8:00 (44) Frontline: Blackout. It's been darker than usual in California this spring, and the folks there (as here) are paying outrageously high prices for what little electricity they've been able to use. The West Coast energy crisis has a lot of folks engaged in worried speculation that the problem could spread east this summer. Well, probably not, but anyone old enough to remember the phony gas shortages of the 1970s will quickly conclude that this is a convenient ploy to minimize complaints when the utility conglomerates up rates - the idea being that we'll be grateful to have power at any price. Frontline and some folks from the New York Times combine efforts to look behind the California mess and make some realistic predictions about the nation's energy future. (Until 9 p.m.)

9:00 (7) Basketball. The Los Angeles Lakers versus the Philadelphia 76ers in game #2 of the NBA championship final.

9:00 (44) Store Wars: When Wal-Mart Comes to Town. It's never pretty, but once the superstore is in place, customers seem more than happy to help it put local retailers out of business. Of course, once the competition goes away, one of two things happens: the retail giant shuts down and moves on, leaving people with no place to buy grass seed, or the prices creep up while the selection of available merchandise goes down. Either way, everybody's screwed and money leaves town for the coffers of some corporation that no doubt champions the "global economy." This show looks at the year-long battle over siting a Wal-Mart in Ashland, Virginia. To be repeated on Wednesday at 4 a.m. and on Thursday at 2 a.m., both on Channel 2. (Until 10 p.m.)

1:00 (2) The Comma: A New 24-Hour Documentary by Ken Burns on the History of Punctuation: Part One: Cuneiform Separates a Simple Series. Or probably the final edition of the Auction. Bidding and in-studio high jinks reach a fever pitch as the volunteers try to unload a "Nantucket basket" for $375. And then it's farewell to this abomination of a TV event for another 12 months. (Until 1 a.m.)

1:00 (25) Baseball. The Sox versus the Philadelphia Phillies.

5:00 (7) Horse Racing. The Belmont Stakes. In this corner, Derby winner Monarchos. In that corner, Preakness winner Point Given. Or A.P. Valentine could win it if he decides it's his day for running and not R&R. (Until 6:30 p.m., or whenever the last weary thoroughbred gets vanned off the track.)

8:00 (5) Hockey. The New Jersey Devils versus the Colorado Avalanche in game #7 of the Stanley Cup final. Unless the Devils win game #6.

8:00 (7) A Night at the Roxbury (movie). Not the Roxbury you're thinking, but a nightclub that represents some sort of entertainment-option nirvana to two wild and swinging guys played by Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan. They also want to own their own nightclub. Must be one of those feel-good films. With Raquel Gardner and Elisa Donovan. (Until 10 p.m.)

8:30 (44) Rudolf Nureyev's Don Quixote. RN's film production of Cervantes windmill-tilting ballet in digitally remastered glory. (Until 10:30 p.m.)

10:00 (7) Saturday Night Live: The Best of the Game Show Parodies. All we can remember is the Jeopardy with Sean Connery. But at least we won't have to endure those pointless cheerleaders. (Why are they funny? Will someone explain it to us?) (Until 11 p.m.)

Noon (2) D-Day, The Sixth of June (movie). From 1956. Robert Taylor, Richard Todd, Dana Wynter, and Edmond O'Brien star in the story of two guys headed for Normandy who pass the time talking over their affairs with the same woman. (Until 2 p.m.)

1:00 (25) Baseball. The Sox versus the Philadelphia Phillies.

2:00 (44) Nerds 2.0.1.: A Brief History of the Internet. Repeated from last week. Of course the Internet hasn't proven to be the moneymaker the financial guys predicted, but it certainly is a popular success. Robert X. Cringely offers a lighthearted look at the pocket-protector crowd who gave it birth. To be repeated on Tuesday at 2 a.m. on Channel 2. (Until 5 p.m.)

3:00 (7) Basketball. The Houston Comets versus the Phoenix Mercury in WNBA play.

7:00 (7) Basketball. The Los Angeles Lakers versus the Philadelphia 76ers in game #3 of the NBA championship final.

8:00 (44) David Copperfield (movie). Director George Cukor's 1935 rendition of the Dickens saga, starring Freddie Bartholomew as little Dave, Edna May Oliver as Aunt Betsey, Elizabeth Allan as Clara, and Jessica Ralph as Peggoty. (Until 10:15 p.m.)

9:00 (2) Masterpiece Theatre: The Aristocrats, part one. Apparently there's been some Auction damage done to the schedule. This is a three-part MT show; part one ran last week. Part two (this is according to the "official" 'GBH/'GBX schedule) is first sighted tonight at 1 and 4 a.m. on Channel 44. Of course, that could be wrong. This might be part two - in which case you'll never catch up. Whatever. A three-part adaptation of Stella Tillyard's bestseller about the Lennox sisters, who, we're told, took part in all the passionate causes of their age (18th century) in Britain. Starring Serena Gordon, Geraldine Somerville, Anne-Marie Duffy, and Jodhi May. (Until 10:30 p.m.)

9:00 (4) Something To Talk About (movie) Julia Roberts stars as a Southern-ish gal who finds herself, self-actualizes, blossoms, whatever, upon discovering that her hubby's cheated. With Dennis Quaid. (Until 11 p.m.)

10:15 (44) Indie Select: Hope Is a Thing with Feathers and Beauty Before Age. The first film is based on a poem to a dying lover by San Francisco artist Beau Riley. Beauty considers the issues of youth and beauty in the gay community. (Until 11 p.m.)

