BY CLIF GARBODEN

THURSDAY 8

7:30 (2) Basic Black: Protecting the Innocent. Host Darren Duarte looks at the movement to create a state commission to review the cases of potentially wrongly convicted inmates as well as at the larger issue of defining the factors that lead to bad jury decisions. (Until 8 p.m.)

8:30 (10) The Apprentice. Executive producer Mark Burnett (Survivor) was quoted in the Wall Street Journal describing this reality series’s 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 its number. This is no sicker than any other reality show. But that’s not saying much. It will run (unmentioned by us) 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.) It’s clear 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. We actually caught a few minutes of this oft-aired documentary about hot-air ballooning the other week. And it’s truly boring. Perhaps the Channel 2 folks run it to scare people away when they’ve run out of interesting programming. (Until 5 a.m.)

FRIDAY 9

10:00 (44) Coupling. Well, the Americanization of this Brit-com didn’t last, but the original is a worthy watch indeed, and the good news is that WGBX has picked up a new

season. In this opener, Steve and Susan split, then (we presume) spend the episode wandering back toward each other. The entire show is produced in split-screen — the kind of detailed innovation that flummoxed American TV producers. (Until 10:30 p.m.)

SATURDAY 10

1:00 (6) Hockey. The Bruins versus the Detroit Red Wings.

4:30 (2564) Football. The Carolina Panthers versus the St. Louis Rams in NFC semifinal #1.

7:00 (2) Masterpiece Theatre: The Forsyte Saga, part three. Repeated from last week. A rough night for the Forsyte gang as they confront lawsuits, bankruptcy, rape, and rage. (Until 8 p.m.)

8:00 (2) The American Experience: Mount Rushmore. Michael Murphy narrates the saga of how the world’s largest sculpture was produced — by a marginal lunatic named Gutzon Borglum (and later his son). The back story to all this being that 1) it was a public-work project; 2) it was controversial within the Coolidge administration; and 3) the patriotic monument was installed in sacred Indian land in the Black Hills. (Until 9 p.m.)

8:00 (12) Football. The Pats versus the Tennessee Titans live from frozen Foxboro in AFC semifinal #1.

8:00 (6) Figure Skating. The State Farm US Figure Skating Championships 2004 wrap up with the ladies’ free-skate, in which you can expect to see Sasha Cohen and Michelle Kwan duke it out for the championship. Coverage of the men’s championship, which finished up this afternoon, is also likely. (Until 11 p.m.)

SUNDAY 11

1:00 (12) Football. The Indianapolis Colts versus the Kansas City Chiefs in AFC semifinal #2. Fun fact: both teams started out life as the Dallas Texans — the Chiefs in the old American Football League back in 1960, the Colts as an NFL team about a decade earlier that quickly moved to Baltimore and eventually to Indianapolis. Both teams left their nicknames behind — for obvious reasons.

4:40 (44) Gaslight (movie). Repeated from last week. The original 1940 British version, which was (it’s rumored) ordered destroyed by MGM when Cukor remade it. Here the husband and the wife he drives nuts are played by Anton Walbrook and Diana Wynyard. Cukor’s version shows up at 6:05 p.m. on Channel 44. (Until 6:05 p.m.)

4:45 (64) Football. The Green Bay Packers versus the Philadelphia Eagles in NFC semifinal #2.

6:05 (44) Gaslight (movie). Repeated from last week. Charles Boyer is a psycho husband with a plan to drive wife Ingrid Bergman nuts. Joseph Cotten co-stars. Atmospheric and famous. From 1944, and directed by George Cukor. (Until 8 p.m.)

8:00 (44) The Women (movie). George Cukor’s 1939 big-screen adaptation of Clare Boothe Luce’s play lampooning shallow and self-serving female relationships. The satire is so thorough that the characters’ behavior is truly annoying. We can’t sit through this one despite an all-female cast that includes Rosalind Russell, Joan Crawford, Paulette Goddard, and Norma Shearer. (Until 10:15 p.m.)

9:00 (2) Masterpiece Theatre: The Forsyte Saga, part four. In which Irene gets together with Old Jolyon. (Until 10 p.m.)

9:00 (12) The 30th Annual People’s Choice Awards. John Cryer and Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men) host this year’s prize show from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. The finalists include Two and a Half Men, Everybody Loves Raymond, Kelsey Grammer, Deborah Messing, The O.C., E.R., David Letterman, Oprah Winfrey, 50 Cent, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Alabama, Mel Gibson, Johnny Depp, Halle Berry, Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, and Bing Crosby. Of course, you have to remember that this contest is run by the Gallup Poll people, and the survey group are allowed to vote for anyone they like — even if that person hasn’t done anything new. Household names have a distinct advantage. (Until 11 p.m.)

10:15 (44) Bringing Up Baby (movie). A tedious but lighthearted pairing of Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. He plays a zoologist steamrollered by rich-girl Hepburn and her aunt’s pet leopard. (Until midnight.)

