THURSDAY 6

7:30 (2) Basic Black: A Conversation with Belynda Dunn. An interview with the late Dorchester health-care activist. (Until 8 p.m.)

8:00 (2) American Roots Music: When First unto This Country. A history of the development of roots, spirituals, country, the blues, and gospel. Featuring Pete Seeger, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Arlo Guthrie, Keb’ Mo’, and others. (Until 9 p.m.)

8:00 (5) NTSB: The Crash of Flight 232 (movie). A plane crashes in the Rockies and Mandy Patinkin investigates the passengers. Sounds as if the National Transportation Safety Board were blaming the victims. (Until 10 p.m.)

9:00 (2) Frontline: Failure To Protect: The Caseworker Files and A National Dialogue. The Frontline series on Maine’s Department of Human Services continues with a look inside the agency. That’s followed by John Hockenberry moderating a discussion on child welfare. To be repeated tonight at 3 a.m. on Channel 44. (Until 11 p.m.)

9:00 (44) Miss Marple: 4:50 from Paddington. Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple (played by the late Jane Hickson) takes advantage of the fact that British trains run on time to solve a murder. (Until 11 p.m.)

FRIDAY 7

9:00 (2) Now with Bill Moyers. All good intentions to keep us informed on the part of the WGBH folk aside, the topics covered on this show prove to be something of a moving target. Everything we promised for the January 31 edition was replaced with a State of the Union recap. Tonight, we’re told, the topic is smallpox, the deadly disease American colonists used to wipe out Native Americans. In 1980, smallpox was declared expunged. Now — because it’s true, because it’s possible, or because the Bushies need another scare tactic to use against us — the government is worried that Iraq and North Korea have added that plague to their bio-weapons arsenals. Bill investigates the reality of the threat. (Until 10 p.m.)

9:00 (5) The Blizzard of ’78: Storm of a Century. WBZ did its commemoration last week. Now Harvey Leonard and Dick Albert check in with their recap of the region-disabling big snow of a quarter-century ago. (Until 10 p.m.)

Midnight and 4 a.m. (2) Masterpiece Theatre: Foyle’s War: The German Woman. Repeated from last week. Michael Kitchen plays Inspector Christopher Foyle, who with the help of his comely driver, Samantha (Honeysuckle Weeks), solves crimes while the bombs fall during World War II. Tonight Chris and Sam investigate the murder of a local German woman. By the way, Honeysuckle Weeks is Honeysuckle Weeks’s real name. Her sister is named Perdita. Her brother is Rollo. Honeysuckle plays Helena Bonham Carter’s character as a child in the 1994 Ruth Rendall adaptation A Dark Adapted Eye. Perdita had a small role (Evie) in Spice World. Rollo’s show-biz career is currently emerging from the child-star phase. (Until 1:30 and 5:30 a.m.)

SATURDAY 8

Noon (5) Basketball. BC versus Rutgers.

1:00 (4) Basketball. UCLA versus Georgetown.

8:00 (2) Frontline: The Gulf War. A four-hour 1996 documentary on America’s 1991 violent foray into the Middle East. We’re seeing a pattern emerge here. Presidents named Bush drop bombs on places that produce oil; presidents named Clinton don’t. What a backdoor endorsement for Hillary’s candidacy. (Until midnight.)

8:00 (5) The Shawshank Redemption (movie). A much-nominated 1994 adaptation of a Stephen King story about a falsely convicted young man who’s befriended by an experienced con in a Maine state prison. Long and sometimes overly intricate, but compelling for all that. Great performances by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. (Until 11 p.m.)

9:00 (44) As Time Goes By. The first of the final four episodes of this gentle British series propelled by stars Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer as middle-agers reunited 40 years after their (Korean) war-time romance. This all builds up to a one-hour clips show, which will air next month. Also returning for these wrap-up editions are co-stars Philip Bretherton (Alistair), Moria Brooker (Judith), and Jenny Funnell (Sandy, who appears to be back with Harry the bobby, which ought to mean that Judith and Alistair are free to wed). (Until 9:30 p.m.)

Midnight (2) Austin City Limits. Featuring music from John Hiatt and Kelly Willis. (Until 1 a.m.)

SUNDAY 9

1:00 (4) Basketball. Maryland versus Georgia Tech.

1:00 (5) Basketball. Wake Forest versus Marquette.

