BY CLIF GARBODEN

THURSDAY 11

7:30 [2] ROY ORBISON: LIVE FROM AUSTRALIA | Poor Roy’s not alive — except in spirit — on any continent, alas. But this just-released DVD of a 1972 Down Under concert has him doing 13 classic hits plus "Sweet Caroline" and "Bridge over Troubled Waters." As for those latter covers, we have to admit that we can indeed imagine Orbison selling them. In fact, we’re willing to bet that his "Sweet Caroline" is better than Neil Diamond’s. "Bridge," on the other hand, has defeated many an artist (Johnny Cash included) who lacked Art Garfunkel’s range, but if any other male non-castrato non-countertenor vocalist can reach that high, it’d be Roy. | Until 8:45 pm

FRIDAY 12

10:00 [44] VIEWER FAVORITES! Becca the Winsome Blonde just had to tell somebody. "Rodney, Rodney," she cried as the slightly nerdish Rodney came around the corner. "Great news! Dad’s getting a Toyota!" "A very sensible choice, I hear," Rodney assured her. "And he’ll blend right in with any traffic situation." "Yes," replied Becca, "that’s my point — he’s achieved automotive anonymity at last. Of course, part of me will miss the Barracuda." "Well, if you want attention," countered Rodney sympathetically, "I can get you a bumper sticker that says my other car is an amphibious assault vehicle." | Until 1 am

1:30 AM [2] GET DOWN TONIGHT — THE DISCO EXPLOSION | Highly commercialized and glossy enough to make your platforms slip, disco was in its own time considered low-life junk compared with the rock that came before it. Today, it actually seems musical and fun. Go figure. Of course, only the strongest and most soulful stuff has survived. This special, however, offers some of the bad with the good. K.C. and the Sunshine band host with Frankie Valli, Karen Lynn Gorney, Denny Terrio, Barry Williams, and Irene Cara. Gorney, who danced with John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, tours the locations in Brooklyn where that film was shot, accompanied by live performances of the soundtrack — "Disco Inferno" (the Trammps), "If I can’t Have You" (Yvonne Elliman), and "More Than a Woman" (Tavares). The rest is reunions — Peaches & Herb, Wild Cherry, A Taste of Honey ("Boogie Oogie Oogie — now there’s some disco junk), and Leo Sayer. Plus classic clips featuring Donna Summer, Vicki Sue Robinson, Andrea True, and Alicia Bridges. | Until 4 am

SATURDAY 13

4:00 [64] BASEBALL | The Los Angeles Angels versus the Seattle Mariners.

7:30 [2] ANDRÉ RIEU: THE FLYING DUTCHMAN | André fiddles on his native (Netherlands) soil. What can we say about a violin concert that includes marches? Well, we could further discourage you by noting that the program also features "The Laughing Song," "The Last Rose of Summer," and "The Irish Washerwoman." | Until 9:30 pm

8:00 [6] ANY GIVEN SUNDAY | movie | This would be a 1999 movie about a Miami football team. Al Pacino plays the coach, Cameron Diaz plays the owner, and Jamie Foxx plays the suddenly sensational replacement quarterback who turns the team and everybody’s personal lives upside down. Dennis Quaid, James Woods, and LL Cool J co-star. | Until 11 pm

8:00 [44] CELTIC WOMAN | Actually, make that five Celtic women — four vocalists and a violin player. A most peculiar show in which the performers stand 20 feet apart on stage, wear ill-fitting evening gowns, and sing everything from "Somewhere" (from West Side Story) to "May It Be" (from The Lord of the Rings) to "Danny Boy" to "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away Sail Away Sail Away, Dammit)." Why? | Until 10 pm

9:30 [2] BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY | Repeated from last week. A concert film from two 2000 shows at Madison Square Garden that reunited Bruce with Roy Bittan, Clarence Clemons, Danny Federici, Nils Lofgren, Patti Scialfa, Garry Tallent, Little Stevie Van Zandt, and Max Weinberg for the first time in 10 years. Featuring all the usual high-voltage material. | Until 11:30 pm

11:30 [2] FUNKY SOUL SUPERSTARS | Repeated from last week. Patti LaBelle does "New Attitude"; Isaac Hayes conducts the theme from Shaft; Richard Roundtree reminisces about that film; the Temptations offer "Papa Was a Rolling Stone"; Cuba Gooding Sr. and the original Main Ingredient sing "Everybody Plays the Fool"; and A Taste of Honey reunite for a little "Sukiyaki." Hosted by LaBelle, Hayes, and Vivica A. Fox. | Until 2:01 am

11:30 [44] PATSY CLINE — SWEET DREAMS STILL | Repeated from last week. She had the best voice in country or pop, and she died too young — but not too young to be legendary and influential. This special includes her life story, her last-known (1963) Nashville recording sessions, and full-length presentations of "Crazy," "Walkin’ After Midnight," "I Fall to Pieces," "Lovesick Blues," and more. | Until 1 am

SUNDAY 14

9:00 [12] LIVING WITH THE DEAD | movie [part one] | Ted Danson stars in this mini-series about psychic James Van Praagh, who was hired to solve murders by asking the victims what really happened. | Until 11 pm

MONDAY 15

8:00 [6] REMEMBER THE TITANS | movie | From 2000. Denzel Washington plays coach to a high-school football team during its first racially integrated season. | Until 11 pm

2:00 am [44] HISTORY DETECTIVES: SECRETS OF THE TAPE, MOUNTAIN MAILBAG, AND BANNED BIRTH-CONTROL BOX | A late-night first run for this. What might be the first commercially produced (in the US) car tape player. (Was the technology stolen from the Nazis?) A satchel that may have been used to deliver mail in the Old West. And an 1894 box that once contained a birth-control device. To be repeated tonight at 4 am, and on Channel 2 at 5 am. | Until 3 am

TUESDAY 15

9:00 [10] TOMMY LEE GOES TO COLLEGE | Mötley Crüe’s Tommy Lee enrolls in the University of Nebraska at Lincoln for this reality show. Consider the possibilities. | Until 10 pm

WEDNESDAY 16

8:15 [2] GREAT PERFORMANCES: CARNEGIE HALL OPENING NIGHT 2004 | Yo-Yo Ma and Renée Fleming open the hall’s 114th season with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach in a tribute to Richard Strauss. | Until 10:15 pm

THURSDAY 17

7:00 [44] VIEWER FAVORITES | "I’m bored," complained Becca the Winsome Blonde. "Me too," added the slightly nerdish Rodney. "What’s on Channel 2 tonight?" "Let me read ahead," offered Becca. "Wait! It’s André Rieu playing ‘The Irish Washerwoman.’ And I see we’re almost at the end of the column. No time to do anything else." Rodney sighed a nerdish sigh. "Do you at least know how to jig?" he asked. | Until 11 pm

8:00 [64] FOOTBALL | The Pats versus the New Orleans Saints in pre-season play.

5:00 AM [44] SOUNDSTAGE | Joss Stone and Mavis Staples. | Until 6 am