Midnight (44) Globe Trekker: New York City Guide. Trekker Ian Wright hangs with the locals and sees the sights in the Big Apple. (Until 1 a.m.)

MONDAY 12

8:00 (6) Gladiator (movie). Ridley Scott’s spectacularly tedious (to be fair, we should make that spectacular and tedious) 2000 sword-and-sandal epic starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, and Derek Jacobi. Having just returned from a on-site inspection of the remains of the Amphitheatrum Flavium, we can report that things have quieted down considerably since the days when Russell Crowe fought there. And there’s another major difference: under Colosseum builder Emperor Vespasian and his successors, admission to the fabled arena of blood was free. Today, with most of the place in ruins, they make you stand in long lines and pay 10 Euro to get in. (Until 11 p.m.)

9:00 (2) The American Experience: Reconstruction: The Second Civil War. According to WGBH, the term "reconstruction" was applied by Abraham Lincoln himself, three days before he was assassinated, in a speech warning the nation that the healing process could be as gruesome as the Civil War had been. This new two-part documentary looks at the struggle between the states from 1863 through 1877 as it tries to explain how half the country dealt with defeat while the other half exploited victory. To be concluded on Tuesday on Channel 2 starting at 9 p.m. (Until 10:30 p.m.)

TUESDAY 13

7:30 (2) La Plaza: Conversation with Ilan Stavans: Patricia Cardoso. This series kicks off its 26th season with an interview with Colombian-born film director Cardoso (Real Women Have Curves). (Until 8 p.m.)

8:00 (2) Nova: Submarines, Secrets, and Spies. A history of Cold War submarine "accidents" — largely unreported at the time. Keep in mind that back in the 1950s, the ability to float into enemy territory underwater and armed with weapons of mass destruction was considered a real and immediate threat. (Until 10 p.m.)

9:00 (2) The American Experience: Reconstruction: The Second Civil War — Retreat. Eventually, the North backed off, leaving much of the South to wallow in poverty and ignorance well into the 20th century. Some Southerners, we suspect, are still miffed about the whole thing. (Until 10:30 p.m.)

9:00 (44) Indie Select: Pilgrimage into the Past. Austin de Besche, a filmmaker from Arlington, created this 2002 documentary that follows a Holocaust survivor who returns to Europe to revisit the scene of a death march he made at the end of World War II. (Until 10:30 p.m.)

10:30 (44) Independent Lens: Make ’Em Dance: The Hackberry Ramblers’ Story. The Ramblers are a Louisiana-based Cajun/Western-swing outfit that’s been encouraging terpsichorean behavior since 1933. A film by John Whitehead and Ben Sandmel. (Until 11:30 p.m.)

WEDNESDAY 14

8:00 (2) Great Performances: Degas and the Dance. Few artists have captured the authentic glow of 19th-century ballet as compellingly as Edgar Degas. This show explores his "intimate connection" with the Paris Opéra. A look at an exhibition of Degas’s dance paintings as well as a visit to the (virtually unchanged) Palais Garnier opera house and a re-creation of his Montmartre studio, with Peter Badger playing the artist. To be repeated at 12:30 a.m., and on Channel 44 at 3 a.m. (Until 9 p.m.)

8:00 (44) The Civil War: The Cause (1861). In honor of the Reconstruction documentary, we have a repeat of Ken Burns’s innovative and (deservedly) award-winning 1990 documentary about the unpleasantness between North and South. Subsequent editions of this digitally remastered masterpiece show up on consecutive Wednesdays. (Until 10 p.m.)

9:00 (2) American Masters: Balanchine. This being the 100th anniversary of choreographer’s George Balanchine’s birth, they’re replaying the 1984 career documentary that marked the death of the father of American ballet. Lot of rare and unusual footage and photos. (Jeffrey Gantz’s review is on page 12.) (Until 11 p.m.)

THURSDAY 15

7:30 (2) Basic Black: A Conversation with George C. Wolfe. Host Darren Duarte interviews the Tony-winning Broadway director of Bring In da Noise, Bring In da Funk and Angels in America. Wolfe’s life story is remarkable indeed. (Until 8 p.m.)

8:00 (2) Islam: Empire of Faith: The Messenger. This multi-part documentary of the history and cultural/religious impact of Islam begins with the story of the Prophet Muhammad. Warning: John Ashcroft has ordered all cable companies to keep a list of subscribers who watch this. The names will be added to the White House enemies list, and you’ll never get on an airplane unmolested again. To be repeated tonight at 12:30 a.m. (Until 9 p.m.)

9:00 (2) Frontline: From China with Love. A real-life US-intelligence screw-up right out of the pages of Ian Fleming. In April 2003, our suddenly vigilant State Department arrested FBI agent J.J. Smith and his primary source, Katrina Leung, whose dope on the People’s Republic had serviced the nosy needs of four presidential administrations. Turns out that J.J. and Katrina were lovers, and the spying was working both ways. How many years had this been going on unnoticed?! (Until 10 p.m.)