4:45 (44) Little Lord Fauntleroy (movie). Frances Hodgson Burnett’s tale of an American street tough who becomes a British royal. Freddie Bartholomew stars with Dolores Costello Barrymore (Drew’s grandmother). From 1936. (Until 6:15 p.m.)

5:00 (2) Nova: Battle of the X-Planes. Repeated from last week. The story of how Lockheed and Boeing have been battling each other for a trillion-dollar military contract for new fighter planes. Of course, when you divide that price tag by the number of dead civilians the plane will help us create, you understand why the Pentagon thinks it’s a bargain. See " The 525th Line " below. (Until 7 p.m.)

6:15 (44) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (movie). David O. Selznick takes on Mark Twain in this 1938 " adaptation " starring Tommy Kelly, Jackie Moran, and Ann Gillis (as Becky). (Until 8 p.m.)

7:00 (2) Freedom: A History of Us: Safe for Democracy and Depression and War. A look at the years between world wars. (Until 8 p.m.)

7:00 (5) Inspector Gadget (movie). Go-go Matthew Broderick. Not the beloved cartoon but a live-action imitation. (Until 9 p.m.)

8:00 (2) Arsenic and Old Lace (movie). Neither black comedy nor manic farce has ever been better executed. Cary Grant referees among his killer aunts (Josephine Hull and Jean Adair), his gangster brother, and his bride in the 1944 Frank Capra classic. With Priscilla Lane, Edward Everett Horton, and Peter Lorre. (Until 9:55 p.m.)

9:00 (2) Masterpiece Theatre: Foyle’s War: The White Feather. In which our war-time detective investigates a local act of sabotage on the eve of an expected Axis invasion. To be repeated tonight at 1 and 4 a.m. on Channel 44. (Until 10:30 p.m.)

9:00 (4) Profoundly Normal (movie). A developmentally impaired couple try to marry over the objections of social services. Starring Kirstie Alley and Delroy Lindo. (Until 11 p.m.)

1:00 and 4:00 a.m. (44) Masterpiece Theatre: Foyle’s War: The White Feather. Repeated from this evening at 9 p.m.

MONDAY 10

8:00 (44) Globe Trekker: Asian Cities. Ian does Bangkok, Danielle visits Shanghai, Holly lands in Calcutta, and Meg heads for Jakarta. (Until 9 p.m.

9:00 (2) The American Experience: Partners of the Heart. Morgan Freeman narrates this story of black doctor Vivien Thomas and white surgeon Alfred Blalock, who joined forces at Vanderbilt University and later at John Hopkins to develop a surgical technique to correct a congenital heart defect called " blue baby syndrome. " To be repeated tonight at 1 and 4 a.m. on Channel 44. (Until 10 p.m.)

9:00 (44) Indie Select: China. A lighthearted tale about the consequences for the marital arts of a 40-years-married couple when the husband takes up the martial arts. (Until 10 p.m.)

10:00 (2) The American Experience: Scottsboro: An American Tragedy. An Emmy-nominated documentary about the trial of nine African-American kids accused of raping a white woman in 1931. The much-publicized case and the Supreme Court ruling that resulted were an early prompt to the civil-rights movement. (Until 11:30 p.m.)

10:00 (44) P.O.V.: Sweet Old Song. Profiles of Boston musician Howard " Louie Bluie " Armstrong and his artist wife, Barbara Ward. (Until 11 p.m.)

1:00 and 4:00 a.m. (44) The American Experience: Partners of the Heart. Repeated from this evening at 9 p.m.

TUESDAY 11

7:30 (2) La Plaza: Conversations with Ilan Stavans: Dina Fernández. A chat about the role of the press in emerging democracies with Nieman Fellow Fernández. (Until 8 p.m.)

8:00 (2) Nova: Mountain of Ice. Antarctica’s highest peak is something called the Vinson Massif. In this Nova, mountaineer/author Jon Krakauer chronicles an expedition to its top, and there’s a recap of the 1912 race to the pole between Robert Scott and Roald Amundsen. To be repeated tonight at 1 and 4 a.m. on Channel 44. (Until 9 p.m.)

8:00 (44) Bud Greenspan’s Kings of the Ring. Filmmaker Greenspan recaptures the sweaty glories of Jacks Johnson and Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, and more hard hitters. (Until 9:35 p.m.)