11:30 (2) Royal Wedding (movie). Fred Astaire and Jane Powell head to post-war England with their latest song-and-dance numbers in this 1951 Stanley Donen effort. Check out Peter Lawford - pay special attention to his haircut and speculate that it may have had something to do with his inability to become a leading man. And yes, that's Sarah Churchill (of Winston's clan) playing Anne. (Until 1 a.m.)

1:00 and 4:00 a.m. (44) Masterpiece Theatre: The Aristocrats, part two. To be repeated on Monday at 9 p.m.

8:00 (7) Fear Factor. At last, a reality-TV show where people can actually be crippled for life. Contestants confront the stunt they most don't want to do. (Until 9 p.m.)

9:00 (2) The American Experience: The Richest Man in the World. Was not always Bill Gates or some oil-soaked foreigner. Way back, it was Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish-American steel entrepreneur who brought serfdom to the US and then apologized by distributing his wealth among civic institutions. (Until 11 p.m.)

9:00 (5) Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (movie). Pierce Brosnan stars in a 1995 never-released (hmmmm) adaptation of the classic shipwreck tale - presumably without the lugubrious chapters of Teutonic religious philosophy. William Takaku co-stars as Friday. (Until 11 p.m.)

9:00 (44) Masterpiece Theatre: The Aristocrats, part two. Repeated from Sunday at 1 a.m.

Midnight (2) Rock and Roll: Renegades and In the Groove. Robert Palmer's excellent rock chronicle repeated in the wee hours all week. If you haven't taped this, do so. (Until 2 a.m.)

1:00 and 4:00 a.m. (2) The American Experience: Meltdown at Three Mile Island. It's in a repeat time slot, but it never had an initial airing (if you don't count last year - this is an old show). Anyway, the American experience almost ended at 4 a.m. on March 28, 1979, when a nuclear reactor outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, started drilling a hole through the planet. A look back at the panic. (Until 2 and 5 a.m.)

7:00 (25) Baseball. The Sox versus the Florida Marlins.

8:00 (2) Solar Blast. A new look at Our Mr. Sun in terms of his impact upon the Earth. Hate it when it's in our eyes; hate it when it's behind a cloud. Some stars just can't win. (Until 9 p.m.)

8:00 (44) AFI's 100 Years . . . 100 Thrills. Harrison Ford hosts an American Film Institute anthology of exciting scenes from 100 mostly action films. (Until 11 p.m.)

8:00 (44) The 50 Years War: Israel and the Arabs. The history of the Middle East mess as told by the statespeople, terrorists, soldiers, and victims. (Until 10:30 p.m.)

9:00 (2) Nova: To the Moon. The 1969 moon landing (if it really happened - those moonscapes look suspiciously like Siberia or Utah to us) involved a lot of astronauts, scientists, and engineers (and not a few TV anchors). A look back at how they did it. (Until 11 p.m.)

Midnight (2) Rock and Roll: Shakespeares in the Alley and Respect. Into the '60s, when things got better. (Until 2 a.m.)

2:00 a.m. (2) Nerds 2.0.1.: A Brief History of the Internet. Repeated from Sunday at 2 p.m.

8:30 (2) Cincinnati May Festival: Carmina Burana and Chichester Psalms. James Conlon directs the oldest choral-music festival in this hemisphere through a little Bernstein and a little Orff - Actually, a lot of each. To be repeated tonight at 1:30 and 3:30 a.m. on Channel 44. (Until 10 p.m.)

8:30 (4) The Mirror Has Two Faces (movie). Barbra Streisand plays an woman who confronts her insecurities about her looks by marrying (no love, no sex) Jeff Bridges. (Until 11 p.m.)

9:00 (7) Basketball. The Los Angeles Lakers versus the Philadelphia 76ers in game #4 of the NBA championship final.

10:00 (2) Evening at Pops: Aaron Copland Tribute. A salute to the late American composer featuring soprano Dawn Upshaw, baritone Julilant Sykes, and members of Boston Ballet. (Until 11 p.m.)

10:00 (5) The Beast. The series opener of this heavy-handed indictment of info-age news organizations. Frank Langella stars as the evil emperor of a cable-news media empire that uses the marriage of TV and the Internet to abuse his employees, his audience, and the Fourth Estate. (Until 11 p.m.)

Midnight (2) Rock and Roll: Crossroads and Blues in Technicolor. In which the rock world fesses up to its blues roots and learns to love it. (Until 2 a.m.)

1:30 and 3:30 a.m. (44) Cincinnati May Festival: Carmina Burana and Chichester Psalms. Repeated from this evening at 8:30 p.m.

4:00 a.m. (2) Store Wars: When Wal-Mart Comes to Town. Repeated from Friday at 9 p.m.

8:30 (2) Basic Black: A Conversation with bell hooks. Darren Duarte discusses everything except the silly way she spells her name with social commentator, feminist, and author hooks. (Until 9 p.m.)

9:00 (2) Evening at Pops: Audra McDonald. The Broadway star runs through some New York tunes and offers selections from her CD Way Back to Paradise. (Until 10 p.m.)

10:00 (2) Mystery: Hetty Wainthropp Investigates: Astral Plane. Pat Routledge returns as Hetty to investigate a spirited spiritualist. To be repeated tonight at 1 and 4 a.m. on Channel 44. (Until 11 p.m.)

Midnight (2) Rock and Roll: The Wide Side and Make It Funky. The second-hour interviews with George Clinton alone make this one worth staying up for. (Until 2 a.m.)

1:00 and 4:00 a.m. (44) Mystery: Hetty Wainthropp Investigates: Astral Plane. Repeated from this evening at 10 p.m.

2:00 a.m. (2) Store Wars: When Wal-Mart Comes to Town. Repeated from Friday at 9 p.m.