Weekend TV : Sunday-Night Viewers Can Welcome Lincoln, David Copperfield, ‘Tootsie’

Two legendary figures from the 19th Century--one from the pages of history and the other from the pen of Charles Dickens--come to life on the small screen this weekend.

Sam Waterston portrays Abraham Lincoln Sunday at 9 p.m. in NBC’s two-part historical epic based on Gore Vidal’s best-selling book about the American President who freed the slaves and guided the nation through the Civil War. Mary Tyler Moore plays Lincoln’s wife in this re-creation of life in the White House 1860s style. The drama concludes Monday at 9 p.m.

PBS will resurrect the second half of the 19th Century Sunday with the first of a five-part adaptation of Dickens’ novel “David Copperfield” (airing at 8 p.m. on Channels 50 and 24, 9 p.m. on Channels 28 and 15). The BBC drama stars Nolan Hemmings as the young David and Colin Hurley as the adult Copperfield. In part one, David’s idyllic life is turned upside down when his mother marries the cantankerous Murdstone.

Caught without a multi-part extravaganza of its own, ABC will seek out the lion’s share of the Sunday night audience with a reprise of the 1982 movie “Tootsie,” 9 p.m. on Channels 7, 3, 10 and 42. Dustin Hoffman stars as an out-of-work actor who dons a dress to become one of the country’s hottest soap opera stars. Jessica Lange, Teri Garr and Bill Murray play Hoffman’s eccentric band of friends and lovers.