9:00 (2) National Geographic Special: Diamonds of War. The overpriced decorative rocks we buy to pledge troth have a lot of blood behind their settings. In this show, investigative reporter Dominic Cunningham-Reid looks at the gem markets of New York and Antwerp and the war-torn " minefields " of Sierra Leone to expose the international illegal diamond trade. To be repeated tonight at 2 and 5 a.m. on Channel 44. (Until 10 p.m.)

1:00 and 4:00 a.m. (44) Nova: Mountain of Ice. Repeated from this evening at 8 p.m.

2:00 and 5:00 a.m. (44) National Geographic Special: Diamonds of War. Repeated from this evening at 9 p.m.

WEDNESDAY 12

8:00 (2) All on a Mardi Gras Day. A survey (and history) of African-Creole carnival traditions through rare footage, interviews, and traditional New Orleans music. (Until 9 p.m.)

9:00 (2) The Marsalis Family: A Jazz Celebration. Let’s hear it for Branford on sax, Delfeayo on trombone, Wynton on trumpet, and Jason on drums. Plus there’s dad Ellis, and one of his students, Harry Connick Jr. And they all played together in New Orleans in 2001. They even covered " Surrey with the Fringe on Top. " (Until 10 p.m.)

9:00 (44) The Perilous Fight: America’s World War II in Color: Infamy and Battlefronts. Martin Sheen narrates this collection of color footage from the Second World War (homefront and front lines). And we always thought they fought in black and white until Vietnam. Produced by Martin (Vietnam: A Television History) Smith. To be repeated tonight at 1 and 4 a.m. (Until 11 p.m.)

10:00 (2) Ellis Marsalis: Jazz Is Spoken Here. Patriarch Marsalis discusses music education and what it teaches the teacher. (Until 11 p.m.)

THURSDAY 13

7:30 (2) Basic Black: A Tribute to Harry Hampton. Celebrating the Blackside Films founder and the producer of Eyes on the Prize, Malcolm X, and War on Poverty. (Until 8 p.m.)

8:00 (2) American Roots Music: This Land Is Your Land. The commercialization of roots music — through movies, radio, and records. In other words, how we got C&W (and that odd C&W-Hawaiian mix) and what happened before the recent roots rediscovery. (Until 9 p.m.)

8:00 (5) Are You Hot? The Search for America’s Sexiest People. Be ashamed, America. This reality TV copout is getting out of hand, and some of you are watching. In this one, there isn’t even a pretense of talent or human interaction. Contestants walk out in bathing suits and the judges rate them in terms of sexiness. It’s a series. (Until 10 p.m.)

9:00 (2) Frontline: China in the Red. But heading for the black. Frontline follows 10 Chinese citizens through the recent period of transition from large-scale communist experiment to peculiar capitalist boom nation. (Until 11 p.m.)

9:00 (44) Miss Marple: The Body in the Library. A friend of Miss Marple (Joan Hickson) finds a young woman’s body and calls Jane for help. (Until 11:30 p.m.)

The 525th line. This week’s Oh What a Wonderful War Award goes to the WGBH members’ magazine for, in this showdown month when against all logic our un-elected president will likely bomb Iraqi civilians in the name of oil profiteering, putting a picture of a fighter plane on its cover. Thanks. That should get all the warmongering racist ’GBH contributors in the mood for laying waste to a bunch of ragheads. Except, wait . . . ’GBH members are, we’d always thought, more intelligent and sophisticated than, say, your average Guns & Ammo subscriber with a flag decal on the pick-up. So what’s the deal? The excuse for running the shot of the mile-high death dealer is the Nova program about the aerospace industry’s battling it out for a fat government contract. But what’s the reason? Does ’GBH send copies off to Congress to prove that public TV isn’t run by a bunch of bleeding-heart liberals? Or did some editor just decide to jump on the war bandwagon because he or she felt like playing grown-up? In terms of shows to hype on the cover, there were lots of other possibilities — Basic Black’s chat with Johnnie Cochran (February 27), the British revival of Kiss Me Kate (February 26), Nova’s " Lost Treasures of Tibet " (February 18), Paul McCartney playing for Queen Elizabeth (February 5), the As Time Goes By finale, and so on. But instead, ’GBH gave tacit endorsement to the upcoming war. A sad day indeed.