WEEKEND TV : KCBS SPECIAL ON QUAKE PREPAREDNESS

For all those Southern Californians who were shaken up by this month’s Whittier earthquake and are still worried about the “Big One,” KCBS-TV Channel 2 will preempt its entire prime-time schedule tonight to air a live three-hour special on earthquake preparedness.

Produced by Channel 2 News, the show will feature taped reports on the science of earthquakes, how to prepare for a quake and what to do when the big one hits. In addition, there will be several panels of experts ready to answer questions from an in-studio audience and viewers watching at home. The public-service special, airing 8 to 11 p.m., will be simulcast in Spanish on KLVE-FM (107.5).

And for those seeking a little comic relief after so much attention to impending doom, “Saturday Night Live” begins its 13th season tonight at 11:30 with Steve Martin guest hosting NBC’s groundbreaking late-night series for the 10th time.

Lorne Michaels, the man who created the show back in 1975 and helped launch the show-business careers of Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Jane Curtin and many others, returns as the show’s executive producer along with last season’s entire repertory cast, including Jon Lovitz, the compulsive liar, and SNL newscaster Dennis Miller.

Sting will be the program’s musical guest, performing songs from his new album with saxophonist Branford Marsalis on Channels 4, 36 and 39.