. For more, see 10 p.m. below. (Until 10 p.m.)

9:00 (2) Masterpiece Theatre: The Forsyte Saga, part three. A rough night for the Forsyte gang as they confront lawsuits, bankruptcy, rape, and rage. To be repeated tonight at midnight, and, on Channel 44, at 1 and 4 a.m. (Until 10 p.m.)

10:00 (44) Gaslight (movie). Not that movie, but the original 1940 British version, which was (it is rumored) ordered destroyed by MGM when Cukor remade it. In this, the husband and wife are played by Anton Walbrook and Diana Wynyard, whoever they are. (Until 11:30 p.m.)

5:30 a.m. (2) Fiesta in the Sky. The wretched refugee muttered to himself, " Stun-gun, some fun, stun-gun, some fun, stun fun, ha! " as he crawled from beneath his Hudson Bay blanket and snuck aboard the hot-air balloon. (Until 6 a.m.)

MONDAY 5

8:00 (6) Cast Away (movie). Tom Hanks and Helen Hunt star in this popular quasi-drama about a FedEx executive stranded on a desert island with a volleyball. Sentimental and involving once, but subsequent viewings prove tedious. (Until 11 p.m.)

8:00 (44) Globe Trekker: New York City Guide. Possibly repeated from last week (there have been some ripples in the scheduling process over at ’GBX). Trekker Ian Wright hits the Big Ap and takes in Lady Liberty, plays basketball in Washington Square Park, roller-blades in Central Park, spends a hot night on the town, and hangs with the locals in Brooklyn and Harlem. That’s pretty much the same approach he’d take if he were visiting some remote desert-nation capital. (Until 9 p.m.)

9:00 (2) The American Experience: Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided. Mostly about Mary, which is fair, since she’s been the neglected Lincoln all these years. A look at the couple’s passion, quarrels, and tragedies from childhood, through courtship, and into the White House. To be repeated on Tuesday at 4 a.m., and, on Channel 44, 1 and 4 a.m. (Until 11 p.m.)

9:00 (44) In the Beginning: The Creationist Controversy. A two-hour look into the argument between scientists who believe in evolution and religious whack-jobs who think God created the world in six days and had Sunday left over. It’s bad enough that so many people are willfully ignorant, but the creationists (no doubt Bush voters, every last one) are messing up what’s left of public education by insisting that school districts change science and social-studies curricula to accommodate their divinely inspired lies. To be repeated tonight at 12:30 a.m. on Channel 2. (Until 11 p.m.)

2:30 a.m. (2) Fiesta in the Sky. We figure some fanatic left a gazillion dollars to Channel 2 with the stipulation that this hot-air-ballooning documentary be shown at least 100 times a year. (Until 3 a.m.)

TUESDAY 6

7:30 (2) La Plaza: Caetano in Bahai. A film by Juan Mandelbaum about celebrated Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso. Featuring some songs and a visit to Sao Joao Festival. (Until 8 p.m.)

8:00 (2) Nova Update: Mars: Dead or Alive. See Sunday at 8 p.m. above. Since the show about Sunday’s Mars landing aired within hours of the scheduled descent, there might be new developments. Learn about those here. (Until 9 p.m.)

10:00 (44) Independent Lens: Man Bites Shorts. A collection of eccentric short films, including Compulsory Breathing by David Munro, a vocal percussion exercise about a suicide who saves a life; Mark Pellington’s film of Everton Sylvester performing the poem " Dilly Dally " ; and Tom Putnam’s autobiographical Tom Hits His Head, about his experiences with head trauma and the Antichrist. (Until 11 p.m.)

1:30 a.m. (2) Fiesta in the Sky. Mildred couldn’t take it any more. Her daughter’s constant complaining abut the food was more than she could bear. Late that night, Mildred packed her bags and headed for the nearest hot-air balloon station. Alas, she had no ticket, so she returned home and overcooked some mutton. (Until 2 a.m.)

WEDNESDAY 7

8:00 (2) Silver Thread Through the West. Train buffs rejoice. A documentary on the rise, demise, and rebirth of the California Zephyr — the Western train with the domed upper deck that’s always depicted in old civics books in the chapter about miracles of modern transportation. (Until 9 p.m.)

3:30 a.m. (2) Fiesta in the Sky. Hey, look at me! I’m typing. (Until 4 a.m.)

THURSDAY 8

8:30 (10) The Apprentice. Executive producer Mark Burnett (Survivor) was quoted in the Wall Street Journal describing this reality-series’ ringmaster, Donald Trump, as a " captivating television personality. " Mark? What’s with that? Trump may be rich, but he has the personality of a Toyota salesman who misplaced his Ex-Lax, and there’s something seriously disturbing about the guy’s hair. The gimmick here is that 16 " entrepreneurs " of various stripes, divided into two teams, room together in a New York loft and carry out business-related challenges at Trump’s command. The weekly winning team gets cash; the losing team has to let Trump fire one of their number. It’s no sicker than any other reality show, really. But that’s not saying much. This will run (unmentioned) on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. starting January 14. (Until 10 p.m.)

9:00 (2) Frontline World: Forbidden Iran. Correspondent Jane Kokan covers up (in a head scarf) to uncover a reign of terror within today’s Iran, whereby students and others who oppose the government are tortured and killed. (Ashcroft is studying this as a model for the future, should Bush be re-elected.) Clearly, this reporting was a dangerous job — and one the commercial networks would never go near. (Until 10 p.m.)

4:30 a.m. (2) Fiesta in the Sky. Clutching a copy of the Bible in one hand and a Confederate flag in the other, the retired Danish oyster fisherman stormed the barricades surrounding the hot-air-balloon landing field. " Der er et yndigt land! " he yelled as he was brought down by a volley of colorful sandbags. (Until 5 a.m.)