WEEKEND TV : ‘Women in Politics’ Will Premiere Sunday on A

As the leaders of NATO conclude their meetings on the Western alliance’s military future and reassemble in Houston this weekend to assess the state of the world’s economy, a British documentary series that examines the role of women in the world’s political scene begins.

The three-part BBC series “Women in Politics,” premiering Sunday at 5 p.m. and then again at 9 p.m. on the Arts & Entertainment cable channel, opens with profiles of several women who have achieved significant political clout. The program will focus on the public and personal lives of such leaders as Philippine President Corazon Aquino; Eugenia Charles, prime minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica; Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and Tatyana Zaslavskaya, adviser to Mikhail Gorbachev.

Meanwhile, Showtime and HBO offer dueling comedy specials tonight. At 10 p.m., Showtime features “In Living Color’s” caustic impressionist Tommy Davidson in “Tommy Davidson: Takin’ It to D.C.,” a half-hour routine taped in Washington. At 11 p.m., HBO presents “Richard Lewis: I’m Doomed,” a one-hour, woe-is-me stand-up routine from the star of “Anything But Love.”

And Santa Barbara station KEYT Channel 3 will air a six-hour telethon to raise money for the victims of last week’s fire tonight, beginning at 6. KCAL Channel 9 will carry the last hour of the fund-raiser at 11 p.m.